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Jul 15 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.

Jul 12 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.

Jul 10 Blog

How December 25 Became Christmas

By: Andrew McGowan

Theological scholar Andrew McGowan examines how December 25 came to be associated with the birthday of Jesus and became Christmas, a holiday celebrated by Christians around the world.

19th-century painting of Jezebel by John Liston Byam Shaw

Jun 26 Blog

Scandalous Women in the Bible

By: BAS Staff

Mary Magdalene, Jezebel, Rahab, Lilith. Today, each are popularly considered scandalous women in the Bible. Are these so-condemned salacious women misrepresented?

Codex Bezae. Image: Cambridge University Library/ff.288v & 289r from Nn.2.41.

Jun 19 Blog

Does the Gospel of Mark Reveal Jesus’ Anger or His Compassion?

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

In the fifth-century C.E. Codex Bezae, an early edition of the New Testament written in Greek, the Gospel of Mark describes Jesus’ anger before healing a leper (Mark 1:41). While later scribes changed Jesus’ anger to compassion, it is likely that Codex Bezae preserves the original reading.

Jun 14 Blog

The Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament

By: Megan Sauter

What do the Dead Sea Scrolls say about Jesus? What do they say about the world in which Jesus lived? In BAR, James C. VanderKam examines the overlap between the Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament.

Jun 10 Blog

The Quest for the Historical Paul

By: James Tabor

What can we reliably know about Paul and how can we know it? As is the case with Jesus this is not an easy question.

Jun 7 Blog

Who Is Satan?

By: John Drummond

Does our modern conception of Satan have any resemblance to the devil in the Bible? Just who is Satan?

Cover of the November/December 2010 issue of BAR juxtaposes two artistic representations of Jesus’ face.

Jun 3 Blog

What Did Jesus Really Look Like?

By: BAS Staff

What did Jesus look like? In “Painting a Portrait of Jesus,” D. Moody Smith examined the difficulties in answering this question.

May 29 Blog

Mary, Simeon or Anna: Who First Recognized Jesus as Messiah?

By: Ben Witherington III

Who was the first person to truly recognize Jesus as the messiah and understand the implications? Biblical scholar Ben Witherington III takes a close look at the account given in Luke, and sheds some light on what the Biblical narrative has to say about who was the first to recognize Jesus as the messiah.

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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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