Magazine Highlights

Biblical Archaeology Review, Fall 2026

Biblical Archaeology Review’s Fall 2026 issue journeys into the darker and stranger realms of the biblical world. In “Death at the Crossroads,” join archaeologists as they excavate an enigmatic desert tomb complex along the ancient incense road that gives fresh insight into the lucrative trade. In “Pilgrims and Prestige,” venture down Jerusalem’s Kidron Valley to encounter the wealthy, monumental tombs that greeted early Jewish pilgrims making their way into the sacred city. Unearth the Philistine temples at Tell Qasile, a “Harbor Town from the Days of the Judges,” where mysterious cult objects illustrate how the Philistines blended foreign religious practices with local traditions. And in “Mind the Gap,” explore the hidden meaning behind white spaces in the Dead Sea Scrolls to consider how these glaring gaps added clarity to the biblical text.

Mysteries abound in Strata and Epistles as well. Examine the puzzling graffiti from ancient Roman cities that early Christians may have used as coded messages to express Jesus’s divinity. Wade through the latrines of biblical Jerusalem to discover the hidden parasites that plagued the city’s residents. Dig into Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians for veiled clues that this canonical New Testament work may actually contain pieces of several different letters. And travel back to the aftermath of the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple to explore the shrouded origins of rabbinic Judaism.

Visit us online, at Bible History Daily, to see the latest news in biblical archaeology or to delve into additional articles, eBooks, and videos about key Bible and archaeology topics. In the Fall issue’s Web Exclusive, enjoy BAR’s interview with New Testament scholar Thomas Schmidt about his latest book, Josephus and Jesus, and its extraordinary claim that Josephus’s famous passage about Jesus is largely authentic. All-Access Members can explore the BAS Library, which features every article ever published in Biblical Archaeology Review, Bible Review, and Archaeology Odyssey, as well as Special Collections of articles curated by BAR editors.

Features

Tell Qasile: Harbor Town from the Days of the Judges

Amihai Mazar
Located on the bank of the Yarkon River just a mile from the Mediterranean coast, the Philistine settlement at Tell Qasile was a flourishing harbor town during the biblical period of the Judges (12th–11th centuries BCE). The rich array of finds from its temples and residential quarters has revealed a vibrant, blended community that combined both Canaanite and Philistine traditions.

Pilgrims and Prestige

Boaz Zissu and Omri Abadi
The monumental tombs dotting Jerusalem’s Kidron Valley have been associated traditionally with towering figures from the He-brew Bible. In reality, these funerary monuments mostly date from the late Second Temple period. Their location along the main ceremonial route into the city conveyed the status and prestige of Jerusalem’s wealthiest families while also evoking the spiritual significance of Temple pilgrimage.

Death at the Crossroads: Secrets of the Negev Tombs

Tali Erickson-Gini and Martin D. Pasternak
In the heart of the Negev Desert, at a major ancient crossroads, two unassuming structures were used as tombs during the first millennium BCE. Several dozen burials were discovered along with a variety of intriguing grave goods. In addition to providing a rare glimpse into the lucrative Arabian trade, these tombs also shed light on the movement of goods and people over long dis-tances and even raise the possibility that some individuals were trafficked.

Mind the Gap! Telling Stories with White Spaces

Gary A. Rendsburg and Matthieu Richelle
In ancient Hebrew manuscripts, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, one encounters a minimal presentation consisting only of the 22 Hebrew letters, with no additional markings to aid the reading. But one element does appear in these manuscripts even in antiqui-ty: gaps within the text to indicate paragraph breaks. These white spaces carried important information about how a text was meant to be read.

Departments

Strata

Baptism on the Shores of the Galilee
How Many?
Image of the Nabataean God?
Producing Purity in Jerusalem
What Is It?
Ancient Cyprus in Florida
Mystery Tunnel Baffles Archaeologists
Arch-Tech: Tummy Trouble in Biblical Jerusalem
Site Seeing: Land of Abraham’s Birth
Gambler’s Game or Christian Cryptogram?
Book Review: The Discovery of the Amarna Letters
World Wonders: Hinton St. Mary Mosaic

Epistles

Four Early Rabbis You Should Know
Clip Art
Define Intervention
What’s in a Name?: Hannah
Cobbling Together 2 Corinthians
5 Questions: Is Josephus’s Account of Jesus Genuine?

Plus

Digging In
Queries & Comments
Authors
Caption Contest

Web Exclusive

Josephus and Jesus
More Queries & Comments