A Tomb in Jerusalem Reveals the History of Crucifixion and Roman Crucifixion...
In the history of crucifixion, the death of Jesus of Nazareth stands out as the best-known example by far. Crucifixion in antiquity was actually a fairly common punishment, but there were no known...
View ArticleJewish Purification: Stone Vessel Workshop Discovered in Galilee
Where do the “Stone Age” and the time of Jesus meet without the aid of a space-time wormhole? At the Galilean site of ‘Einot Amitai near Nazareth in northern Israel, where archaeologists discovered a...
View ArticleWhat Color Was Tekhelet?
Do the blue tzitzit strings of this traditional Jewish prayer shawl reflect the shade of blue in the Bible, called tekhelet in Hebrew? Evidence suggests the tekhelet that colored ancient blue tzitzit...
View ArticleMark and John: A Wedding at Cana—Whose and Where?
A version of “Mark and John: A Wedding at Cana—Whose and Where?” originally appeared on Dr. James Tabor’s popular Taborblog, a site that discusses and reports on “‘All things biblical’ from the Hebrew...
View ArticleWho Were the Phoenicians?
Amrit’s Phoenician temple in modern Syria dates to the sixth–fourth centuries B.C.E.—when the Persians controlled the region. The temple’s elevated cella in the middle of its court and surrounding...
View ArticleBiblical Riot at Ephesus: The Archaeological Context
This Roman theater played an important role in the riot at Ephesus against Paul and the early Christians, according to Luke’s account in Acts 19. Photo: Jordan Pickett. In Acts 19, Luke describes a...
View ArticleThe House of Peter: The Home of Jesus in Capernaum?
For much of his adult life, the home of Jesus’s was in Capernaum, a small fishing village on the Sea of Galilee. It was here during the infancy of early Christianity that he began his ministry in the...
View ArticleWhere Is Biblical Bethsaida?
Where is Biblical Bethsaida? One contender is the site of et-Tell, a mile and a half north of the Sea of Galilee. Photo: Duby Tal and Moni Haramati, Albatross/Courtesy of Bethsaida Excavations. The...
View ArticleRoman-Era Gold Bead Discovered in Jerusalem
Roman-era gold bead uncovered in the City of David. Courtesy Koby Harati, City of David. While sifting material from a Roman building in the City of David, a volunteer made a beautiful discovery: a...
View ArticleRoman Crucifixion Methods Reveal the History of Crucifixion
What do we know about the history of crucifixion? In the following article, “New Analysis of the Crucified Man,” Hershel Shanks looks at evidence of Roman crucifixion methods as analyzed from the...
View ArticleHerod Antipas in the Bible and Beyond
Although he ruled as tetrarch over Galilee in Jesus’ time, we hear relatively little about Herod Antipas in the Bible and other ancient sources of the period. Was Herod Antipas (depicted in a painting...
View ArticleWhere Did Jesus Turn Water into Wine?
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus...
View ArticleAncient Jerusalem: The Village, the Town, the City
It’s made such an enormous impact on Western civilization that it’s hard to fathom how small its population really was—small compared even to the centers of contemporaneous empires to the east and to...
View ArticleRoman Shipwreck Found Off Israel’s Coast
Marble capital from a Roman shipwreck off the Israeli coast. Courtesy IAA. About 700 feet off the Israeli coast sits the remains of a Roman shipwreck and 44 tons of buried treasure. Although not golden...
View ArticleSolomon, Socrates and Aristotle
Read Theodore Feder’s article “Solomon, Socrates and Aristotle” as it originally appeared in Biblical Archaeology Review, September/October 2008. The article was first republished in Bible History...
View ArticleTomb of Apostle Philip Found
Amid the remains of a fourth- or fifth-century church at Hierapolis, one of the most significant Christian sites in Turkey, Francesco D’Andria found this first-century Roman tomb that he believes once...
View ArticleJewish Worship, Pagan Symbols
AN INCREDIBLE FIND. In December 1928, a work crew from kibbutz Beth Alpha was digging a drainage channel when mosaic pieces began to appear in their shovel loads. Ein Harod is a spring that rises in...
View ArticleThe Enduring Symbolism of Doves
In addition to its symbolism for the Holy Spirit, the dove was a popular Christian symbol before the cross rose to prominence in the fourth century. The dove continued to be used for various church...
View ArticleGateway to the Underworld?
Exploring a crevice in Teomim Cave. Courtesy Boaz Zissu, Bar-Ilan University. Editor’s Note: This blog article contains images of human skeletal remains. An extensive cave just southeast of Beit...
View ArticleRoman Crucifixion Methods Reveal the History of Crucifixion
What do we know about the history of crucifixion? In the following article, “New Analysis of the Crucified Man,” Hershel Shanks looks at evidence of Roman crucifixion methods as analyzed from the...
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