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Roman Catacomb Painting at the Catacombs of Santa Priscilla. Image courtesy James Tabor.

Feb 15 Blog

The Last Days of Jesus: A Final “Messianic” Meal

On Wednesday Jesus began to make plans for Passover. He sent two of his disciples into the city to prepare a large second-story guest room where he could gather secretly and safely with his inner group.

Feb 7 Blog

Puzzling Finds from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud

By: BAS Staff

“Yahweh and his Asherah” is written across the top of this eighth-century B.C. drawing on a ceramic pithos from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud in the eastern Sinai. Some scholars have theorized that these figures resembling the Egyptian god Bes are in fact a drawing of God and his consort.

Hellenistic. Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples, Italy. Scala/Art Resource, NY

Jan 29 Blog

Solomon, Socrates and Aristotle

By: Theodore Feder

A wall painting found in the House of the Physician in Pompeii contains the earliest known depiction of a Biblical scene. Two onlookers in the crowd appear to be the Greek philosophers Socrates and Aristotle, according to author Theodore Feder. What do the onlookers reveal about the place of Biblical culture in the Greco-Roman world?

Jan 4 Blog

Herod the Great and the Herodian Family Tree

By: Lawrence Mykytiuk

See a visualization of the Herodian family tree and key events in the New Testament related to members of the Herodian family.

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.

A young boy wades through Hezekiah’s Tunnel. Photo: Hershel Shanks

Aug 16 Blog

Hezekiah’s Tunnel Reexamined

By: BAS Staff

For more than a hundred years, an extraordinary water tunnel in Jerusalem has been attributed to King Hezekiah, who dug it to protect the city’s water supply during the Assyrian siege of 701 B.C.E. Hence its name, Hezekiah’s Tunnel. However, recent scholarly publications now argue that the tunnel was not built by Hezekiah but by his predecessor or his successors.

83-inch-tall marble sculpture by Donatello, 1415, for a niche in the facade of the Cathedral of Florence. Photo: Erich Lessing

Aug 9 Blog

Gospel of John Commentary: Who Wrote the Gospel of John and How Historical Is It?

By: BAS Staff

The Gospels, the first four books of the New Testament, tell the story of the life of Jesus. Yet only one—the Gospel of John—claims to be an eyewitness account, the testimony of the unnamed “disciple whom Jesus loved.”

A mature excavated archaeological site showing the ruins of the Pool of Bethesda, with stone walls and grass covered earth, situated just below modern-day ground level and with modern city surrounding it

Jul 29 Blog

The Bethesda Pool, Site of One of Jesus’ Miracles

By: BAS Staff

The Bethesda Pool, where Jesus heals the paralytic man in the Gospel of John, is a complex site. It appears to have been a mikveh, or ritual bath.

Jul 10 Blog

Understanding the Jewish Menorah

By: BAS Staff

The Jewish menorah—especially the Temple menorah, a seven-branched candelabra that stood in the Temple—is the most enduring and iconic Jewish symbol. But what did the Temple menorah actually look like? Learn more in this post and view a number of important menorah depictions from antiquity.

May 8 Blog

The Göbekli Tepe Ruins and the Origins of Neolithic Religion

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

The massive stone enclosures of the Göbekli Tepe ruins may be the earliest examples of Neolithic religion.

Must-Read Free eBooks

The Dead Sea Scrolls: Past, Present, and Future

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Who Was Jesus? Exploring the History of Jesus’ Life

Ancient Israel in Egypt and the Exodus

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