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flavius josephus Latest

Woodcut from Die Bibel in Bildern (1860) by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld.

Jan 25 Blog

Jesus Was a Refugee

By: Joan E. Taylor

Scholar Joan E. Taylor says that it’s worth remembering that Jesus’ earliest years were, according to the Gospel of Matthew, spent as a refugee in a foreign land.

Jan 25 Blog

3 Pilgrimage Paths from Galilee to Jerusalem

By: Megan Sauter

To celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover), the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot), and the Feast of Booths (Sukkot), many Jews traveled to the Jerusalem […]

The Ravenna mosaic of Jesus. Photo: Sant’Apollinare Nuovo Ravenna, Italy/Bridgeman Images

Dec 16 Blog

Did Jesus Exist? Searching for Evidence Beyond the Bible

By: Lawrence Mykytiuk

Did Jesus of Nazareth, “the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5), really exist? What’s the evidence outside of the Bible? Classical and Jewish writings from the first several centuries C.E. give us a glimpse of the person who would become the central figure in Christianity mere decades after his crucifixion.

Nov 22 Blog

What Did Herod’s Temple in Jerusalem Look Like?

By: Jennifer Drummond

Fifty years ago, leading Israeli scholar Michael Avi-Yonah constructed a now-iconic model of Herod’s Temple in Jerusalem. How accurate is it?

Nov 18 Blog

Where Is Golgotha, Where Jesus Was Crucified?

By: BAS Staff

Where is Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified, located in Jerusalem? Marcel Serr and Dieter Vieweger discuss past and current investigations into the site where Jesus was crucified.

Illustration of a stonecutter using a pickax to cut a channel in a limestone block, while another worker pours water over some logs stacked in the channel between two blocks. Photo: Leen Ritmeyer

Nov 9 Blog

The Stones of Herod’s Temple Reveal Temple Mount History

By: BAS Staff

Building and furnishing the Herodian Temple involved more than stone quarrying and laying, but the stones and foundations of Herod’s Temple can give us clues to Temple Mount history.

The Temple menorah depicted in a deeply carved relief panel from the Arch of Titus in Rome. Photo: Courtesy Steven Fine, The Arch of Titus Project

Sep 16 Blog

Where Did the Temple Menorah Go?

By: Marek Dospěl

There is little doubt that the Temple Menorah was taken to Rome after the destruction of Jerusalem. However, Rome was sacked, and the Temple Menorah was looted. After disaster befell the cities that housed it as a spoil of war, was it returned to Jerusalem?

Sep 11 Blog

The Binding or Sacrifice of Isaac

By: Robin M. Jensen

The story of the offering of Isaac is one of the most powerful narratives in the Hebrew Bible. But each tradition has understood and used the story differently and for varying purposes.

Aug 31 Blog

53 People in the Bible Confirmed Archaeologically

By: Lawrence Mykytiuk

How many people mentioned in the Hebrew Bible have been confirmed archaeologically? Lawrence Mykytiuk reveals the surprising number—from Israelite kings to Mesopotamian monarchs—and some lesser figures as well.

The Magdala Stone. Photo: Yael Yulowich, Israel Antiquities Authority

Aug 17 Blog

The Magdala Stone: The Jerusalem Temple Embodied

By: Jennifer Ristine

For a people living in the diaspora, unable to visit the Jerusalem Temple frequently, what kept the memory and centrality of the Temple fresh in their minds? An intriguing stone uncovered at the Galilean site of Magdala might offer a clue.

Must-Read Free eBooks

The Dead Sea Scrolls: Past, Present, and Future

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Ancient Israel in Egypt and the Exodus

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