Biblical Archaeology Review, January/February 1989
Special Section
Introduction
NASA does not ask the public to help them design rockets, particle physicists do not seek the aid of John or Jane Doe to operate their cyclotrons, and geneticists do not recruit enthusiastic lay people to assist in splicing genes. But every year Biblical archaeologists put out...Read more ›
Digging in ’89
Ashkelon The Bible frequently mentions the Philistine port city of Ashkelon. Samson went there in a rage and killed 30 men (Judges 14:19); David lamented “Proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon” when he learned of the death of Saul and Jonathan, slain...Read more ›
Prize Find: Tel Dan Scepter Head
“And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favor in his sight. And the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the...Read more ›
First Hand: A Poet at Ashkelon
Digging at Ashkelon It is not the dead that die, It is their whispers Stifled by the sands. We seek the sherds, Companions of their lives, But hear no voice, no sound, Except the wind, Whirling through the trees, Except the sea, Surging toward the shore. They...Read more ›
Features
Excavating in Samson Country—Philistines and Israelites at Tel Batash
The period from the time of the Judges to the end of the Israelite monarchy is known in archaeological terms as the Iron Age. It is subdivided into Iron I, the time of the Judges from about 1200 to 1000 B.C., and Iron II, the United and...Read more ›
The Song of Deborah—Why Some Tribes Answered the Call and Others Did Not
The Song of Deborah (Judges 5) is one of the most powerful pieces of poetry in the entire Bible. A prose version repeats the same story, with many variations, in Judges 4. The account tells of the deliverer (Judge) Deborah and...Read more ›