New Book: Walk the Land

One of the simultaneously best and worst experiences of my life was hiking the Israel Trail.  I led a group of intrepid adventurers on a 120-mile hike, beginning in Dan and concluding in Caesarea (skipping a 30-mile section in the middle).  I've hiked many other portions of the trail over the years.  The trail covers some of most beautiful and remote scenery, and it is a way to understand the land of Israel that you'll never get from jumping on and off a bus.  It also can be quite a painful experience for your feet. 

An Israeli couple recently hiked the entire trail from Eilat to Dan (580 miles) and the wife wrote a book about the 2-month trek.  The book, Walk the Land, was recently reviewed by Theresa Newell of CMJ USA (pdf, p. 21).  The review begins:

"What is needed by the reader or teacher of the Bible is some idea of the outlines of Palestine - its shape and disposition; its plains, passes and mountains; its rains, winds and temperatures; its colours, lights and shades. Students of the Bible desire to see a background and to feel an atmosphere; to discover from `the lie of the land' why the history took certain lines and the prophecy and gospel were expressed in certain styles; to learn what geography has to contribute ..." (From the 1894 Preface to the First Edition of The Historical Geography of the Holy Land, by George Adam Smith.)

Over a hundred years later, Judy Pex brings the reader through those very "plains, passes and mountains" about which Smith wrote. Step by step from Eilat to Mt. Hermon on The Israel Trail, Pex describes her country from the ground up.

Judy and John Pex have overseen The Shelter Hostel in Eilat for over 20 years. They lead an international congregation there which grew out of their work of serving soup dinners and giving backpackers a place for overnights. It is a 24/7 kind of job.

Their dream grew over the years: to walk the entire Israel National Trail (Shvil Israel) - a feat accomplished by only about 100 people per year. John decided it had to be done before his 60th birthday! And they did it - all winding 940 km (580 miles) from Eilat to Dan. The Trail meanders through the vast wadis and heights of the Negev, then cuts west to the Mediterranean near Tel Aviv along busy roads, up the coast and across the Carmel Range, ending on Mt. Hermon at the Syrian-Lebanese border. The map and 16 pages of Pex's color photos augment her descriptive passages.

There is also an interview with the author here.

The book sounds like a profitable way to gain insights from the trip without having to wrap your feet in duct tape every morning.

HT: Yehuda Group

The Graduate Junction

I have been alerted to a new resource which may be very helpful for researchers.  From their description:

The Graduate Junction is a brand new website designed to help early career researchers make contact with others with similar research interests, regardless of which department, institution or country they work in. Designed by two graduate researchers at the University of Durham, The Graduate Junction has proved very popular with research students and academics alike. Within the first two weeks after our launch in early May 2008 over 2000 researchers in the UK had registered and the news had spread across 40 countries.

Currently research students have two main sources of information, published literature and academic conferences. Whilst published literature is essential, it can only ever reveal completed work. Relevant academic conferences provide a forum for students with similar research interest to interact but occur infrequently. It is very easy to become isolated, overly focused on the specifics of one's own work and lose a sense of what other related work is being done.

The Graduate Junction hopes to prevent that isolation and allow early career researchers to start forming the networks which can stay with them throughout their careers. The Graduate Junction aims to provide an atmosphere similar to that at academic events and through the use of the internet aims to establish an on-line worldwide graduate research community.

This could be a great way to connect with those working in your field.  Check it out here.

Free Software: Get Lost in Jerusalem

Some years ago Zondervan released a educational game on CD called "Get Lost in Jerusalem."  The goal of the game was to navigate through the Old City of Jerusalem with the help of clues.  Many American students were particularly delighted to find that "home base" in the game is the shop of the famous Shaban (photo at right).  The copyright on the game has now reverted to its creator, Ted Hildebrandt, and he is making it available for free download.  So if you're hankering for a stroll down the historic narrow alleyways of Christian Quarter, minus the odors, you're in luck.  You can check out Hildebrandt's page with the download (and lots more), get more information at Amazon, or take a look at Biblical Studies and Technological Tools to get some helpful instructions before downloading and installing the 550 MB file.

Archive of First Protestants in Jerusalem

Haaretz has an interesting article on the historical archive of Christ Church in the Old City of Jerusalem.  Some excerpts:

Tucked away in Jerusalem's Old City, between the entrance to the David Street market and the Armenian Quarter is one of Jerusalem's unsung treasures - a small room chock full of books, letters and documents in the historic Christ Church complex. Many of the documents are hand-written in the flowery style of the 19th century or earlier, written by Europeans, particularly the British, who lived and worked here. Coming to the documents' hopeful rescue is a recently initiated project that applies a combination of cutting edge technology and devotion to history to set them on their way toward digitalization as a means of preserving the stories they tell for future generations....

To explain what the library is all about, Arentsen's supervisor and Christ Church's new rector, Rev. David Pileggi pulls out one of the thousands of glass slides the library also owns. He holds it up, illuminating it in the afternoon Jerusalem sunlight streaming though the windows from the Christ Church courtyard. This one depicts nurses standing next to the beds of patients on a ward of the first hospital in Jerusalem, founded by the missionaries. "Life is complicated," Pileggi says, using the slide to segue into what is obviously a pet subject of his--dispelling the notion that nineteenth-century European Christians "were only interested in converting Jews to hasten Jesus' second coming."

Pileggi, an affable and talkative Floridian who has lived in Israel for 28 years broaches an issue that raises hackles in Jewish and Israeli society. He concedes the hospital's missionary purpose, but seems intent on getting across that it was "mixed with a deep sympathy for the Jews that came from reading the Bible. When you read the Bible and immerse yourself in its culture, as they did in places like England, Holland, and parts of Germany, you begin to identify with the main characters. That's certainly part of what these people were doing....

The precious documents found in the rare holdings closet put the Conrad Schick Library on a list of over 50 priceless collections whose preservation and digitalization is the goal of the Historical Libraries and Archives Survey, a project under the wing of the Institute of Historical Research at the University of London. Along with the Conrad Schick Library, the survey aims to preserve and digitize collections throughout Jerusalem - from the Afeefi family's 43 Arabic manuscripts on astronomy and other science kept in their Jerusalem home to the library in the ancient Syriac Orthodox St Mark's church with at least 300 manuscripts, the Al Aqsa Mosque repository with about 1,000 manuscripts and hundreds of ancient Korans, and the collection of the Admor of Karlin with more than 800 manuscripts, some centuries old. Dr. Merav Mack, 35, a Cambridge University-educated medieval scholar and a fellow at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, is a consultant on the project along with colleague Peter Jacobsen. "We think the project is important because the city's written treasures are of such enormous educational and cultural value to our global heritage."

HT: Joe Lauer

BAR for a Buck

This just in:

Give a full year of Biblical Archaeology Review for only $6.

That's six fun-filled, fact-filled, controversy-inspiring issues of the premiere magazine of Biblical archaeology for only $1 each. It's the best gift deal we've ever been able to offer, and we don't expect to be able to offer it for long.

Archaeology Handbook: The Key Finds

Insight for Living, the ministry of Chuck Swindoll, has just released Archaeology Handbook: The Key Finds and Why They Matter.  This is a 120-page introduction to the top ten archaeological discoveries related to the Bible.  I think it's an excellent overview of artifacts like the Merneptah Stele, the Tel Dan Inscription, and the Sea of Galilee boat.  There are also chapters on the Temple Mount, Hezekiah's Tunnel, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.  The writing is clear and engaging, the photographs are beautiful, and the layout is attractive.  If you're one of the archaeologists who reads this blog, you probably won't learn anything from this book, but if you're someone who hasn't had much exposure to biblical archaeology, this is a great starting point. 

I served as a consultant for the book, supplied many of the photographs, and was interviewed in one of the chapters.  That'll make some of you happy, while others will run the other way.

Here's one of the questions I was asked: What role does faith play within the scientific discipline of archaeology? 

My answer: Archaeology should not be carried out in order to prove some pre-conceived idea, whether pro- or anti-Bible.  Archaeology is best when it is carried out with the best of scientific methods and interpreted by a range of scholars.  Archaeology is ill-served when the interpretation of sites and artifacts is divorced from our knowledge of ancient texts, including the Bible.

Here's another: Has archaeology revealed anything that contradicts the Bible?  If so, what?  And how should Christians respond to such discoveries?

My answer: Archaeology has revealed many things that can be interpreted in a fashion that is not compatible with the biblical record.  But those same things can also be interpreted in a way that is consistent with Scripture.  This ambiguity is not intrinsic to issues related to faith, but is the nature of the discipline.  But those matters related to the Bible are naturally more popular and receive more attention in the press.  I do not know of any major issues that conflict with the accuracy of the Bible.  There are some issues of a lesser nature that are not yet resolved, but I recognize that that is due to the limited nature of the evidence.

Most of the book is more interesting than these questions reflect, as it's not dealing with theory, but with actual discoveries and what they mean.

Through May, the book is available for a donation.  Beginning next month, the book will be sold in their online store.  There is also a video that gives more details about the book.

Recommended Book: In Their Sandals

I was just reminded of a book that I read last year that I intended to mention here.  David Hansen's In Their Sandals is a helpful work in thinking through different aspects of Jesus' ministry from a fresh perspective.  Hansen is driven to understand Jesus in his original context, thus avoiding some of the pitfalls that beset us when reading the Gospels from such a great distance.  Among the stories that he considers are the woman at the well, the feeding of the 4,000, the penitent thief, and the writing on the ground.  Hansen makes his points clearly and concisely, and I enjoyed being provoked along the way.  I certainly recommend the book for those seeing to better understand the ministry of Christ in the context of the land.

Bible Mapper: New Wiki

With the release of version 3.0 of Bible Mapper, the program became free but support was discontinued.  Now, Mark Vitalis Hoffman has begun a wiki for Bible Mapper where all users can pass on ideas, post questions, and share their maps with others.  I think this will be a great resource for those creating their own maps.

I recently recommended Bible Mapper and shared an experience here.

Recommended Newsletter: Tyndale Tech

One of the most useful newsletters I receive is Tyndale Tech, published by David Instone-Brewer at Tyndale House, Cambridge.  This month's newsletter is on "Maps & Geography in Biblical Studies," and he points the readers to numerous helpful resources for maps and photos, both for use in study and teaching.  I'm sure you'll find something here you didn't know about before.  And as he says, "There is now no excuse to teach or preach without pictures and maps."

If you're new to the newsletter, you'll also want to take a look at last month's "Tyndale Toolbar."

Interview: Eric Cline on Pseudo-Archaeologists

Book and the Spade has posted its latest program, this one an interview with Eric Cline, entitled "Pseudo-archaeologists and the lost Arks."  The host, Gordon Govier, tells me that he has written an article about a similar subject in the May issue of Christianity Today.  Cline has a related book that came out last year: From Eden to Exile: Unraveling Mysteries of the Bible.

Interview with Jerome Murphy-O'Connor

The Book and the Spade radio program now features an interview with Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, author of The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide (mentioned before here).  There are two parts, each about 15 minutes each.  Part two is currently posted, but this link should get you part one.  If you're interested, grab them now as the mp3 files are archived relatively quickly and I don't think the podcast link is currently working.

Making My Own Map

I recently worked on a project that required me to create some maps and I thought I might share a few tips for those who might be interested in making their own.

First, I'm using Bible Mapper.  This program has lots of functions which makes it easy to add and remove cities, put labels, etc.  The program used to cost $35, but it is now free.  It does requires a free registration key from the author to unlock all of the features.  (No technical support is available.)

Next, let's say I want to make a map of Turkey.  I only want to include certain places.  This requires that I remove some of the ones listed.  That's easy.  Adding sites that aren't already defined is a bit more work.  But this too is not hard with several free resources.

Let's say I want to put Catal Huyuk on the map.  This is an important Neolithic site, but it's not already in the map program (I had to pick a lesser-known site like this one, because all of the biblical sites are already listed; if you're just teaching about the biblical sites, you may never have to do this).  To get the location coordinates for it, I go to the Wikipedia article.  I can then copy the coordinates to Google Earth, if I want to get a close-up look at the site with a satellite view (or to verify the coordinates).  Alternately, I can click on the coordinates in Wikipedia which brings me to a list of maps that I can locate the site on, including Google Earth.  It also gives the coordinates in decimal form which I can copy over to Bible Mapper.

Here's the map I made of Turkey.  It took me about 30 minutes to create, but it would take less time for those who don't have as many specific needs as I do.  There is a learning curve in using the Bible Mapper program, which means that it'll take you a little longer when you start.  Undoubtedly more savvy individuals can make a much nicer map with all of the options available.

One day I hope to add maps like these to BiblePlaces.com so that one can click a site on the map and immediately go to the relevant page of photos.

Which reminds me - and this is a great feature of Bible Mapper - you can use the maps you create for anything!  (From the license: "No copyright restrictions are placed on any maps created with Bible Mapper.")  Most maps and map programs have restrictions on them, which can make your maps of limited usefulness.  Among its many other features, this makes Bible Mapper a terrific tool.

5th Volume of NEAEH

It has been noted on the ANE-2 list that the 5th (Supplement) volume to the New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land (NEAEH) is off the press.  The book is co-published by the Israel Exploration Society and the Biblical Archaeology Society, which should make it easy to buy in either the US or Israel.  Neither site yet has it listed for sale.  When it becomes available, I'll note it here.  I commented on the original set previously here.

Update (4/8): The Israel Exploration Society has a 4-page pdf file describing the new volume.  On this side of the ocean, Eisenbrauns has it listed for sale (but not yet shipping).  The volume is 600 pages and costs $150 (which is the same as the price for the entire 4-volume set).

Update (4/9): The Biblical Archaeology Society is selling it now for $120 plus $10 shipping.  The first 25 orders get a free copy of The City of David, Revisiting Early Excavations (reg. $150).  There doesn't seem to be a way to indicate if you are in the first 25 or not, so I would assume that once 25 orders have been taken, they will remove the red print of the special offer so as to not mislead customers into thinking that they might qualify.

Update (4/16): BAS has extended the special offer to the first 115 orders.  For those more advanced in their interest of archaeology in Israel and Jerusalem, this is a great deal.

New Blog: Tel Dan Excavations

The first excavation in Israel to have a running blog is the The Tell es-Safi/Gath Excavations Official (and Unofficial) Weblog.  But it's been several years and no one else seems to have caught on.  Until now.  The Tel Dan Excavations has started a new blog.  At this point, the blog looks more like a website, with static pages but not daily updates.  Presumably, with the start of the season this summer, they'll keep us regularly informed of the progress. 

Permit me one comment on the recruiting banner, as they encourage volunteers to sign up.  The slogan says, on top of the graphic: "The 2008 season begins June 22!  Will you find the missing pieces of the David inscription?  Mail your volunteer application soon."  That's certainly a tantalizing suggestion.  Even though it's been 14-15 years since the three fragments were found, there certainly could be more.  And if more are discovered, you can bet that many of the scholarly theories about the Tel Dan Inscription (TDI) will be cast aside.  In fact, here's something that I had not picked up on until research last week.  Perhaps you know that the TDI was probably written by the Aramean king Hazael and it mentions his killing of King Jehoram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah.  This appears to contradict 2 Kings 9 which says that Jehu, not Hazael, killed these two kings.  But here's what I didn't realize: the contradiction entirely hangs on two hypothesized words and letters in the TDI (they are reconstructed because the fragment breaks off at these points).  In other words, we only know that it says "I killed Jehoram" because scholars hypothesized the words "I killed."  Of Ahaziah, it says "killed Ahaziah," but the "I" is reconstructed.  Whether this is a reasonable or unreasonable guess, it is only a guess.  I sure hope they find more fragments.  Maybe it'll be you.

 
Iron Age gate and plaza at Dan

Book Released on Looting of Iraq

The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago has just published an 88-page book on the looting in Iraq in the aftermath of the war.  From their website:

Catastrophe! The Looting and Destruction of Iraq’s Past
Edited by Geoff Emberling and Katharyn Hanson, 2008

With an introduction by Professor McGuire Gibson, this up-to-date account describes the state of the Iraq National Museum in Baghdad and chronicles the damage done to archaeological sites by illicit digging.

The book can be ordered for $30 or downloaded in pdf format for free.  An exhibit of the same name opens at the Oriental Institute on April 10.

Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, The Holy Land, 5th Ed.

The best archaeological guide to Israel is now out in its fifth edition.  The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide, by Jerome Murphy-O'Connor is the best companion for a trip to ancient sites anywhere in Israel.  The section on Jerusalem is especially lengthy (150 pages in the 4th edition), and the whole is accurate and readable.  Don't expect to find out about hotels or restaurants - this is a guide to archaeological sites only!  The 4th edition came out in 1998, so while I haven't yet seen the new edition, I expect it will have significant updates.  The author has lived in Jerusalem longer than I have been alive.

ANET for Logos

For many years, the accessible source for ancient texts related to the Bible was Ancient Near Eastern Texts (ANET), edited by J. B. Pritchard.  A few years ago Context of Scripture (COS), edited by Hallo and Younger, was completed, giving a more extensive and up-to-date source for these texts.  ANET still has its place though because 1) all sources more than a decade old provide references only to ANET and 2) ANET has some materials not included in COS.  COS has been available in Logos format for a few years ($300 here), and now ANET has been announced as a pre-publication special, which means 1) it will only be produced if enough orders are placed and 2) you can get it for less money if you order now ($60 instead of $80).

Biography of Kathleen Kenyon published

The publisher of this biography has posted the following on the ANE-2 list.

I'm pleased to announce publication of the first full length biography of archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon by Miriam Davis, a historian at Delta State University. Miriam had full access to the Kenyon family's materials and interviewed dozens of archaeologists on 4 continents for her work.

The book is published in a series sponsored by the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, which provided the peer review. It's also been reviewed by Bill Dever and Tom Holland, among others (see their comments on our website).

The official blurb:
Dame Kathleen Kenyon
Digging Up the Holy Land
by Miriam C. Davis
978-1-59874-325-8 cloth
978-1-59874-326-5 paper
March 2008 272 pages, photos

Dame Kathleen Kenyon has always been a larger-than-life figure, likely the most influential woman archaeologist of the 20th century. In the first full-length biography of Kenyon, Miriam Davis recounts not only her many achievements in the field but also her personal side, known to very few of her contemporaries. Her public side is a catalog of major successes: discovering the oldest city at Jericho with its amazing collection of plastered skulls; untangling the archaeological complexities of ancient Jerusalem and identifying the original City of David; participating in the discipline's most famous all-woman excavation at Great Zimbabwe. Her development (with Sir Mortimer Wheeler) of stratigraphic trenching methods has been universally emulated by archaeologists for over half a century. Her private life--her childhood as daughter of the director of the British Museum, her accidental choice of a career in archaeology, her working at bombed sites in London during the blitz, and her solitary retirement to Wales--are generally unknown. Davis provides a balanced and illuminating picture of both the public Dame Kenyon and the private person.

The book will be available in paperback next week in the US and in April in the UK, EUrope, and the Middle East.

for more information or to order:
http://www.lcoastpress.com/book.php?id=129

Mitch Allen, Publisher
Left Coast Press, inc.

Amazon has the paperback for $25, minus 5% if you buy it before it is released.  A couple of other biographies of "biblical archaeologists" that I have read and enjoyed include: A Prophet from Amongst You: The Life of Yigael Yadin (Silberman) and William Foxwell Albright: A 20th Century Genius (Running and Freedman).  Good surveys of the history of "biblical archaeology" include A Century of Biblical Archaeology (Moorey) and Shifting Sands: The Rise and Fall of Biblical Archaeology (Davis).

Recommended Software: BibleWorks 7 (and Maps)

One of the best Bible software programs for the PC is BibleWorks 7.  If you're only interested in reading the Bible and doing simple searches, this program is more than you need.  But those who know, or plan to learn, the original languages will find a wealth of capabilities available at lightning speed.  The powerful "Copy Center" makes it fast and easy to copy and paste multiple translations - any number, any versions - in a single click.  This would have saved me a lot of time on a recent study.  The right-click context menus are also easy to use.  If you're still learning Greek and Hebrew (or haven't started yet), the built-in flashcard module has plenty of options which makes it easy to quiz yourself.  At $350, the program is not inexpensive, but browsing through the list of works included in the copyright list will make you wonder how the software can cost so little.

Version 7 added a map module, and BibleWorks sent me a review copy of the program to evaluate this new feature.  I love the integration of the map module; simply right-click on a site name and choose "Lookup in BibleWorks Maps" to get a list of relevant maps to open.  Teachers will find this a handy way to access a map while in the middle of a course without having to use other software.  The module includes a variety of terrains that you can load, including Landsat data, and some are more aesthetically pleasing than others.  Unfortunately, the map data has significant shortcomings; it reminds me more of a beta program.  BibleWorks has a major revision of the map module underway which I expect will solve many of the labeling problems.  One problem that exists with both the map module and the program in general is that while the documentation is extensive, the features are not always intuitive.  This means the happiest user will be the one who reads first and plays second.  If you never read any of the documentation, you'll probably miss many of the features and spend too much time in frustration.  Would I recommend the program?  Absolutely.  Would I recommend its purchase primarily for the map module?  Not yet.  With their policy of free upgrades within a version, any existing user will be able to download all of the updates as they are released.

 
Screenshot of Galilee area, with overlays turned on for 4 gospels

One of the Gibeonite Cities

If you're into mysteries and tracking down little details, there's an endless supply of material in biblical studies and archaeology.  George Grena latched on to one challenging and controversial issue in archaeology some years ago and he seems determined to become the world's expert on LMLK seals.  (LMLK seals were impressed on royal storejars in the time of Hezekiah.  Nearly everything else about their interpretation is controversial.)  Grena certainly has enriched the world with the extensive information that he has published online and in his book.  That's a little background to a recent blogpost in which he sheds some light on the little-known biblical town of Kephirah/Chephirah/Kefireh.  In the time of Joshua, this was one of four cities of Gibeonites.  Most people know of the treachery of the city of Gibeon, but may not recall that there were three other cities in their league, including one I saw every day for the last decade - Kiriath Jearim.  Grena's post begins with some interesting facts about Kephirah before discussing two LMLK seals. 

Survey of Western Palestine

Here's a set I almost never see available for sale (and for many years I have had a continuous search for it going through ABEBooks).  But it's a bit out of my price range, so I'm passing it on to you.

The Survey of Western Palestine, Col. Sir Charles Warren; Capt. Claude Reignier Conder 1881, Published for the committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF), 1881-1889 - First Edition (according to bibliographic resources). A set of six cloth folios, being 11. Bookseller: Orr Hirschauge, Tel-Aviv  Price: US$ 4500.00

View or Order this Book:

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/ListingDetails?bi=1039913148&cm_la=want

Of course, if you just want the maps, in super high-resolution, you can get those on CD for $35.  Or you can get the Index for free. Archive Books has the reprint set available for £2,995 ($5,966).

Recent Excavations (and Jonah)

If you've ever been walking around Israel and seen a hole in the ground and wondered what they found in it, or where you can find out, you'll likely find your answer in Hadashot Arkheologiyot: Excavations and Surveys in Israel.  This annual series is published in Hebrew and English by the Israel Antiquities Authority.  Since 2005 the journal has moved to electronic-only format, which makes it easy for anyone to access without having to purchase the volumes or visit a specialized library.

The 2008 issue was just published (HT: Jim West) and it includes reports from 11 excavations, some with illustrations.  One of interest to Bible readers is Tel Gat Hefer.  Usually spelled Gath Hepher, this is the hometown of Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet who went to Nineveh after being swallowed by a fish (2 Kings 14:25; Jonah 1:1).  The report not only describes the recent excavations (only one 5m square), but notes that previous excavations "revealed significant architectural remains from Early Bronze II–III, Middle Bronze II–III, Iron I, Iron IIA–B and the Late Persian period."  Interpreted, that means that the site was nearly continuously inhabited through the Old Testament period.  Jonah lived in the 8th century B.C., which is part of Iron IIB.  The Arab village of Mashhad is located on the slopes of the tell and expanding, which will make future study more difficult.  One way to raise support for such an excavation would be to hold out promise of finding at sign at the town entrance: Welcome to Gath Hepher, City of Jonah the Prophet.  In my thinking, such a sign (and probably a monument) existed for Jonah after his wonderful prophecy of 2 Kings 14 came true.  But as soon as he went to Nineveh, the town likely disavowed their favorite son.  The town, of course, was right: 30 years later it was destroyed by the Ninevites (cf. 2 Kings 15:29).

If you're interested in present excavations, you can see that here.

Gath Hepher from southeast

Understanding Ancient Israel (Free PDF)

A book recently published by Oxford is currently available for free download in pdf format.  Understanding the History of Ancient Israel is edited by H. G. M. Williamson and sells for $99, but you can download the individual chapters in restricted pdf format without charge.

As you can see from the list of chapters below, there is quite a mix of archaeologists and biblical scholars.  It is an interesting reality that archaeologists typically are more conservative than biblical/historical scholars.  On the more conservative side are Mazar, Younger, and Lemaire.  Those sometimes identified with the "minimalist" perspective include Whitelam and Davies.  All will be thought-provoking, no doubt.

As far as I can tell, there are a couple of downsides to the offer.  1) You have to download each chapter separately, and each one requires about five clicks.  (It worked a little faster for me in IE than Firefox.)  2) The pdf files are all locked so that you can't combine them into a single file (or otherwise copy any of the text; commenting and printing is allowed).  I'm guessing that the publisher is offering this as a service to the larger public who wouldn't purchase this book.  Some will discover through this that the book is worth purchasing.  It seems like a win-win situation to me, and I am appreciative to the publisher for doing this.

• H. G. M. Williamson: Preface; List of Abbreviations
• J. W. Rogerson: Setting the Scene: A Brief Outline of Histories of Israel
• Keith W. Whitelam: Setting the Scene: A Response to John Rogerson
• Hans M. Barstad: The History of Ancient Israel: What Directions Should We Take?
• Philip R. Davies: Biblical Israel in the Ninth Century?
• Lester L. Grabbe: Some Recent Issues in the Study of the History of Israel
• T. P. Wiseman: Classical History: A Sketch, with Three Artefacts
• Chase F. Robinson: Early Islamic History: Parallels and Problems
• Amélie Kuhrt: Ancient Near Eastern History: The Case of Cyrus the Great of Persia
• David Ussishkin: Archaeology of the Biblical Period: On Some Questions of Methodology and Chronology of the Iron Age
• Amihai Mazar: The Spade and the Text: The Interaction between Archaeology and Israelite History Relating to the Tenth–Ninth Centuries BCE
• Christoph Uehlinger: Neither Eyewitnesses, Nor Windows to the Past, but Valuable Testimony in its own Right: Remarks on Iconography, Source Criticism and Ancient Data-processing
• M. J. Geller: Akkadian Sources of the Ninth Century
• K. Lawson Younger, Jr: Neo-Assyrian and Israelite History in the Ninth Century: The Role of Shalmaneser III
• André Lemaire: West Semitic Inscriptions and Ninth-Century BCE Ancient Israel
• Marc Zvi Brettler: Method in the Application of Biblical Source Material to Historical Writing (with Particular Reference to the Ninth Century BCE)
• Graeme Auld: Reading Kings on the Divided Monarchy: What Sort of Narrative?
• Rainer Albertz: Social History of Ancient Israel
• Bernard S. Jackson: Law in the Ninth Century: Jehoshaphat's 'Judicial Reform'
• Nadav Na'aman: The Northern Kingdom in the Late Tenth–Ninth Centuries BCE

Oxford has more on the book here.  The short description reads:

In popular presentation, some treat the Bible as a reliable source for the history of Israel, while others suggest that archaeology has shown that it cannot be trusted at all. This volume debates the issue of how such widely divergent views have arisen and will become an essential source of reference for the future.

HT: Tell es-Safi/Gath Weblog

Qumran Excavation Report

The Israel Antiquities Authority has posted the preliminary report (pdf) of the Qumran excavations (1993-2004) by Yitzhak Magen and Yuval Peleg.  You may recall that a recent article in Biblical Archaeology Review indicated that these archaeologists conclude that Qumran was a pottery manufacturing site, not the home of the Essenes.  They state their motivation for this report in the preface:

We felt it necessary to separately publish this article due to the fact that until now, most of the discussion regarding our new theory on the nature of the site has been in newspapers--in articles not initiated by us--and has been based upon unsubstantiated evidence from certain scholars.

The report is well written and illustrated with many beautiful photographs and drawings.

Books Published in Turkey Now Available

In yesterday's Asia Minor Report, Mark Wilson has good news for those books you can buy only in Turkey:

Purchasing books published in Turkey has been difficult for scholars not living in Turkey.  However, Ahmet Boratav of Ege Yayınları has just made ordering such books easier. His web site (www.zerobooksonline.com) is now available in English and features thousands of books, journals, and magazines. The home page features the Bookseller’s Choices as well as recent releases. Registered surface shipping is included in the price for orders placed from anywhere outside of Turkey.

BiblePlaces Newsletter

I sent out the December 2007 issue of the newsletter today.  If you thought you were subscribed but did not receive it, here are a few suggestions:

1. Check your spam box.  Despite the fact that neither I, nor the newsletter distribution company, ever practice anything but the highest ethics in regard to email, some spam filters stop the newsletter.

2. Consider whether you are subscribed at your current email address.  If you've moved in the last year and changed addresses, you can fix that easily by subscribing with your new address here.

3. Maybe you never subscribed at all.  There's an easy fix here.

Even if you do #2 or #3, you will not get today's newsletter automatically sent to you.  If you would like that, you can send me an email at tbolen81 at bibleplaces dot com [spelled out because I get and hate spam too], and I'll send you one.  But I won't be able to send it until the end of the week, as I'm busy until then.

Turkey in Google Earth

I love Google Earth, and with the help of a friend, have located most important biblical sites and many other historical sites as well.  I have hopes of getting them in sufficient order to share, but time has not yet permitted.  (I know that there are places on the web that distribute files with the locations but some that I have looked at are not reliable.)  But a friend just let me know that some of the terrain is Turkey is much improved.  So if you've looked in the past, you might try again.  Ephesus looks great, and there's finally sufficient resolution to see Colossae.  A few more for fun: Laodicea, Antioch on the Orontes, Haran, and Carchemish.  (The links are kmz files which you can import into Google Earth for the site's location.)

Carta's New Century Handbook

I've updated the post about this below, listing the differences with it and The Sacred Bridge.  Eisenbrauns skipped the Evangelical Theological Society conference in San Diego last week, so I didn't get to see the book myself.  I hope this doesn't mean that Eisenbrauns is losing interest in the evangelical market.

Carta's New Atlas

Carta's New Century Handbook and Atlas of the Bible has arrived at Eisenbrauns.  Because this is a shorter version of The Sacred Bridge, it's been dubbed by some as "The Sacred Abridgement."  The longer volume costs $100; the shorter is $50.  The length though is more than half, and I'm sure there's plenty of "bang for the buck."  I haven't seen it, but based on the longer version, I'm sure that it will be a superb resource.

The publisher's description says this:

The object of this concise version is to augment the personal Bible study of all who seek a straightforward understanding of biblical history. Nevertheless, the reader will still have the sense that sacred history came about in a real world, a realm illumined by a multitude of discoveries and studies during the past two hundred years. Furthermore, the geographical dimension of the Bible accounts is being thoroughly presented. Every Bible student may thus put himself in the ancient reality and feel the events as they were experienced by the ancient Israelites and their neighbors.

UPDATE (11/19): Author Anson Rainey told a friend of mine that the differences between the two editions are these:

1) Bibliography and in-text references removed in shorter edition

2) Original language texts removed but translations remain

3) Two chapters on Bronze Age reduced to one

4) Typographical errors corrected

Thus it seems that with CNCHAB you get about 80% of the content for 50% of the price.

The Pictorial Library: Romanian Edition

If you've been waiting for the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands to be available in Romanian, the first two volumes have been released (Galilee, Samaria).  The Jerusalem volume should be available next month.  Just in time for Christmas...for that special Romanian in your life. :-)

Holyland 3-D CD: Free Update

Some of you may have the Holyland 3-D CD produced by Rohr Productions (Richard Cleave).  This flyover program has been released in several versions over the last 5+ years, and is most commonly sold with the Holy Land Satellite Atlas.  A major update is now available from SkylineGlobe.  I haven't had time to play with it myself, but a colleague is impressed with the improvements.  If you have it and want to compare it with Google Earth or NASA Whirlwind and comment below, you're welcome to do that.  The steps to upgrade are these:

1. Install an earlier version (even as old as v. 2).  If you don't already have it, you can purchase the CD with an atlas here ($65).

2. Install the upgrade.

There are more details about the upgrade at Sunday Software.

NEAEH Update Volume Status

It seems like it has been years that rumor has been circulating that a fifth "update" volume is due out for the New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land (NEAEH).  Word  from the Israel Exploration Society today is that the volume "will not be released before the beginning of next year."  I guess that means that it can be anytime after January 2008.  Which guarantees that it will need a significant update by the time it first appears.  That's true for many published and delayed works, but especially true in the archaeology of Israel.  (You can still get the four-volume set at Eisenbrauns for the great price of $150).

Turkey Trip for College Profs

If you're a college professor or other tour group leader, you might be interested in this familiarization tour to Turkey in March.  This came via Mark Wilson, who has led two college/seminary groups this year that I recommended.  Both were delighted with their trips.  It's not clear to me if he is apart of this trip or not, but here are the details they sent:

Dear Professors, Colleagues, and Group Leaders,

We are currently taking sign ups for the MARCH 7-15, 2008 FAM. TRIP! The March familiarization trip is for professors who are bringing or would like to bring a group to Turkey and want to come beforehand to do the tour. This is very limited space because of the special price.  The professor price of $1,095 is land, airfare & tax inclusive, based on double occupancy, with airfare from New York, JFK. The cost of a single room is $1,390 per person. Please ask for our spouse rate. Participants of this trip are responsible for their own transport to and from JFK. If you are interested in signing up for this trip please contact me for further details.

We are also exciting for Tutku Tours’ Newest programs; January Trips, Study Abroad Programs and of course our Ephesus Meeting May 2008, www.ephesusmeeting.com in which we will have many wonderful groups and fascinating speakers.  We customize all of our groups’ itineraries to fit their needs. Please ask for any brochures or further details.

We hope to meet you AT OUR BOOTH in San Diego, November 14-16, at ETS (booth #216), and November 17-20, at AAR & SBL, (booth #737).  We will also be offering additional meetings slide show presentations, The Seven Churches, and the Footsteps of St. Paul in Asia Minor.  ETS additional meeting, date and time will be announced and the SBL additional meeting is Sunday, November 18 from 4:00- 6:30 pm. 

We look forward to discussing your future plans for travel in Turkey, as well as our other destinations Greece, Israel, Egypt, Ukraine, and Northern Cypress.

Attached, you will find the inaugural issue of the latest news of Biblical Turkey, in the ‘Asia Minor Report’ newsletter, put together by Dr. Mark Wilson. We hope it is of interest to all of the scholars that we work with!

We have great references from other college and university groups, which we would be happy to share with you!

Please let me know if I can help answer any questions you may have. We look forward to seeing you and your groups here in 2008!

Best Regards,
Erin Dailey
Director of Operations
Ephesus Meeting
www.ephesusmeeting.com

Tutku Tours
www.tutkutours.com

After a trip to Israel, Turkey is the place to go.  You need more than a week, but this is just the familiarization trip to get you to come back for a longer time with a lot of people.

Bible Lands Poster Collection

This is probably your last chance to get the best posters of biblical sites in the Holy Land that I know of.  Each poster in the set of 8 has 16-20 spectacular photographs by Richard Cleave.  BibleLandPosters.com has the "last in existence" for $72 including shipping.  I have my own photos, but you can't print them this cheap, so I bought the poster set and recommend it to others.  If you don't want to plaster your house with these, they could be ideal for a church or school classroom or hallway.  Before you order, you can see exactly what you're getting.

Archaeologists and the Bible

My friends at SourceFlix Productions have just finished a 3-minute video in which they interview various archaeologists on site to answer the question, "Is the Bible relevant for archaeology in Israel?"  If you don't know the answer to that question, or if you'd just like to hear from some of the best archaeologists working in the Holy Land, take a look.  Among those interviewed are Amihai Mazar, Amnon Ben-Tor, Aren Maier, and Gabriel Barkay.

The Sacred Abridgement

One of my favorite books on my favorite subject is The Sacred Bridge: Carta's Atlas of the Biblical World. I've hoped to do a short review of it here, but I haven't had the necessary time yet. I used the book last semester as a required text for a course I taught, but the problem with it is the cost. $100 may be standard for a chemistry textbook, but it's hard on Christian college students who are used to paying much less. Thus the announcement of a shorter and cheaper version is welcome:

Carta's New Century Handbook and Atlas of the Bible: Abridgement of The Sacred Bridge
by Anson F. Rainey and R. Steven Notley
Carta, Jerusalem, Forthcoming, November 2007
280 pages + full color illustrations and maps, English
Cloth, 9 x 12 inches
Your Price: $50.00

In some cases, shorter is better and I think this will be one. For most students, The Sacred Bridge is really over their heads. It's sometimes over my head, and rarely is too basic for me. Thus I am guessing that most students will find the abridged version sufficient for their needs.

Just to be clear, there are many things in this book that I disagree with. If you're looking for something more conservative, try the NIV Atlas of the Bible, by Carl Rasmussen or the Moody Atlas of Bible Lands, by Barry Beitzel. But the advanced version is The Sacred Bridge or its abridgement.

UPDATE (8/8): Not everyone reads the comments, so I'll just note that the chairman of Carta has commented below that they are nearing publication of a new atlas by Paul H. Wright, In His Image: Carta's Atlas of Biblical Geography. Wright is the director of the Jerusalem University College.

Jerusalem in the Fog

I like a good calendar, especially one with photos of Israel.  But while the title of this one is intriguing, the cover shot just does not inspire me.  Maybe the rest of the shots that you can't see are better!  At $18, I'm not risking it.  But you can see the "Jerusalem in the Fog" calendar and decide for yourself.

Note the Author: Melekh Ben Ya'aqov (King, son of Jacob)

Archaeology Lectures on DVD

The Biblical Archaeology Society is having a summer sale on DVDs that looks pretty good.  For instance, the BAS Lecture Series Deluxe Set I is $80 and includes 9 DVDs with 15 lectures.  Some of the lecturers are leaders in the field, including William G. Dever, Michael D. Coogan, Bart Ehrman, James Tabor, Aren Maier, and Shelley Wachsman.  A bonus lecture by Dever includes his personal memories of famous archaeologists.  I haven't seen these, but good lecture series usually require a plane ticket and an entrance fee of $25 and up.  There's a second series for $62 which includes 12 lectures.  Some of the topics seem a bit esoteric, and some of the lectures I don't think you'd want to show to a church group, but for many who can't go to grad school, this is one option.

Virtual Models of Qumran and Rome

If you like virtual reconstruction models, there is information about a couple of new ones now online.

Virtual Qumran is being constructed by UCLA for the upcoming Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the San Diego Natural History Museum (June 28 - December 31, 2007).  The Quicktime movies are not yet available, but there are several dozen medium-resolution screenshots.  It is ironic how much attention Qumran gets in academia today.  Qumran is the ancient equivalent of Somis, California.  If you don't know where that is, that's the point.  It's the Dead Sea Scrolls that give Qumran significance above the thousands of other ancient sites in the Middle East, but some scholars don't believe the scrolls have anything to do with the site.

Rome Reborn is the title of a project from the University of Virginia.  They built a physical model of Rome in 320 A.D. from which a virtual model was then constructed.  "The goal of 'Rome Reborn' is to create a digital model illustrating the development of ancient Rome from the earliest settlement in the late Bronze Age (ca. 1000 B.C.) to the beginning of the medieval period."  The website seems pretty spartan at this point.

One that's been around for some years but is still a great resource is the site of the Jerusalem Archaeological Park.  This includes some nice panoramas.  They have several animations that show how the water system worked and how  large the city was in various periods.  You can also learn more about how they built the model.  I can't seem to find the great screenshots that used to be available.

UPDATE (6/17): Those Jerusalem screenshots are here.

Review of the Pictorial Library

Bible Software Review has recently posted a helpful review of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands.  Rubén Gómez lives in the Mediterranean basin, but has not traveled to the biblical lands.

The saying goes that an image is worth a thousand words, and this is truer than ever in the case of The Pictorial Library of Bible Lands (PLBL). No review can make justice to the fine pictures and excellent presentation of this product. It is the next best thing to actually being there! I love it!

He put the Pictorial Library to the test in preparing a sermon.

Since the proof of the cake is in the eating, I used the slides on Capernaum (Figure 2), among others, to prepare a series of sermons on John 6. I can assure you that watching the shots from the Sea of Galilee and spending some time looking at the remains of the synagogue in Capernaum, built on the earlier basalt level where the original edifice once stood -- and where Jesus most likely delivered his bread of life discourse --, brought everything to life and certainly helped a lot in seeing the whole picture of the episodes found in that chapter. It certainly enriched me in no small degree.