ephraim stern

ephraim stern Latest

A rock-hewn altar carved out of limestone located about a mile from Shiloh. The four corners point to the four directions on a compass (Exodus 27:1-2). Photo: Yoel Elitzur

Feb 22 Blog

High Places, Altars and the Bamah

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.

Sep 28 Blog

Who Were the Phoenicians?

By: Megan Sauter

With a commercial empire that lasted a millennium, the Phoenicians were major players in the ancient Mediterranean world. Spreading their culture and goods, they came into contact with many different groups, but their relationship with the Israelites was distinct.

Sep 3 Blog

53 People in the Bible Confirmed Archaeologically

By: Lawrence Mykytiuk

How many people mentioned in the Hebrew Bible have been confirmed archaeologically? Lawrence Mykytiuk reveals the surprising number—from Israelite kings to Mesopotamian monarchs—and some lesser figures as well.

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.

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 4 Blog

The Tel Dan Inscription: The First Historical Evidence of King David from the Bible

By: BAS Staff

Few modern Biblical archaeology discoveries have attracted as much attention as the Tel Dan inscription—writing on a ninth-century B.C. stone slab (or stela) that furnished the first historical evidence of King David from the Bible.

Mar 19 Blog

The Palace of the Kings of Israel—in the Bible and Archaeology

By: Megan Sauter

King Omri of Israel selected Samaria as his capital and built an elaborate palace there in the ninth century B.C.E. What did this palace look like, and was it destroyed when the Assyrians conquered the kingdom of Israel in 721 B.C.E.?

Jul 9 Blog

Giant of the Persian Period

By: Hillel Geva

Hillel Geva memorializes Ephraim Stern, one of Israel’s foremost archaeologists, a pioneer in his field with numerous achievements to his credit and an international reputation as a scholar.

Jul 7 Blog

The “Philistines” to the North

By: Robin Ngo

The northern Sea Peoples, according to BAR author Ephraim Stern, are known to us not by name in the Bible but from Egyptian sources—and from archaeology.

Apr 9 Blog

Book of Leviticus Verses Recovered from Burnt Hebrew Bible Scroll

By: Robin Ngo

A burnt ancient scroll found 45 years ago has finally been deciphered thanks to advanced digital technology. The scroll was revealed to contain verses from the Book of Leviticus.

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