Biblical Archaeology

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1813 painting Vesuvius Erupting by Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes

Mar 22 Blog

The Destruction of Pompeii—God’s Revenge?

The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius destroyed the opulent vacation destinations of Roman elites in August 79 C.E.—almost exactly nine years after Roman troops destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem. Did this seem like more than mere coincidence to the ancients?

Mar 20 Blog

What’s Missing from Codex Sinaiticus, the Oldest New Testament?

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Compare differences in the Biblical text between the King James Version and Codex Sinaiticus, the oldest New Testament.

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

By: Ellen White

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 18 Blog

Herod the Great and the Herodian Family Tree

By: Lawrence Mykytiuk

See a visualization of the Herodian family tree and key events in the New Testament related to members of the Herodian family.

Mar 18 Blog

Eunuchs in the Bible

By: Megan Sauter

Stephen J. Patterson discusses what Jesus meant when he referred to “eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:11–12).

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 15 Blog

Ancient Crucifixion Images

By: BAS Staff

Crucifixion images abound today—from sculptures and icons in churches to the masterful paintings hanging in museums. But how many of these actually give us a realistic idea of what Jesus’ crucifixion looked like? Do these artistic crucifixion images accurately reflect ancient Roman crucifixion methods?

Mar 11 Blog

Searching for Biblical Mt. Sinai

By: Robin Ngo

Where is Mt. Sinai? At a 2013 colloquium in Israel, an international group of scholars debated the question. At the center of the debate was Har Karkom, a mountain ridge in the Negev Desert that archaeologist Emmanuel Anati believes to be the Biblical Mt. Sinai.

Mar 11 Blog

Abraham and Lot in the Bible

By: Megan Sauter

Ancient interpreters frequently painted Lot as greedy and unscrupulous—a foil to Abraham’s righteousness.

Gospel of Thomas (Sayings of Jesus) from the Nag Hammadi

Mar 8 Blog

The Gospel of Thomas’s 114 Sayings of Jesus

By: BAS Staff

Read the 114 sayings of Jesus from the Gospel of Thomas as translated by Stephen J. Patterson and James M. Robinson.

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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