May 12 Blog
By: Robin Ngo
In the Book of Joshua, Rahab assisted two Israelite spies in escaping out a window and down the city wall of Jericho. Who was Rahab in the Bible? A Biblical prostitute or just an innkeeper?
Feb 14 Blog
By: Richard Elliott Friedman
The Book of Leviticus tells us to love our neighbors, but who are our neighbors? Does the command mean to just love fellow Israelites—or everyone?
Oct 9 Blog
By: Megan Sauter
Although Leviticus 19:28 clearly prohibits tattoos, it does not give an explicit reason why. This begs the question: Why does the Bible prohibit tattoos?
Aug 14 Blog
Were the creation stories in Genesis meant to be taken literally? Maybe not, says Biblical scholar Shawna Dolansky in her Biblical Views column “The Multiple Truths of Myths” in the January/February 2016 issue of BAR.
Jun 21 Blog
By: T. M. Lemos
The Book of Exodus presumably reflects the views of its Israelite authors on their deity, morality, and the like. Why then would the Israelites have imagined Yahweh slaughtering Egyptian children for sins the children themselves had not committed? Did the Israelites even think children were persons with any type of rights?
Dec 19 Blog
By: Shawna Dolansky
Are the 10 Commandments really a moral code, or did the ancients understand them rather as the constitutional basis of a political theocracy?
Mar 16 Blog
Foot-shaped sites have been found throughout the Jordan Valley, including an extraordinary cultic site on Mt. Ebal. Is this the Israelite altar described in Joshua 8?
Apr 9 Blog
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.
Feb 8 Blog
A 10 Commandments stone tablet—believed by some to be the oldest stone copy of the 10 Commandments—was sold at an auction in November 2016 for $850,000.
Feb 22 Blog
By: By Benjamin Arubas, Shay Bar and Hershel Shanks
Two eminent Israeli archaeologists, Yoram Tsafrir and Adam Zertal, recently passed away. Connected in death as in life, both triumphed over incredible obstacles.
For more than 40 years, the Biblical Archaeology Society has partnered with world-renowned hosts and guides to provide you exceptional educational offerings in the archaeology of the Biblical lands and in Biblical studies.
