Biblical Archaeology Review, March/April 1981
Features
New Light on the Nabataeans
Recent excavations at the rose red city of Petra reveal devastation by the same earthquake which destroyed Jerusalem in 363 A.D.
The stones were piled and ready. Costly wood had been purchased. The necessary metal was at hand. The Jews of Jerusalem were rejoicing. Tomorrow—May 20, 363 A.D.—the rebuilding of the Temple would begin! Almost 200 years after the Roman Legions under Titus had destroyed...Read more ›
A Plea for the Bedoul Bedouin of Petra
New tourist facility threatens Bedouin cave dwellers with eviction
The spouse of a BAR editor has the opportunity to see many archaeological sites, few of which, however, are as spectacular as Petra. But the BAR editor, even armed with a letter from the Jordanian Department of Antiquities, could not create a vacancy at Petra’s comfortable little...Read more ›
The Other Side of the Coin
Israel answers ancient Rome’s Judea Capta series with Liberata medals
In the year 70, Jerusalem lay in ruins, the once magnificent Temple reduced to rubble. The Roman conquerors were scattering the people of tiny Judea throughout the empire, beginning another Diaspora—the longest exile in the history of the Jews. Across the Mediterranean, in the imperial city of...Read more ›
The Infancy Narratives in Matthew and Luke—Of History, Theology and Literature
A review article of Raymond E. Brown’s monumental The Birth of the Messiah
Jesus’ birth and infancy are described in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, but are not even mentioned in Mark and John. Moreover, the infancy narratives in Matthew and Luke are seemingly quite different from one another. Luke mentions the census of Quirinius which requires Joseph to...Read more ›
BAR Jr.: How to Tell a Tell
When you look at a map of the Near East, you notice many place names that include as their element the word “tell.” You can find names beginning with “tell” in Israel, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. In Arabic and Hebrew the word “tell” means “a...Read more ›