seven churches ANET May

Living and Working in the Shadow of the Seven Churches

I first came to Turkey in 1992 during my doctoral research on the Book of Revelations. My visit to the Seven Churches – the seven early churches or congregations mention in the Book of Revelations - was life-changing. The […]

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David and Solomon Fig 1

The Return of David and Solomon?

Buried beneath the houses of Silwan, a small neighborhood south of the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, lie the remains of four thousand years of human history. As elsewhere in the Middle East, in Silwan history is counted by ages […]

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Introducing the Pseudepigrapha

The term “pseudepigrapha” is rather off-putting, conjuring up an image of ancient and difficult to understand texts that have little relevance to people today. In fact, this fascinating and wide-ranging literature, dating from approximately […]

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Biblical Monotheism and Translating the First Commandment in the Chinese Context

Archaeology plays a significant social scientific role in understanding the world of the Bible. During my tenure as a […]

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FOA Podcast: “State of Biblical Archaeology Around the World,” Featuring Dr. Susan Ackerman

In this episode ASOR’s own Ancient Near East Today editor, Alex Joffe discusses the present ups and downs of studying biblical archaeology and the humanities, with […]

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The Hebrew Bible: A Critical Edition – Toward a New and Improved Version

Textual criticism — the comparison of ancient texts of the Hebrew Bible — has been revitalized by the riches of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The latest outcome is a new project that will construct an improved edition of the Hebrew Bible. […]

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Tucson, August 1984

By: Alex Joffe Tucson in August is predictably hot. But no one had told us that the center lanes on the major east-west roads change direction at rush hour, or that at 4 p.m. the skies erupt with a biblical deluge. The steam rose off the streets as we arrived at the apartment, foretelling the […]

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David’s Jerusalem

By: Daniel Pioske In a letter sent to Charlemagne sometime just prior to 800 CE, Alcuin of York praised his “David,” as Charlemagne wished to be called later in life, for the benevolence with which he “ruled and governed” over Jerusalem.   In truth, Charlemagne’s influence in Jerusalem was restricted to sponsorship of a few […]

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Why another Introduction to the Hebrew Bible?

By: Bill T. Arnold Cambridge University Press just released my new book, Introduction to the Old Testament. I am grateful to the editor of The ANE Today for the invitation to reflect on the question, “Why another Introduction to the Hebrew Bible?” With so many introductory textbooks available today, why add another now? In truth, I […]

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FOA Podcast: “Studying Biblical Archaeology and the Humanities,” Featuring Professor Shalom Holtz

In this episode ASOR’s own Ancient Near East Today editor, Alex Joffe discusses the present ups and downs of studying biblical archaeology and the humanities, with author and Yeshiva University Chair of the Robert M. Beren Department of Jewish Studies, Shalom Holtz. Short Bio from Shalom’s Yeshiva Faculty Page Shalom E. Holtz is an Assyriologist […]

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The State of Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies in America

By: Mark S. Smith I thank ANE Today for asking me to address this question. The perspective on the state of Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern (ANE) studies that I offer here is my personal take; I speak for no one else. Furthermore, my remarks are also hardly comprehensive. The field has been in a […]

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Friends of ASOR Podcast: Dr. Gary Rendsburg, “Best of Times, Worst of Times”

Listen to ASOR’s own Ancient Near East Today editor, Alex Joffe talk with Dr. Gary Rendsburg, about the state of biblical archaeology and the study of the humanities. Dr. Gary Rendsburg is the Blanche and Irving Laurie Professor of Jewish History at Rutgers University. His research and teachings focus on ‘all things ancient Israel,’ and his academic pursuits […]

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Jesus’s Passover

By: Dr. James F. Strange, University of South Florida Professor  Passover in Exodus 12-13 was a family ritual, but in Jesus’s day it had developed into a national pilgrimage holiday centered in Jerusalem. Practices that were found at first in the family had become more institutionalized in Jesus’s day, with priests managing thousands of sacrifices in […]

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The Last Passover of Jesus

By: James H. Charlesworth George L. Collord Professor of New Testament Language and Literature and director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Project at Princeton Theological Seminary In the Spring, Passover is time for reflective celebration. The great festival is also time for joyous expectation, as humans relish in the return of warm sunshine and blooming […]

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Friends of ASOR Podcast: “Noah,” Featuring Dr. Robert Cargill

**WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS** Listen to Dr. Robert Cargill talk about Noah (yes, the one who built an ark).  We asked him about the biblical and ancient Near Eastern descriptions of Noah, as well as his reactions to the movie (of the same name) released this past weekend. Dr. Cargill is Assistant Professor of Classics […]

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Has Archaeology Gone Overboard in Throwing Out the Bible?

By: Steven Collins The relationship between archaeology and the Bible has been a much-debated topic over the last 25 years. The terms ‘minimalists’ and ‘maximalists’ are now as frequent as ‘exodus’ and ‘epigraphy’. There seems to be little or no middle ground. On the one hand, William Dever is—as he has stated on several occasions—flattered […]

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Hazor in the Tenth Century BCE

 ANE Today Editorial Introduction:* Few topics are more controversial than the biblical kingdoms of David and Solomon. Were they and their rulers real, and if so, what archaeological remains did they leave? Or were they literary creations, exaggerations or even fabrications of later biblical writers? The arguments have raged for almost three decades without end, […]

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Tel Hazor Bronze Age Photo Gallery

Photo Gallery:  Here’s a gallery all the images that appear in Near Eastern Archaeology 76.2 for Hazor in the Middle and Late Bronze Ages. Smaller versions of some of the images also appear to illustrate the abridged version of the article on Hazor’s Ceremonial Precinct found on the ASOR Blog / ANE Today which you can […]

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The Ceremonial Precinct in the Upper City of Hazor: What Does the Identification As a Temple or Palace Have to Do With Joshua’s Conquest?

 ANE Today Editorial Introduction:*  Hazor, “the head of all those kingdoms,” has a unique place in Biblical Archaeology. It is the largest tell in the Southern Levant, and a city-state whose importance resonated throughout the Middle and Late Bronze Ages. Hazor is also specifically named in the Book of Joshua as one of the enemies […]

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The Big Dig Video Roundup

Sites and Finds Deep Time at Tall Hisban, Jordan In Focus: Abel Beth Maacah Bethsaida, Israel—Take a Tour of Current Excavations Illustrated lectures Everyday Life from the Archaeological Record: Prof. Aren Maeir Sarah Parcak: Archeology from space Ashkelon: Seaport of the Philistines, Lecture by Lawrence Stager You can find more videos on the Friends of […]

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