Strata: In History
March 17, 45 B.C.E. Julius Caesar celebrated his last military victory at the Battle of Munda in Hispania, where he defeated the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger.
Biblical Archaeology Review
Biblical Archaeology Review is the flagship publication of the Biblical Archaeology Society. For more than 40 years it has been making the world of archaeology in the lands of the Bible come alive for the interested layperson. Full of vivid images and articles written by leading scholars, this is a must read for anyone interested in the archaeology of the ancient Near East.
Strata: Happy 100th Birthday, Joseph
Yom huledet sameach! Happy birthday, Joseph (he pronounces it Yosef). On March 16, 2016, Joseph Aviram will be 100 years old!
Archaeological Views: Magical Cures for Crying Infants
Biblical Views: The Bible and Religious Violence
First Person: Banning Ba’al
Was the proper name Eshbaal—man of Ba’al—banned in Judah after King David’s time? A recent analysis suggests that it was.
Ba’al, meaning lord or master, was a common divine appellative in Canaan and neighboring areas during Biblical periods, most frequently referring to the storm god.
Genesis Punishment Poem
Genesis 3:14–19
14 The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this, cursed are you among all animals and among all wild creatures;
upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers;
he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”
Israel Museum: Public Can’t See Inscribed Ivory Pomegranate Yet
It is too soon to allow the public to view the inscribed ivory pomegranate that may have come from Solomon’s Temple, the Israel Museum has ruled. Museum director James S. Snyder has decided that the object must wait until an “academic debate ... develops” concerning the findings in this article; only then will it be displayed in the museum.
Creating Woman
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 (penis bone)?
Ivory Pomegranate: Under the Microscope at the Israel Museum
The famous inscribed ivory pomegranate, which, if authentic, may have been the head of a scepter from Solomon’s Temple, has endured decades of debate. Is the inscription real, or is it a forgery? A meeting between world-class paleographers in the summer of 2015 may have settled the debate.
Israelite Footprints
Foot-shaped sites have been found throughout the Jordan Valley, including an extraordinary cultic site on Mt. Ebal. Is this the Israelite altar described in Joshua 8? Were these foot-shaped enclosures built by the Israelites as they entered the Promised Land?
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