Sermons and Biblical Studies

Ian W.J. Hopkins [Ian Hopkins is the author of Jerusalem: A Study in Urban Geography, published by Baker Book House in 1970, as well as a number of articles in scholarly publications.] Increasing recognition is being given to the fact that ancient cities, although built in a very compact manner, were nevertheless usually surrounded by … Continue reading “GETHSEMANE
AND THE GARDENS OF JERUSALEM”

Abraham Rabinovich Keen-eyed Beduin watching bats flying in and out of a hillside with no apparent opening. A shrewd Syrian antiquities dealer taking tea in a garden and measuring over the top of his cup the eagerness behind the expression of mild interest worn by his Western hosts. Scholars in the cool silence of a … Continue reading “DEAD
SEA JIGSAW”

Bryant G. Wood As in modern day society, seals served a very important function in antiquity. Not only did they identify the sender of a letter or commercial shipment, but a seal also guaranteed the quality and quantity of commercial products and prevented the unauthorized opening of a document or container. Important officials, and even … Continue reading “SEALS,
SEAL IMPRESSIONS, AND THE FRIENDS OF JEREMIAH”

Bryant G. Wood There is one interval in the Old Testament period when Bible history can be profitably compared with secular history — the time of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, ca. 900-600 B.C. During this era, the Assyrian Empire expanded to the Mediterranean Sea, taking in Palestine, and, for a time, even Egypt. It was the … Continue reading “ASSYRIAN
KINGS IN THE BIBLE”

Mary Lucy Wood [Mary Lucy Wood was educated in Florida, did graduate work at Columbia University and spent a year doing historical research in Uruguay and Argentina where her interest in archaeology was sparked by the discovery of Inca bones in Peru.] According to Genesis 11:2 the Tower of Babel was built in the land … Continue reading “KRAMER
OF SUMER”

David Ussishkin [David Ussishkin is head of the Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel, and the editor of TEL AVIV, the journal of the Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University. He is also a member of the editorial board of QADMONIOT, the Executive Committee of the … Continue reading “EXCAVATIONS
AT LACHISH”

The City of David, located on the Ophel Hill south of the Temple Mount along the Kidron Valley, is the most ancient part of Jerusalem. Ruins of the Canaanite and Israelite periods in the Bronze and Iron Ages are found there. From this small beginning Jerusalem spread northward and westward during the time of the … Continue reading “FROM
ISRAEL
NEW EXCAVATION STARTED IN THE CITY OF DAVID”

The traditional understanding of the reason for the great flood described in Genesis 6–9 is that man was being punished for his wickedness by being obliterated from the face of the earth. Genesis 6:5–7 would seem to lead to such a conclusion: And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, … Continue reading “THE
ATRAHASIS EPIC, THE GENESIS FLOOD AND CAPITAL PUNISHMENT”

Mitchell Dahood, S.J. [Fr. Mitchell Dahood is Professor of Ugaritic and Phoenician Language and Literature, and Dean of Ancient Eastern Studies at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome.] In 1964 the Missione Archeologica Italiana in Siria under the direction of Professor Paolo Matthiae of the University of Rome began to excavate the site of Tell … Continue reading “EBLA,
UGARIT AND THE OLD TESTAMENT”

Raymond L. Cox [Raymond L. Cox, a frequent contributor to BIBLE AND SPADE, is pastor of the Salem, Oregon Foursquare Church. He has traveled extensively in Bible lands and has written over 1650 articles on biblical and archaeological subjects. In addition, he is the author of four books.] Paul and Barnabas probably encountered “perils of … Continue reading “JOURNEY
TO PISIDIA”