Biblical Archaeology Topics

Biblical Archaeology Topics Latest

A stone relief created in 1958 by sculptor Ferdinand Heseding. The relief, which appears on a fountain in Dusseldorf, Germany, depicts the Biblical spies Joshua and Caleb carrying a cluster of grapes back from the Promised Land (Numbers 13:1-33)

Mar 20 Blog

No, No, Bad Dog: Dogs in the Bible

Dogs—or celeb in Hebrew—were not well loved in the Bible. Given the negative associations with dogs, it is surprising that one of the great Hebrew spies bears this name.

Mar 16 Blog

How Bad Was Jezebel?

By: Janet Howe Gaines

For more than two thousand years, Jezebel has been saddled with a reputation as the bad girl of the Bible, the wickedest of women. But just how depraved was she?

Mar 1 Blog

The Samaritan Schism

By: Lawrence H. Schiffman

In part two of his study on schisms in Jewish history, Lawrence H. Schiffman examines the Samaritan schism.

The Repentant St. Peter by El Greco. Photo: The Phillips Collection.

Jan 21 Blog

The Apostle Peter in Rome

By: Nicola Denzey Lewis

Brown University Religious Studies professor Nicola Denzey Lewis answers frequently asked questions about the apostle Peter. Denzey Lewis appears in the CNN series Finding Jesus: Faith, Fact, Forgery, which aims to investigate artifacts that shed light on the world in which Jesus lived.

Jan 18 Blog

Nehemiah—The Man Behind the Wall

By: Dorothy Willette

Few people are familiar with the Biblical figure Nehemiah, and yet he was instrumental in the rebuilding and reestablishment of Jerusalem in the fifth century B.C. following the Babylonian exile.

Dec 21 Blog

Borrowing from the Neighbors

By: Sarah Yeomans

Living in the Greco-Roman world, early Christians were able to draw from a set of rich artistic paradigms when they set out to depict their stories and beliefs in decorative contexts. This often led to the assimilation of well-established pagan artistic styles and images into early Christian art. The sculptors, fresco painters and mosaic artists who created Christian images did so by using the prolific examples of art and decoration that shaped their artistic landscape.

Dec 1 Blog

First Person: Did the Kingdoms of Saul, David and Solomon Actually Exist?

By: Hershel Shanks

In BAR, Hershel Shanks examines a recent article published by archaeologist Amihai Mazar. Mazar contends that while the Biblical narratives were written hundreds of years after the reigns of Saul, David and Solomon, they “retain memories of reality.”

Nov 17 Blog

When Did Christianity Begin to Spread?

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

How old is Christianity? Churches are among Biblical archaeology findings that hold the answer.

Oct 26 Blog

Site-Seeing: Petra’s Temple of the Winged Lions

By: Glenn J. Corbett

A new program led by the American Center of Oriental Research is, for the first time, allowing visitors to go beyond Petra’s monuments to actually discover and experience its past and present.

Oct 13 Blog

The Creation of Woman in the Bible

By: Megan Sauter

How was the first woman created in Genesis 2? Was she made from the man’s rib or, as recently suggested in BAR, from his os baculum?

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

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