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Mar 22 Blog

The Destruction of Pompeii—God’s Revenge?

By: Hershel Shanks

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

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 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 4 Blog

King Hezekiah in the Bible: Royal Seal of Hezekiah Comes to Light

By: Robin Ngo

For the first time, the royal seal of King Hezekiah in the Bible has been found in an archaeological excavation.

Feb 22 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.

Jan 21 Blog

How the Serpent in the Garden Became Satan

By: Shawna Dolansky

The serpent in the Garden of Eden is portrayed as just that: a serpent. The story in Genesis 2–3 contains no hint that he embodies the devil, Satan or any other evil power. So where does the devil come into the details of Eden? Biblical scholar Shawna Dolansky examines how the serpent became Satan.

Jan 16 Blog

The “Original” Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls

By: Noah Wiener

More than 200 Biblical texts written in Hebrew were discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls. How do these ancient Biblical texts compare with the Masoretic Text and the Greek Septuagint in scholars’ search for the most authoritative text of the Hebrew Bible?

Jan 14 Blog

Can A Pre-Christian Version of the Book of Revelation Be Recovered?

By: James Tabor

James Tabor suggests that in the same way the basic apocalyptic texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls have as their historical reference points the parties and politics of the mid-1st century BCE, the Ur-text of revelation is most likely composed against the backdrop of local events in Judea in the 40s and 50s CE–and has little to do with Rome and its emperors.

Dec 7 Blog

Christmas Stories in Christian Apocrypha

By: Tony Burke

The modern Christmas nativity scene is drawn from apocryphal texts in addition to the infancy narratives of Matthew and Luke.

Dec 3 Blog

The Origins of “The Cherry Tree Carol”

By: Mary Joan Winn Leith

“The Cherry Tree Carol” is a Christmas carol that first appeared in 13th-century England; an American version was discovered in Appalachia in the 20th century. Stonehill College Biblical scholar Mary Joan Winn Leith explains the carol’s roots in early Christian Syrian churches.

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