The Origins of God
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 »
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 »
In what is now western central Ukraine, prehistoric farmers built settlements with enough housing for a modern suburb – and then burned them to the ground only a few generations later. This is only one of the reasons why so little is known about the earliest human culture to construct an urban center.
Urban Civilization Dawned in Ukraine Read More »
Many people know about the Jewish practice of circumcision. But in ancient Egypt, pharaohs were circumcised as well. Medical expertise may have been shared by the Israelites and their taskmasters – but what about the belief in a single, unified god?
Medicine and Monotheism Read More »
Three thousand years ago, Semitic tribes shifted from an agricultural calendar based on the flood and ebb of the Nile in Egypt to periods of rain and intense heat in the Land of Israel. How did they all manage to get on the same page of the calendar? And did the change help them stick together over the millennia?
Calendars and Culture Read More »
The unforgiving desert of Saudi Arabia has had periods of lushness. Did the Israelites flee Pharaoh just as the wilderness was greening? Do we still remember the Exodus because of an extraordinary series of lucky breaks? And how will we remember the extraordinary events we are living through today?
Little is known about how people sang, played, and danced to music at the time of the Exodus. So what’s a writer who needs a Spotify playlist to do? The answer: search for and find one of the best world musics you’ve never heard of. It’s called Gnawa.
The Music of Exodus Read More »