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Welcome to Bible News
Bible News features recent news items and blog posts related to the Bible, with particular emphasis on biblical archaeology, Bible translation and Bible software. This site is a “blog aggregator” and contains links to articles about the Bible and related topics from many different websites. Only the first few words of any article are shown. To read more, click on the article title and you will be taken to the original site for the full article.
An Iraqi Oil Ministry plan to extend an oil pipeline through ancient Babylon presents a major threat to the cultural heritage of one of the ancient world’s most important cities. Babylon, the world’s largest city during portions of the second and first millennia B.C.E., features prominently in Biblical narratives and played a major role in the cultural development of the ancient Near East. The site has been harangued by constant threats in recent decades, including the construction of a palace for Saddam Hussein, the digging and leveling of terrain near the Ishtar Gate for the construction of a US military base and the extension of earlier pipelines in the 1970s and 80s. Iraq has fought hard to preserve the cultural heritage of Babylon by trying to add it to the UNESCO World Heritage list, but the frequent damages have threatened the bid. The location of one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Babylon was partially excavated in several stages during the 20th century, but given its massive size and millennia-long occupation, further archaeological investigation is necessary. The General Authority for Antiquities and Heritage in Iraq has filed a lawsuit against the Oil Projects Committee in an attempt to prevent the construction of the pipeline, which would pass through the wall of the 1,400 year old castle known as the Babil Fortress. 
This is easily the best collection of Bible places photographs available, and it has just had a major upgrade to make it even better. 
Prof. Yosef Garfinkel, the Yigal Yadin Professor of Archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, announced today the discovery of objects that for the first time shed light on how a cult was organized in Judah at the time of King David. During recent archaeological excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa, a fortified city in Judah adjacent to the Valley of Elah, Garfinkel and colleagues uncovered rich assemblages of pottery, stone and metal tools, and many art and cult objects. These include three large rooms that served as cultic shrines, which in their architecture and finds correspond to the biblical description of a cult at the time of King David.
This discovery is extraordinary as it is the first time that shrines from the time of early biblical kings were uncovered. Because these shrines pre-date the construction of Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem by 30 to 40 years, they provide the first physical evidence of a cult in the time of King David, with significant implications for the fields of archaeology, history, biblical and religion studies. 
The Israel Antiquities Authority has announced that a Hebrew seal bearing the name “Mattanyahu” has been discovered in Jerusalem in a site adjacent to the Western Wall of the Temple Mount. According to archaeologists, the site where the seal was found is the closest structure to the First Temple found to date in archaeological excavations.
According to a report released by the Israel Antiquities Authority, “The seal is made of a semi-precious stone and is engraved with the name of its owner: Lematanyahu Ben Ho… ( למתניהו בן הו meaning: “Belonging to Matanyahu Ben Ho…”). The rest of the inscription is erased. 
The use of the word “established” seems to indicate that the king ascended to the throne by the establishment of his monarchy rather than by familial succession. Given the provenance of the find—a Judahite fortress—only two possibilities seem available: David or Saul. Puech leans toward Saul—the first Israelite king.
Via donhornsby
Spotting the cover of the latest Time magazine (for April 16) on the news-stand out of the corner of my eye today (while waiting to post some items), I couldn’t resist buying a copy, just to ...
Google and Israel Museum Create Virtual Museum Experience...
Google and the Israel Museum launched an interactive search engine and Web site this week that allows visitors to take a virtual tour of the museum’s vast collection of Biblical antiquities. In addition, ultra high-resolution images and detailed descriptions of more than 500 objects from the collection are now available with the click of a mouse. Via donhornsby 
High quality typographic designs of verses from the Bible. 
This book is a page-turner. It is difficult to imagine that a book—let alone a revised doctoral dissertation (completed in 2008)—combining Biblical studies, history, archaeology and hippology could be characterized as a “page-turner,” and yet, that is the phrase that kept crossing my mind as I read this relatively short book, 143 pages, over a weekend. At first Deborah Cantrell wanted to know why the Egyptians didn’t pursue the fleeing Israelites on horseback, “ride after them like cowboys chasing Indians,” rather than attempting to chase them down in chariots (Exodus 14:6–8). Then she wanted to know why Barak and Deborah fought iron chariots with only infantry (Judges 4:14–16). Then she became curious about why David rode a mule rather than a stallion (1 Kings 1:33,38,44) and why Solomon required chariot cities with thousands of horses (2 Chronicles 8:6). She came to her questions naturally; Cantrell has been a rider, trainer, breeder and importer of horses and has engaged in competitive barrel racing, jumping and dressage. Consequently, she approached her research with understanding and a large body of practical knowledge. 
As countries go, Israel is quite tiny. But as archeological sites go, it’s vast.
Archeologists in search of biblical evidence have been digging up ancient treasures here since the mid-19th century,In December 2011 alone, a rare 2,000-year-old clay seal found near Jerusalem's Western Wall was one of the few Second Temple artifacts ever unearthed; and the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) found the remains of a Byzantine bathhouse when a new water supply system in the Judean coastal hills was under construction. but shovels really started flying after Israel achieved statehood in 1948. 
Archaeologist Elizabeth Stone of Stony Brook (N.Y.) University has returned to Iraq to dig at some of the important sites in ancient Mesopotamia. In her recent visit, Stoned excavated as the site of Ga’esh, “a place where Ur’s kings went every year for a festival renewing their rulership.” |
The Israel Antiquities Authority announced today the discovery of a seal impression with the name of Bethlehem.
A bulla measuring c. 1.5 cm was found during the sifting of soil removed from archaeological excavations the Israel Antiquities Authority is carrying out in the City of David.
A bulla is a piece of clay that was used for sealing a document or object. The bulla was impressed with the seal of the person who sent the document or object, and its integrity was evidence the document or object was not opened by anyone unauthorized to do so. 
Michael Licona interviews Dan Wallace about new manuscript discoveries by CSNTM including an apparent fragment of Mark from the first century. Big claim, very tantalizing for textual-critics, mouth drooling really, an apologist’s fantasy coming true, skeptics are skeptical, and it creates more suspense than the last episode of Lost. 
Book of Nehemiah Found Among the Scrolls...
Anyone familiar with the Dead Sea Scrolls can tell you that portions of nearly every book in the Hebrew Bible are represented in these ancient texts discovered in caves near the Dead Sea.
The only exceptions were the Book of Esther and the Book of Nehemiah;* scholars assumed the latter had been written on the same scroll as the Book of Ezra (as was common) but simply hadn’t survived—until now. In a recent blog post,**Norwegian scroll scholar Torleif Elgvin of Evangelical Lutheran University College in Oslo, Norway, announced that he and colleague Esther Eshel of Bar-Ilan University will be publishing a collection of more than two dozen previously unknown scroll fragments, including the first known fragment of Nehemiah. Via donhornsby 
The Dead Sea has lost a third of its surface area. Finally a rescue plan is being drawn up, financed by the EU.
If you keep a sharp eye open as you drive the world’s lowest road, along the Israeli side of the Dead Sea, you may spot a short black line painted on a cliff face some feet above your head. It was made a century ago by British geographers, floating on a boat on the sea’s surface, to mark its level at the time.
Via donhornsby 
Recent discoveries of a cultic significance were announced today in a press conference at Hebrew University. Archaeologists Yosef Garfinkel and Saar Ganor believe that they have found religious objects from the time of King David at Khirbet Qeiyafa in the Shephelah of Judah. 
A rare copy of the Gospel of John has been sold by the Jesuits to the British Library for $14.3 million and is said to be in "exquisite" condition despite being more than a thousand years old.
The book, which emanates from the seventh century, is written in Latin and was discovered over 900 years ago in the coffin of St. Cuthbert, who was buried with the book in 687.
The Gospel was discovered in 1104 after the saint's coffin was moved to Durham Cathedral to escape Viking raids during the ninth and 10th centuries. Via donhornsby 
Israeli archaeologists working at the City of David excavations in Jerusalem recently uncovered a rare 13th century B.C.E. Egyptian scarab. The scarab dates to Egypt’s 19th dynasty, which was marked by military campaigns and conquests in Canaan. According to dig directors Eli Shukron and Joe Uziel, the artifact is the first of its kind in the City of David excavations, and it serves as a material reflection of the Egyptian presence in Israel during the period. 
Yesterday I did a Dead Sea tour. On the way to Ein Gedi, we passed Qumran and I spent some time speaking to my guests about the Dead Sea Scrolls that were discovered there.
Today I found out that Google has added a really great feature to their Digital Dead Sea Scrolls Project. If you’re not familiar with the project, basically, Google has teamed up with the Israel Museum to great a high resolution, digital version of the scrolls, for anyone to examine for free online. Recently they added a new feature, that allows you to roll over any verse and see several different translations of that verse. Via donhornsby 
A new bulla inscribed in paleo-Hebrew provides evidence of Judah’s tax system.
In my previous posting I briefly described Roger Bagnall’s new book, Everyday Writing in the Graeco-Roman East, and I mentioned his lead chapter on a body of graffiti from ancient Smyrna. Among the items he discusses in this chapter, I was particularly (predictably!) intrigued with one that Bagnall confidently claims must be Christian (pp. 22-23).
... here we have a published artifact that has strong claims for anyone interested in the origins of Christianity. 
Apparently Russell Crowe's star is beginning to fade a bit. Or he has decided to follow fellow Aussie Mel Gibson by stepping into the biblical film genre. Reports indicate that the star of Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind and Robin Hood has been tapped to play Noah in a film that begins shooting this July. 
The earliest known metal equestrian bit has been unearthed by archaeologists in Israel. The bit was discovered in an equid burial site at Tel-Haror, and had probably been used on a donkey. Archaeologists led by Professor Eliezer Oren, from Ben Gurion University, made the discovery in a layer of material dating from 1750 BC to 1650 BC, known as the Middle Bronze IIB Period. It is among a growing number of sites in the Near East yielding the remains of horses and donkeys. 
A Roman-era burial box inscribed “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus” was reprieved from the scrapheap of history on Wednesday when a Jerusalem judge completely exonerated an Israeli antiquities collector who had been accused of forging it.
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