Northwestern Saudi Arabia may have played a crucial role in shaping the stories of the Hebrew Bible. A reader of last month’s post was curious about the Land of Midian, which I mentioned twice: once in a story from the Book of Exodus about where Moses fled after killing an Egyptian slave-driver, and a second […]
Midian and the Midianites Read More »
Intense economic activity in the biblical era centered on a copper mine not far from the Red Sea. Archaeologists have found a tabernacle similar to the one described in the Hebrew Bible at the site.
Mining the Evidence Read More »
Hundreds of uncarved standing stones, almost all facing east, almost all in deliberate arrangements, have been strewn throughout the wilderness of Israel since the fifth millennium BCE. They may be silent witnesses to essential tenets of Judaism today.
Stonehenge in Sinai Read More »
The appellation “Jehovah” is an English mispronunciation of a German spelling of a Hebrew word that no one knows how to say out loud.
The Name(s) of God Read More »
Some scholars see evidence that Jehovah may have started out as a warrior god worshiped in the Land of Midian.
The Origins of God Read More »
An eye for an eye is no shortcut to understanding the magnificent complexity of the Codex Hammurabi.
A new analysis of granite fragments, probably from an ancient Egyptian throne, may push back the first time the place-name “Israel” is mentioned outside of the Bible by centuries.
Israel’s first mention Read More »
Benjamin Netanyahu’s decisions in the next few weeks will determine whether Israel continues to exist.
Good can come of this conflict. But it’s only as likely as Israel makes it. Read More »
Debut of a new series of posts – really, a newsletter – about developments in biblical archaeology and writing historical fiction about the ancient past.
Welcome to “News from the biblical past.” Read More »