mary joan winn leith

mary joan winn leith Latest

Jan 10 Blog

Adam and Eve

In a BAS Library special collection of articles, learn about a controversial interpretation of the creation of woman, and explore other themes related to Adam and Eve in the Bible.

Nov 27 Blog

The Adam and Eve Story: Eve Came From Where?

By: BAS Staff

The Book of Genesis tells us that God created woman from one of Adam’s ribs. But Biblical scholar Ziony Zevit says that the traditional translation of the Biblical text is wrong: Eve came from a different part of Adam’s body—his baculum.

Cropped illustration shows Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, where God gave them the command to “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28). Photo: From Charles Foster, The Story of the Bible (1897).

Nov 8 Blog

Who Was the Wife of Cain?

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Who did Cain marry? Where did she come from? Mary Joan Winn Leith suggests that while the Israelite storyteller knew that other men and women in Genesis existed outside of Eden, they did not matter to him or factor into his account. He was concerned with Adam and Eve and their progeny—not those outside of this group.

Mosaic of the Journey to Bethlehem from the Chora Church in Istanbul.

Nov 6 Blog

Were Mary and Joseph Married or Engaged at Jesus’ Birth?

By: Mark Wilson

Were Mary and Joseph married or engaged when they traveled to Bethlehem? Biblical scholar Mark Wilson examines what the gospels say in this Bible History Daily guest post.

Oct 2 Blog

The Creation of Woman in the Bible

By: Megan Sauter

How was the first woman created in Genesis 2? Was she made from the man’s rib or, as recently suggested in BAR, from his os baculum?

The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man (c. 1617) by Flemish painters Peter Paul Rubens and Jan Brueghel the Elder

Aug 14 Blog

Should We Take Creation Stories in Genesis Literally?

By: Robin Ngo

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.

Lady Lilith by Rossetti (1866). Public Domain

Aug 12 Blog

Lilith in the Bible and Mythology

By: Megan Sauter

Who were the original humans that God created in the Garden of Eden: Adam and Eve? Or Adam and Lilith? A close look at the opening chapters of Genesis—and ancient Jewish mythology—may suggest that Lilith came before Eve!

Aug 2 Blog

Rahab the Harlot?

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?

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.

12th-century column capital from the Cathedral of Saint-Lazre in France depicts Lamech hunting with his son Tubal-Cain. Photo: Cathedral Museum of St. Lazare, Autun, Burgundy, France/The Bridgeman Art Library

Jul 5 Blog

What Happened to Cain in the Bible?

By: Megan Sauter

In the Book of Genesis, we are told about Cain’s birth, his violent act of fratricide and his subsequent exile. We learn that he married and had descendants, but the Bible is strangely mute about his death.

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