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By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

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

By: Steven Shisley

Most scholars believe that early Christians did not use the cross as an image of their religion. So how did the cross become modern Christianity’s most popular symbol?

By: Marek Dospěl

The Gospels offer a surprisingly excusatory depiction of Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect of Judea directly responsible for Jesus’ death. While the contemporary sources do not mention Pilate’s fatal involvement with the itinerant rabbi from Galilee, they reveal a governor determined to promote Roman religion in Judea and to ruthlessly suppress any form of dissent.

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

On what day did Jesus rise? After three days or on the third day? Ben Witherington III examines this question in BAR.

By: Megan Sauter

Early Christians celebrated the Lord’s Supper as a full meal, but by the third century, it had ceased to be a banquet and had become a ritualized small meal instead. Steven Shisley examines how the Lord’s Supper transitioned from a full meal to a ritual in BAR.

By: Megan Sauter

What kind of stone sealed the tomb of Jesus? Was it a round (disk-shaped) stone or a square (cork-shaped) stone? While both kinds of blocking stones are attested in Jerusalem tombs from the time of Jesus, square (cork-shaped) stones are much, much more common than round (disk-shaped) ones.

By: Marek Dospěl

Jesus’ Last Supper and the Tomb of David are traditionally associated with a building called the Cenacle in Jerusalem. Can archaeology shed light on these traditions?

By: BAS Admin

Jesus is the central figure of Christianity, the world’s largest religion. As a teacher in first-century Galilee, he influenced thousands. Yet many questions today surround this enigmatic person. This eBook examines the history of Jesus’ life, from where he was born, where he grew up and whether there is extra-Biblical evidence for his existence.

By: BAS Admin

Not even the intense drama and tragedy of Jesus’ trial, passion, death and burial can prepare one for the utter shock at what comes next in the well-known story: Jesus’ resurrection. In this free eBook, expert Bible scholars and archaeologists offer in-depth research and reflections on the resurrection story.

By: Robin Gallaher Branch

Anna is one of the Bible’s most unusual women. Introduced at the end of the Birth Narrative (Luke 1:1-2:40), Anna concludes the sextet of named, pious Israelites surrounding the miraculous births of John and Jesus.