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Masada: A Memory from the Great Revolt
Ten pieces of pottery, each bearing the name of a person, were found in the ruins of Masada. These pieces were believed (by Prof. Yigael Yadin, who excavated the site in the early 1960’s) to be the lots cast by the last defenders of the place. These pieces, soon to be...
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Masada: Dealing with the Judean Rebels
The emperor Nero sent three legions—the Fifth, Tenth, and Fifteenth—under the command of General Vespasian to Judea in the spring of 67 CE. By the end of that year, Vespasian has reduced the Galilee and the Golan. He returned the following spring and campaigned in...
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Who Were the Israelite Kings that Hazael Killed?
Biblical inscriptions are rare indeed. Complete texts are almost non-existent. We are not surprised to find that the House of David inscription, pieces of which were found in excavations of the Biblical city of Dan in the 1990′s by Prof. Avraham Biran, of the Hebrew...
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Finding Bible Texts at Masada
Finding Bible Texts Stored in the Synagogue Every archaeologist wants to find written materials but not all of them succeed. Professor Yigael Yadin, leading his crew excavating the ruins of Herod’s fortress of Masada in the early 1960′s, was one of the lucky ones who...
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The Book Of War (11Q14)
The Book of War is one manuscript in the collection known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, a library of about five hundred documents first discovered in 1947-1948, along the shores of the Dead Sea, mostly near the ancient settlement of Qumran. Most scholars believe the...
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Isaiah’s Message Was A Problem (4Q57)
Part II -The Isaiah Scroll The Prophet who wrote chapters 1-39 of the book of Isaiah was a Jew living in Jerusalem during troubled times. This was a period (735-732...
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Genesis: What Kind of World Is This Anyhow?
The writers of the book of Genesis were obviously aware of the literature and poetry of their day. Some of the tales and legends were Egyptian, but most of the literature that has survived was Assyrian, from the Fertile Crescent of the Tigris-Euphrates valley. There...
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Who was Mesha, and How Does He Fit Into Our Story? The Temple Warning Inscription
The man who discovered the Temple Mount Inscription, Charles Clermont-Ganneau, is our link to the story. He was in Jerusalem in 1868, serving as dragoman — translator and interpreter — for the French Consulate, when a startling discovery was reported from...
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