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Late-15th-century painting of The Last Supper by the Spanish artist known as the Master of Perea.

Mar 31 Blog

Was Jesus’ Last Supper a Seder?

Many assume that Jesus' Last Supper was a Seder, the ritual Passover meal. Examine evidence from the synoptic Gospels with scholar Jonathan Klawans.

Roman Catacomb Painting at the Catacombs of Santa Priscilla. Image courtesy James Tabor.

Feb 15 Blog

The Last Days of Jesus: A Final “Messianic” Meal

By: James Tabor

On Wednesday Jesus began to make plans for Passover. He sent two of his disciples into the city to prepare a large second-story guest room where he could gather secretly and safely with his inner group.

May 27 Blog

Josephus on the Essenes

By: BAS Staff

Josephus’s commentaries on the laws and characteristics of the Essene community have been invaluable to scholars studying ancient Jewish laws and customs.

Apr 24 Blog

Who Were the Essenes?

By: BAS Staff

A recent study has sought to determine by sophisticated methods whether Khirbet Qumran was home to a community of sectarian Jews, the Essenes.

Dec 17 Blog

Titus Flavius Josephus and the Prophet Jeremiah

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

In the first century C.E., during the First Jewish Revolt, the Jewish historian Josephus urged his besieged countrymen in Jerusalem to surrender to the Romans. Half a millennium earlier, Jeremiah did the same thing with respect to the Babylonians.

Aug 2 Blog

Defining Biblical Hermeneutics

By: Ellen White

The hermeneutics of the Bible are the many ways people read the Bible.

Sep 1 Blog

Qumran in Context

By: Reviewed by Rami Arav

Rami Arav reviews "Qumran in Context: Reassessing the Archaeological Evidence" by Yizhar Hirschfeld.

Oct 28 Blog

Delikkemer: Hydrating Democracy at Patara

By: Noah Wiener

Explore the water system that supplied the world's oldest federalist democracy.

Jul 14 Blog

Ancient Scribe Links Qumran Scrolls to Masada

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Paleographer Ada Yardeni identified the handwriting of a single scribe on more than 50 Dead Sea Scrolls from Qumran and Masada. What can this tell us about the scribal community at Qumran?

Jul 13 Blog

First Person: Was the Dead Sea Scroll Community Celibate?

By: Hershel Shanks

One of the many fascinating questions about the Dead Sea Scroll community living at Qumran is whether its members were celibate. Did they marry and have children or not?

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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