Assyria's Wrath

Click here (BritishMuseum) to view some of the stark and terrifying stone reliefs depicting the siege and destruction of a major Judahite (southern Israelite) city. These artifacts were excavated from the palace of the mighty Assyrian King Sennacherib (705-681BCE). These calamities are also remembered by the Bible (2 Kings 18-19 and Isaiah 36-37)...

What messages do you think that these reliefs were intended to convey to visitors at the Assyrian palace?

Genesis Death Sandwich

Click here (Discovery) to read about the recent discovery of a literary lurking within the book of Genesis, using computer analysis programs... amazing stuff!

A Prophet's Hometown

Click here (VisualBibleAlive) to view some pics of Tekoa, where Amos got his start [this is also an excellent web site overall for pictures of the Holy Land]...

What are your observations/thoughts about the lay of the land?

The Pope's Prophets

Click here (italian-renaissance-art.com) to view Michelangelo's prophetic masterpieces encircling the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, including both Biblical prophets and Classical oracles...

What are your observations about and/or reactions to the images? to their pictorial settings? to their stylistic features? 

King David's Palace?

Click here (BAS) to read about exciting but controversial archaeological discoveries in Jerusalem, which may (or may not) corroborate some Biblical accounts involving the early Davidic dynasty...

Your thoughts?

David's Contentious City

Click here (CBS) to view a semi-recent 60 Minutes report on the Biblical City of David, and its volatile centrality to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict...

Are ancient scriptural traditions destined to dictate modern secular realities? Can such passionate competing claims ever be resolved peacefully?

Jericho as Cartoon

Click here (YouTube) for a notably lighter take on sacral-ritual warfare...

How do such cartoons promote scriptural education, especially among the young? How might they 'complicate' matters, with respect to the actual contents and tones of the Biblical texts themselves? 

Jericho as Enigma

Click here (NetTours) to learn more about the ambiguous and highly debated archaeology involving the ancient site of Jericho.

Click here (BiblePlaces) for some nice pics/links on the site (n.b.--this is a generally good and informative web site for Levantine Archaeology)...

If the Biblical story is not (entirely) historical, what reasons/motives do you think the author(s) might have had for writing it as they did?

Donkey 1 : Baalam 0

Click here (YouTube) for a humorous (yet generally accurate) take on the foreign prophet Balaam in Numbers 22-24... Enjoy!

Abraham's Resting Place

Click here (bibleplaces.com) for a brief pictorial overview of the Tomb of the Patriarchs located in the southern town of Hebron, a highly sacred (and highly contested) site between both Jews and Muslims (who call the town Khalil, 'friend', in honor of Abraham's/Ibrahim's close relationship with God)...

Do you think that holy sites held in common by Judaism, Islam, and Christianity have the potential to unite peoples of different faiths, or will they forever be flash-points of dispute?

Unearthing the Bible

Sir Flinders Petrie (1853-1942), one of the chief founders of modern Near Eastern archaeology

Click here (YouTube) for a reputable introduction to the study of Biblical texts within the context of other Ancient Near Eastern artifacts...

Do you think that the Bible should 'interpret' archaeology? Vice-versa? Can texts and artifacts speak to each other?

Troublesome Oxen

Click here (PBS) to learn about an ancient Mesopotamian parallel to a famous Biblical law in the Book of Exodus...

What kinds of economic values and social priorities are suggested for the ancient Israelites by the Biblical example? What do the varying compensation rates suggest?

Crossing Paths

Click here (YouTube) to get a glimpse at how some underwater archaeologists are striving to correlate the Biblical texts of the Exodus (14-15) with supposed material artifacts in the Red Sea...

As with the search for Noah's ark, the guiding framework here seems to be historical/material = Real. What are your thoughts about such efforts, and about such interpretations of the Bible?

Mapping the Exodus

Click at the links below to view various attempted reconstructions of the Biblical journey out of Egypt...

What similarities and/or differences do you notice regarding the route(s) proposed? To what extent are the Biblical texts dictating these maps, versus other data?

16th Century map

17th Century map

18th Century map

19th Century map
21st Century map

Searching for Sinai

The precise location of Mount Sinai (aka, Horeb) in the Exodus stories remains disputed by historians. But Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions have long associated it with this site...

Do you think they're accurate? Does it ultimately matter for the Biblical narratives? Why/why not?