Biblical Archaeology Review, January/February 2008
Features
Digs 2008
For the Young and the Young at Heart If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve dreamed of being part of an archaeological dig. To help you make the switch from dreamer to digger, we present our annual guide to excavations (with lots more information at our special...Read more ›
The Life of the Dead Sea
Millions of years ago, seismic forces where two tectonic plates come together formed the Great Rift Valley. Millions of years later, the Dead Sea was created in that valley—the lowest point on earth. Thus begins the story of the life of the Dead Sea. That life is...Read more ›
October Quake Strikes Great Rift
On the night of October 13, 2007, a mild earthquake, measuring 3.0 on the Richter scale, roiled the Great Rift Valley between the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee. A similar quake occurred two months earlier. According to researchers at Tel Aviv University, as reported by...Read more ›
Decapitated Bulls in “Asphalt Lake”
Bovine-size blocks of bitumen sometimes float to the surface of the Dead Sea during periods of increased seismic activity. Although this has happened rarely in recent years (see photo of one such example), it was a common occurrence in the first century C.E., when Flavius Josephus wrote...Read more ›
Jordan’s New Dead Sea Museum
Visitors to Jordan should not miss driving the winding road from Amman down to the stunning new Dead Sea museum. The view from the Zara cliff, overlooking the sea toward Israel’s Judean desert, is itself reason enough for the trip. But there is much more to see...Read more ›
Lot’s Dead Sea Museum: Coming Autumn 2008
A new museum in Jordan will highlight the long cultural heritage of the Dead Sea region. Located near the southeastern shore of the sea, an area traditionally associated with Lot and his family, the Museum at the Lowest Place on Earth is expected to open in autumn...Read more ›
Rescue Squad Organizer Falls 30 Feet into Sinkhole
It was near dawn on the day before Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, in 2003, when I decided to measure one of the recent sinkholes on the shore of the Dead Sea. Before taking the rescue jeep, however, I had to clear it with Noam, who was...Read more ›
Saving the Dead Sea—Red, Med or the Jordan River?
The Dead Sea is falling about 3 feet per year. Wide swaths of beach and plant growth occupy what used to be filled with Dead Sea brine. Hotels and spas have seemingly retreated from the shores that once provided nearby access to guests wanting to float in...Read more ›
The Nea Church
Were the Temple Treasures Hidden Here?
At first, it may seem like the fertile imagination of a novelist—that the Temple treasures were hidden in a church. And I can’t prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they were. But the suggestion has plausibility, buttressed by some fascinating history and impressive archaeological remains. I start...Read more ›
A Piecemeal Discovery
Although the huge barrel-vaulted halls supporting the Nea had been discovered by Charles Warren in the late 19th century, the long-buried remains of the church itself were first revealed to modern eyes by excavations of Israeli archaeologists in the 1970s. While excavating in the Jewish Quarter, the...Read more ›
A New Dead Sea Scroll in Stone?
Bible-like Prophecy Was Mounted in a Wall 2,000 Years Ago
IF it were written on leather (and smaller) I would say it was another Dead Sea Scroll fragment—but it isn’t. It is written on gray-colored stone! And it is 3 feet high and 1 foot wide! Otherwise, it strongly resembles in many respects what we have come...Read more ›
English Translation
(Semitic sounds in caps and\or italics) Column A (Lines 1-6 are unintelligible) 7. [… ]the sons of Israel …[…]… 8. […]… […]… 9. [… ]the word of YHW[H …]…[…] 10. […]… I\you asked … 11. YHWH, you ask me. Thus said the Lord of Hosts: 12. […]… from my(?) house,...Read more ›
Hebrew Text
(Doubtful readings appear in thin letters)Read more ›
Ancient Biblical Interpreters vs. Archaeology & Modern Scholars
Around 25 years ago, Jim Kugel and I confided to each other that we each wanted to write a book for the general public. We both believed it important to make scholarship accessible to all. As it turned out, we each wrote several such books. His newest...Read more ›
Past Perfect
Two Camels for a Life
John Lewis Burckhardt (1784–1817), born in Switzerland and raised in Germany, was an extraordinary traveler and Orientalist. In the summer of 1806, he traveled to England, where, for two years, he wandered the streets of London in search of employment. He was ultimately hired by the African...Read more ›