Sermons and Biblical Studies

F. F. Bruce [F. F. Bruce, D.D., F.B.A., is Rylands professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis at the University of Manchester, England, and is the author of many articles and books on biblical and archaeological subjects.] Paul in Athens Luke’s vivid account of Paul’s stay in Athens (Acts 17:16–34), for all the accuracy of its … Continue reading “PAUL
AND THE ATHENIANS”

Sylvia Mann [Mrs Mann is a freelance journalist and writer specializing in archaeological and historical subjects. Her books include Atarei Yerushalayim, Tour Jerusalem, and Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria.] Most people know little about today’s Samaritans. Many believe that the name refers to an ancient, biblical race of which no vestige survives. They are often surprised to … Continue reading “THE
SAMARITANS — A LIVING LINK WITH THE PAST
PART I”

William H. Shea [William Shea is professor of Old Testament at Andrews University.] Since the recovery and publication of texts from the Ancient Near East is a continuing endeavor, the materials already published need to be reexamined from time to time in the light of more recent information. The case in point for reexamination here … Continue reading “ADAM
IN ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIAN TRADITIONS”

When Israeli troops occupied the West Bank of the Jordan in 1967, Israel’s leading archaeologist, Yigael Yadin, was able to fulfill a dream. (For a summary of Yadin’s work, see “A Jewish Archaeologist’s Finest Hours,” in the Winter 1975 issue of Bible and Spade.) Pulling strings with Premier Levi Eshkol, he got the army to … Continue reading “FROM
ISRAEL
TEMPLE SCROLL SOON TO BE PUBLISHED”

Allan A. MacRae [Dr. MacRae is president of Biblical School of Theology, Hatfield, Pennsylvania.] The late Professor James R. Montgomery of the University of Pennsylvania said on several occasions that the translators of the King James Version were so thoroughly trained in biblical languages that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to find an … Continue reading “WITH
THE RICH IN HIS DEATH”

J. Massyngberde Ford [Dr. Massyngberde is Bernard Hanley Professor in the department of religious studies at the University of Santa Clara, California.] Scholars have always been excercised about the sentence of crucifixion on Jesus and the part which the first century Jews played in this. Most nave argued that this was a Roman punishment and … Continue reading ““CRUCIFY
HIM, CRUCIFY HIM” AND THE TEMPLE SCROLL”

Dale S. DeWitt The genealogical tables or other records in the book of Genesis which are either introduced or concluded with “These are the generations…” (or similar words) have provided material for many studies. Professor DeWitt, of the Department of Bible in Grace Bible College, Grand Rapids, Michigan, takes a fresh look at them in … Continue reading “THE
GENERATIONS OF GENESIS”

In our Summer 1974 issue we published the first definitive report on one of the most significant finds of recent years—the discovery of five sites southeast of the Dead Sea which appear to be the Cities of the Plain mentioned in Genesis chapters 13, 14, and 19. The most famous of these five cities were … Continue reading “SODOM
AND GOMORRAH UPDATE”

Two fragments of a clay tablet with 80 Hebrew letters inscribed on them may be the most ancient specimen of Hebrew script yet found. Any type of written record from ancient Israel is an important discovery because written materials are so rarely found. This is due to the fact that most writing was apparently done … Continue reading “FROM
ISRAEL
OLDEST HEBREW WRITING FOUND”

One of the significant contributions of archeology has been that, through the discovery of ancient documents from Bible lands, we have a better understanding of the original Hebrew and Greek languages of the Old and New Testaments. One scholar, John MacDonald from the University of Glasgow, recently published a study on the Hebrew word naar, … Continue reading “THE
“NAAR” IN ISRAELITE SOCIETY”