MAGAZINE HIGHLIGHTS

Biblical Archaeology Review, Summer 2022

Enjoy the exciting Summer 2022 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review as you excavate fun facts, incredible insights, and dramatic discoveries from the world of the Bible. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and we begin our coverage of this momentous event with an article exploring the somewhat surprising absence of Ezra—one of early Judaism’s most important figures—from the scrolls. We then jump ahead several centuries to discover the fascinating Byzantine churches and monasteries that commemorate the mountain in Moab from which Moses viewed the Promised Land. We also get two views on the dramatic natural and manmade events that led to the demise of the Bronze Age world of the biblical Canaanites, with new evidence from Gezer for the destructive campaign of Merneptah, the Egyptian pharaoh who claimed to have “laid waste” to Israel in his famous stela.

As always, Strata is filled with the fun and informative. Two leading archaeologists highlight critical developments in Israel’s archaeology—salvage excavation and community-based archaeology—and our latest Classical Corner looks at the enduring myth of the cyclops and the various and often paradoxical ways that ancient authors understood this fantastic character of Greek mythology. In Epistles, we examine the resurgence of the Psalms in Greek Byzantine inscriptions and get a wonderful introduction to Aseneth, the little-known Egyptian wife of the Israelite patriarch Joseph who fascinated later writers and became a symbol of Jewish independence from Greek and Roman domination.

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. For this issue, take a guided online tour of the beautiful but little-known Byzantine-era mosaics from Jordan’s Mt. Nebo with archaeologist Debra Foran, and read BAR’s full interview with Gideon Avni, head of the Israel Antiquities Authority’s Archaeological Division.

Finally, All-Access Members can 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 BAR editors.

Features

Moses and the Monks of Nebo

Debra Foran
Mount Nebo in the Transjordanian highlands of Moab is where Moses saw the Promised Land before he died and was then buried. That biblical tradition inspired early Christian monastic movements and pilgrimage to the region. Discover Mt. Nebo’s beautiful churches and monasteries and what they reveal about the relationship between the region’s monastic and village communities during the Byzantine period.

1177 B.C.—The Collapse of
Bronze Age Civilization

Eric H. Cline
From the Minoans and Hittites to the Canaanites and Egyptians, numerous civilizations flourished during the Late Bronze Age. Yet, despite their advancements and interconnectedness, many collapsed around 1177 B.C. See what triggered their demise and what lessons the Late Bronze collapse may offer us today.

Pharaoh’s Fury: Merneptah’s
Destruction of Gezer

Steven Ortiz and Samuel Wolf
The Canaanite city of Gezer was brutally destroyed at the very end of the Late Bronze Age. Explore the vivid archaeological evidence for the city’s destruction and discover why the devastation might be attributed to Pharaoh Merneptah, who infamously claimed to have conquered not only Gezer but also a people known as “Israel” in the late 13th century B.C.E.

Ezra and the Dead Sea Scrolls

Charlotte Hempel
Three fragments of the Book of Ezra have been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, the earliest collection of biblical texts. Yet the figure of Ezra—and his importance as priest, scribe, and interpreter of the law—does not appear in the scrolls. Did the authors of the scrolls not know his story?

Departments

Strata

Second Synagogue Found in Magdala
Who Did It?
Largest Winery of the Byzantine World
Wrecked Ships and a Remarkable Ring
What Is It?
Persia and the Classical World
Classical Corner: The Cyclops:
Portrait of an Ogre
Milestone: Martha Joukowsky (1936–2022)
Milestone: S. Thomas Parker (1950–2021)
Milestone: Ghazi Bisheh (1945–2022)
Test Kitchen: Good Samaritan Hummus
5 Questions: The IAA to the Rescue
Facelift: Revealing the Beauty of Early
Islamic Art
Community Archaeology at Tel Esur
Worldwide

Epistles

Second Life for the Psalms
Clip Art
Biblical Profile: Aseneth of Egypt
Whence-a-Word?: “Chasing After
Wind”
Book Review: Voices from the Ruins
What’s in a Name?: Merneptah
Biblical Bestiary: Mouse

Plus

Digging In
Queries & Comments
Authors
Caption Contest

Web Exclusive

The Mosaics of Nebo
More Queries & Comments