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Dec 12 Blog

Hezekiah’s Religious Reform—In the Bible and Archaeology

By: David Rafael Moulis

According to the Hebrew Bible, Hezekiah “removed the high places, broke down the pillars and cut down the sacred pole” (2 Kings 18:4). What was Hezekiah’s religious reform like on the ground, and what were his motives?

taanach-cult-stand

Jul 23 Blog

Asherah and the Asherim: Goddess or Cult Symbol?

By: Ellen White

Who is Asherah? What is asherah? The reference may be to a particular goddess, a class of goddess or a cult symbol used to represent the goddess. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish what meaning is intended.

Dove

Jul 16 Blog

The Enduring Symbolism of Doves

By: Dorothy Willette

Few symbols have a tradition as long and as rich as the dove. Read about what it represents and how its use has been shared, adapted and reinterpreted across cultures and millennia to suit changing belief systems.

Jun 25 Blog

Puzzling Finds from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud

By: BAS Staff

“Yahweh and his Asherah” is written across the top of this eighth-century B.C. drawing on a ceramic pithos from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud in the eastern Sinai. Some scholars have theorized that these figures resembling the Egyptian god Bes are in fact a drawing of God and his consort.

bamah-shiloh

Jun 16 Blog

High Places, Altars and the Bamah

By: Ellen White

The open-air altar shrine, called a bamah (plural bamot), is known through several books of the Biblical canon. Often referred to as “high places” in translations of the Bible, bamot were worship sites that usually contained an altar.

The fateful encounter between Judah and his daughter-in-law Tamar is depicted in this 17th-century painting by Dutch artist Gerbrand van den Eeckhout

Feb 25 Blog

Sacred Prostitution in the Story of Judah and Tamar

By: BAS Staff

While some scholars suggest that temple prostitution was practiced in ancient Israel, Edward Lipiński argues that neither the Bible nor archaeology provides any clear evidence that Israelite religion incorporated the sexual rites of Canaanite goddesses.

latrine-lachish

Jun 27 Blog

Ancient Latrine: A Peek into King Hezekiah’s Reforms in the Bible?

By: Robin Ngo

An ancient stone toilet recently unearthed at Lachish may provide archaeological evidence of King Hezekiah’s religious reforms throughout Judah in the eighth century B.C.E. The toilet had been placed in what is interpreted to be a gate-shrine within the largest ancient city gate found in Israel.

canaanite-worship-figurine

Feb 26 Blog

Canaanite Worship? 3,400-Year-Old Figurine Found at Tel Rehov

By: Robin Ngo

A seven-year-old child found a figurine that may have been associated with Canaanite worship while visiting the site of Tel Rehov in Israel.

jpfs

Jan 5 Blog

Judean Pillar Figurines

By: Robin Ngo

In “JPFs: More Questions than Answers” in the September/October 2014 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, Robert Deutsch provides an overview of Judean pillar figurines.

cave-of-elijah-the-prophet

Sep 23 Blog

The Cave of Elijah the Prophet under Threat?

By: Henry Curtis Pelgrift

The Cave of Elijah the Prophet in Israel faces the threat that its inscriptions may be defaced or destroyed by modern visitors who crowd into it daily.

Must-Read Free eBooks

The Dead Sea Scrolls: Past, Present, and Future
Biblical Peoples—The World of Ancient Israel
Who Was Jesus? Exploring the History of Jesus’ Life
Ancient Israel in Egypt and the Exodus
More Free eBooks

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