Even Their Barbarism Was Civilized
We think of ancient life as cruel and backward compared with our own times, but often it wasn’t.
Even Their Barbarism Was Civilized Read More »
We think of ancient life as cruel and backward compared with our own times, but often it wasn’t.
Even Their Barbarism Was Civilized Read More »
In the semiarid Levant, rainfall and water storage were of paramount importance. But for a people who believed that the Earth could be destroyed by flood, it was also part of God’s promise to keep water away.
What we can learn about ancient (and modern) Jewish life from hunter-gatherers and their social networks.
The Genesis of Judaism Read More »
Our understanding of the tangled relationship between ancient Egypt and the culture that produced the Hebrew Bible has deepened thanks to archaeology. It’s pure gold for historical novelists like me.
Jewish Chicken, Egyptian Egg Read More »
A metaphor for the ultimate judgment in two ancient cultures - despite their differing interpretations - still has meaning today.
A Tale of Two Scales Read More »
Thousands of clay tablets dating from the time of Abraham reveal crucial cultural context for some weird episodes in the Hebrew Bible.
Say Thou Art My Sister Read More »
Today’s religious Jews recite a benediction every time they successfully complete a trip to the bathroom. Might this practice have its roots in ancient Israelite ritual?
A Prayer in the Privy Read More »
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 »