ancient israel daily life

ancient israel daily life Latest

Dec 31 Blog

Who Were the Ammonites, Moabites and Edomites in the Bible?

During the Iron Age, when Israel and Judah ruled Canaan, the kingdoms of Ammon, Moab and Edom ruled east of the Jordan River. Recent archaeological discoveries vastly increase our understanding of these kingdoms and their religion.

Dec 19 Blog

Understanding Israel’s 10 Commandments

By: Shawna Dolansky

Are the 10 Commandments really a moral code, or did the ancients understand them rather as the constitutional basis of a political theocracy?

Nov 14 Blog

Biblical Bread: Baking Like the Ancient Israelites

By: Cynthia Shafer-Elliott

A team from the Tell Halif archaeological excavation made their own tannur, a traditional oven referenced in the Hebrew Bible, and baked bread in it.

Oct 5 Blog

What Does the Bible Say About Tattoos?

By: Megan Sauter

Although Leviticus 19:28 clearly prohibits tattoos, it does not give an explicit reason why. This begs the question: Why does the Bible prohibit tattoos?

Aug 18 Blog

Should We Take Creation Stories in Genesis Literally?

By: Robin Ngo

Were the creation stories in Genesis meant to be taken literally? Maybe not, says Biblical scholar Shawna Dolansky in her Biblical Views column “The Multiple Truths of Myths” in the January/February 2016 issue of BAR.

Apr 26 Blog

Is This Really an Ancient Bathtub?

By: Marek Dospěl

Archaeological artifacts are not always what they appear to be, and our lived experiences can deceive us when we determine functions and uses of artifacts […]

Aug 30 Blog

Tasting the Past

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

Using seeds dating back to the time of the Great Jewish Revolt (66–70 C.E.), researchers from the Arava Institutute for Environmental Studies in Israel planted an experimental date grove at a nearby kibbutz in 2005. The grove began bearing fruit last year, producing a variety of date not tasted for millennia.

Aug 26 Blog

Evidence of Elusive Edom

By: John Drummond

As the descendants of Jacob’s twin brother Esau, the people of Edom have been traditionally connected to their cousins in Israel. According to the account […]

Oct 20 Blog

What Does the Aegean World Have to Do with the Biblical World?

By: Ellen White

What does the ancient Aegean world in the west have to do with the Biblical world in the east? Quite a lot, according to Aegean archaeology specialist Louise Hitchcock.

Mar 26 Blog

Was Biblical Israel an Egalitarian Society?

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Although excavated structures, pottery and other household artifacts offer a glimpse of daily life in the Iron Age highlands of Canaan, no burials or tombs have been found. What do these findings reveal about the ideology of early Iron Age Israelite society?

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