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Roman Catacomb Painting at the Catacombs of Santa Priscilla

Apr 6 Blog

The Last Days of Jesus: A Final “Messianic” Meal

On Wednesday Jesus began to make plans for Passover. He sent two of his disciples into the city to prepare a large second-story guest room where he could gather secretly and safely with his inner group.

Mar 30 Blog

Did Jesus’ Last Supper Take Place Above the Tomb of David?

By: Marek Dospěl

Jesus’ Last Supper and the Tomb of David are traditionally associated with a building called the Cenacle in Jerusalem. Can archaeology shed light on these traditions?

Feb 1 Blog

Mark and John: A Wedding at Cana—Whose and Where?

By: James Tabor

James Tabor discusses the wedding at Cana from the Gospels of Mark and John. Whose wedding was this and why were Jesus and his family present?

Jan 14 Blog

Can A Pre-Christian Version of the Book of Revelation Be Recovered?

By: James Tabor

James Tabor suggests that in the same way the basic apocalyptic texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls have as their historical reference points the parties and politics of the mid-1st century BCE, the Ur-text of revelation is most likely composed against the backdrop of local events in Judea in the 40s and 50s CE–and has little to do with Rome and its emperors.

The fragment of the colorful bowl originating in China. Courtesy Emil Aladjem, IAA

Dec 9 Blog

Israel’s Oldest Chinese Inscription Found on Mt. Zion

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

Excavators with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and the German Protestant Institute of Archaeology made an unexpected discovery while excavating on Jerusalem’s Mt. Zion: a […]

Jul 30 Blog

Speaking in Tongues in the Bible

By: Megan Sauter

Ben Witherington III addresses what happened at Pentecost in his Biblical Views column “Speaking in the Tongues of Men or Angels?”

Jul 25 Blog

Pella: A Window on Survival

By: Mark Wilson

Eusebius recounts that the Jewish followers of Jesus heeded his warning and fled to Pella for safety before Jerusalem’s destruction.

Jul 16 Blog

Hunting for the Upper Room in Jerusalem

By: David Christian Clausen

The traditional location of the Upper Room, a site featured in the New Testament Gospels, is today placed on the southern end of Mount Zion […]

Jun 13 Blog

The Quest for the Historical Paul

By: James Tabor

What can we reliably know about Paul and how can we know it? As is the case with Jesus this is not an easy question.

Apr 11 Blog

If I Ascend to Heaven … Paul’s Journey to Paradise

By: James Tabor

The various types of the heavenly journeys we have reports about can be divided into four basic categories, based upon the fundamental purpose or outcome of the ascent as reported in a given text. Generally speaking, the first two categories are more characteristic of the Ancient Near Eastern, or archaic period, which would include most texts of the Hebrew Bible (OT). The latter two categories are more typical of the Hellenistic period, which reflects the perspective of the NT.

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The Dead Sea Scrolls: Past, Present, and Future

Biblical Peoples—The World of Ancient Israel

Who Was Jesus? Exploring the History of Jesus’ Life

Ancient Israel in Egypt and the Exodus

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