MAGAZINE HIGHLIGHTS

Biblical Archaeology Review, July/August September/October 2019

Step into summer with an extra helping of biblical archaeology! In the July/August/September/October 2019 double issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, explore biblical people and sites. Discover how people worshiped at ancient temples, baked bread in ancient Judah, bathed in ancient Palestine, and buried their infants in ancient Canaan. Investigate the Wise Woman of Abel Beth Maacah, Samson and his wife, and Moses. Explore a reconstruction of King Herod’s Royal Portico, and delve into the Copper Scroll and the Song of Liberation, two intriguing ancient texts. Finally, take a tour of women trailblazers in the field of biblical archaeology.

Visit us online at Bible History Daily to see the latest news in Biblical archaeology, as well as additional articles and videos about key Bible and archaeology topics. Explore the free eBook Life in the Ancient World: Crafts, Society, and Daily Practice about life for everyday people in the biblical world (biblicalarchaeology.org/ancientlives). Be sure to explore the BAS Library, which features every article ever published in BAR, Bible Review, and Archaeology Odyssey, as well as Special Collections of articles curated by BAS editors, including one about biblical heroines, from Esther and Judith to Mary Magdalene, who shaped biblical history and the message of the Bible (biblicalarchaeology.org/biblewomen).

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Features

The Wise Woman of Abel Beth Maacah

By Nava Panitz-Cohen and Naama Yahalom-Mack

Appearing in 2 Samuel 20, the Wise Woman of Abel Beth Maacah adroitly saves her town from destruction. Who was this woman, and what role did she play in Israelite tradition that understood cities like Abel Beth Maacah and Tel Dan to be hosts to oracles and seers?

Reimagining Herod’s Royal Portico

By Orit Peleg-Barkat

A synthesis of Hellenistic and Roman architecture, King Herod’s Royal Portico on the Temple Mount was one of his most ambitious and impressive construction projects. What archaeological evidence can we use to reconstruct this magnificent structure?

Baby Burials in the Middle Bronze Age

By Beth Alpert Nakhai

In ancient Canaan, people often buried their dead babies in storage jars, which they then deposited under the floor or wall of a house, in an open area, or in a tomb. Explore this custom with Beth Alpert Nakhai, who makes sense of these perplexing burials.

Song of Liberation: Freedom in the Late Bronze Age

By Eva von Dassow

Preserved in cuneiform tablets from around 1400 B.C.E., the Song of Liberation tells a story of the people of Igingallish being held as captives in the neighboring city of Ebla. When gods rule this unjust, it is up to Ebla’s assembly to decide their own fate.

Stepped Pools and Stone Vessels: Rethinking Jewish Purity Practices in Palestine

By Cecilia Wassén

It is generally assumed that the increased production of stone vessels and the introduction of stepped pools around the turn of the era reflect Jewish concerns with ritual purity. Cecilia Wassén suggests other, more mundane, factors, such as general Hellenizing influences and the Roman culture of bathing.

Baking Bread in Ancient Judah

By Cynthia Shafer-Elliott

Excavations at Tell Halif have uncovered several houses from the eighth century B.C.E. One house in particular offers up a host of information about ancient Judahite food processes and preparation. Explore how bread was baked at Tell Halif—and who did the baking.

Reactivating Remembrance: Interactive Inscriptions from Mt. Gerizim

By Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme

When people visited temples in ancient Palestine, how did they worship? Archaeologists have uncovered large amounts of dedicatory inscriptions from ancient temples, including the Samaritan temple on Mt. Gerizim. Discover what role these inscriptions played in worship.

Secrets of the Copper Scroll

By Joan E. Taylor

In 1952, archaeologists discovered the Copper Scroll in a cave near the Dead Sea. It details a vast treasure hidden in various locations throughout the Judean wilderness. Although none of this treasure has been found, could it refer to articles from the Jerusalem Temple?

Blurred Lines: The Enigma of Iron Age Timnah

By Mahri Leonard-Fleckman

Borders and ethnicities are not always as cut and dry as the lines on a map. Modern readers tend to place social constructs on ancient peoples that simply did not exist. Sitting at a crossroads, biblical Timnah defies identification, as concepts of identity were fluid.

Departments

First Person: The Gender Divide

By Robert R. Cargill

Biblical Views: Multicultural Moses: Reexamining an Icon

By Amanda Mbuvi

Archaeological Views: Missing from the Picture: American Women in Biblical Archaeology

By Jennie Ebeling

Strata

Servant of the King
Highway Through History
Who Did It?
Exhibit Watch
Cartoon Caption Contest

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