Biblical World

Shlomit Bechar - Middle and Late Bronze Age Canaan

Episode: In this episode, Kyle and Chris chat with Shlomit Bechar of Haifa University about her recent book Political Change and Material Culture in Middle to Late Bronze Age Canaan (Eisenbrauns 2022). We tackle the topic of how changes in the material culture relate to political events (in particular the expulsion of the Hyksos from Egypt and Thutmose III's campaign to Canaan), the excavations at the mega-site of Hazor, the challenges in defining archaeological periods, literary archives in Hazor, and we even hear about Kyle almost finding the long-sought archive at Hazor. We also hear about Shlomit's new project excavating in the lower city of Hazor.

Guest: (from the Univ. Haifa website) Shlomit Bechar is a senior lecturer at the School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures at the University of Haifa. She is the director of the excavations in the Lower City of Tel Hazor in the Upper Galilee. Shlomit specializes in ceramic analysis to ask questions relating to social differentiation, interconnections between different cultures, trade relations, economic change and challenges, and more recently to identify methods of resilience to climate change. She combines the study of pottery and architecture with geochemical and geophysical aspects, environmental considerations, economic processes and the wider socio-political context, while leading and joining several interdisciplinary research projects. Her current projects examine the interactions between humans and environment in wetlands, focusing on the inland wetland of the Hula Lake, identify the creation of memory and narratives through archaeology, and study the daily life of people in the Middle and Late Bronze Age.

Link to Dr. Bechar's excavation in the Lower City of Hazor

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/dig/tel-hazor-lower-city/#directorsSec

 

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The Archaeology of Nazareth in the Days of Jesus - Ken Dark

Episode: Chris and Kyle chat with Ken Dark about his work in and around Nazareth, which has illuminated our understanding of early Roman-period Nazareth. Ken talks about his survey on the northern outskirts of Nazareth, his re-analysis of the Franciscan excavations at the Church of the Annunciation, and his work at the nearby Sisters of Nazareth Convent.

Guest: Prof. Ken Dark (KCL London) He’s the author of Archaeology of Jesus’ Nazareth (OUP), The Sisters of Nazareth Convent: A Roman-Period Byzantine and Crusader Site in Central Nazareth (Routledge), and Roman Period and Byzantine Nazareth and its Hinterland (Routledge), and he’s the co-author of books like Hagia Sophia in Context, The Landscape of Roman Britain, and Constantinople.

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Image Attribution: Nazareth (1657) By Jansson, Jan, 1588-1664 - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nazareth_1657.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=120977092

Tom Davis - Pauline Archaeology (and beyond)

Episode: This wide-ranging interview explores the joys, travails, and wonders of archaeology related to the history and context of the Bible. Discussion focuses on Pauline archaeology, especially on Cyprus, but also his excavations in Kazakhstan, Sudan and elsewhere.

Guest: (from the Libscomb University website) has forty years of experience as an archaeologist, working extensively in Cyprus, the Near East, Egypt, Central Asia, and the United States. He started his archaeological career as a professional archaeologist for a private company in the USA from 1991-2003. He next served (2003-2011) as Director of the Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute (CAARI) in Nicosia, Cyprus, one of the premier archaeological research centers in the Eastern Mediterranean. Before coming to Lipscomb University, Tom was a Professor of Archaeology from 2011-2020 at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth Texas. Dr. Davis currently directs the Lanier Center excavations at the early Christian site of Kourion (Cyprus). He also serves as Project Co-Director and Field Director, of the Ilyn Balik Expedition, Kazakhstan, as Project Coordinator for the Recordation Project of the West Wall of the Cour de la Cachette in the Temple of Karnak, Luxor Egypt, and as Co-director for the Nuri Pyramid Project in Sudan. Dr. Davis has lectured extensively in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Australia. He's the author of Shifting Sands: The Rise and Fall of Biblical Archaeology.

Image Attribution: On site image from https://www.lipscomb.edu/news/sculpture-young-boy-highlights-lanier-work-kourion-summer

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The Archaeology of Passion Week (pt. 3) - Kyle Keimer and Chris McKinny

Episode: This episode is the final installment in the 3-part archaeology of Passion Week discussion. Chris and Kyle take a detailed look at how archaeological finds in Jerusalem can help us better situate and understand the events of this fateful week. Chris and Kyle discuss the location of Jesus’ crucifixion and burial, the Garden Tomb, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and traditions about Jesus’ death and burial. (republished from 2021)

Hosts: Chris and Kyle

Resources: Archaeology of the Passion Week Bibliography; Archaeology of Passion Week Visuals (pt 3).

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Image by DEZALB from Pixabay

Chris McKinny and Kyle Keimer - Archaeology of Passion Week (pt 2)

Episode: This episode is part two of the three-part series on the archaeology of Passion Week. Chris and Kyle take a detailed look at how archaeological finds in Jerusalem can help us better situate and understand the events of this fateful week. They delve into the Gospel of John, the Last Supper, and Jesus’ trials. (republished from 2021)

Hosts: Chris and Kyle

Summary: Chris and Kyle discuss the following topics:
- Archaeology and the Gospel of John—the pools of Siloam and Bethesda
- The Garden of Gethsemane
- The room of the last supper
- Jesus’ Jewish and Roman trials
- Herod’s palace
- The Praetorium and Gabatha
- The Via Dolorosa.

Resources: Archaeology of the Passion Week Bibliography; Archaeology of Passion Week Visuals (pt 2).

Give: Help support OnScript’s Biblical World as we grow and develop. Click HERE.

Image by Heather Truett from Pixabay

Chris McKinny and Kyle Keimer - The Archaeology of Passion Week (Pt 1)

Episode: This episode is the first of a three-part series on the archaeology of the Passion week. Chris and Kyle take a detailed look at how archaeological finds in Jerusalem can help us better situate and understand the events of this fateful week. (This episode is republished from 2021).

Hosts: Chris McKinny and Kyle Keimer

Summary: Chris and Kyle discuss the following topics:
– Traditions about the Passion Week
– How we connect the archaeology to the texts
– Dating and timing the events of the Passion Week
– Views of Jerusalem
– Jesus in the Temple
– Pontius Pilate and Archaeology

Resources: Archaeology of the Passion Week Bibliography; Archaeology of Passion Week Visuals (pt 1).

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Image by Anna Sulencka from Pixabay

Biblical Geography - The Missing Ingredient

Episode: What happens when we ignore the physical settings of the Bible? In this episode, Biblical World co-hosts explore the significance of the land for biblical interpretation. We journey to Shechem, Nahal Besor, and the end of the Jordan River to discover the historical and theological significance of geographical locations for biblical interpreters. We also discuss some helpful resources for understanding the geography of the Bible.

Co-hosts: Chris McKinny, Amy Balogh, Kyle Keimer

Mentioned in this episode:
1. The Sacred Bridge: Carta's Atlas of the Biblical World
2. https://www.biblicalbackgrounds.com/

Give: Help support OnScript’s Biblical World HERE. Thanks to all of you who have supported us!

Photo attribution: Jordan River Aerial by W. Robert Moore - The National Geographic Magazine, Dec. 1938, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29624912

Tell Balata/Shechem - By TrickyH, Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48030017

 

Moses among the Idols - Amy Balogh

Episode: In this episode, we discuss the god Moses. Yes, you heard that right! It's there in Exod 7:1. But what does this mean? How can we make sense of the transformation of Moses from a man of "uncircumcised lips" to a god? What happens if we read this story in its ancient Near Eastern context? How is Moses also like an idol? We explore this and many other intriguing aspects of the character Moses in this episode with new Biblical World co-host Amy Balogh. This ep is cross-listed with the OnScript podcast. 

Guest: Amy L. Balogh, Ph.D., is Lead Lecturer of the Humanities for the Department of Liberal Arts at Regis University’s School for Professional Advancement. She is also founder and co-chair of the new Society of Biblical Literature program unit Comparative Method in Biblical Studies, and Assistant Editor of the forthcoming Lexham Geographic Commentary on the Historical Books (2 vols., Lexham Press). In December 2022, Balogh also became the founding president of the newly formed Religion & Bible Society of the Rocky Mountain Great Plains Region, a 501(c)3 professional organization dedicated to the academic study of the Bible and religion. She's the author of Moses among the Idols: Mediators of the Divine in the Ancient Near East (Lexington Books, 2018). Her forthcoming book uses comparison and myth theory to examine the tension between humankind and nature as expressed in the Hebrew Bible and other ancient Near Eastern literatures. She now joins as a new co-host on the Biblical World podcast!

Hosts: Matt Lynch and Chris McKinny

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The Egyptian Plagues – Real-World Calamities on the Nile (Egypt Series)

Episode: In this episode of the Egypt and the Bible series, Chris and Mark discuss the Egyptian background and context of the ten plagues from the Book of Exodus, including the details of real-world calamities.

Hosts: Chris and Mark    See Mark's edited book, Five Views on the Exodus (Zondervan, 2021).

 

Egypt Series: Check out our other episodes in the Egypt series:

• Visits of the patriarchs to Egypt
• Egyptian influence and the early chapters of Exodus
• Early and late date of the exodus
• Parts one, two, three, four, and five of the Five Views on the Exodus series.

Give: Help support OnScript’s Biblical World HERE. Thanks to all of you who have supported us!

Elephantine - Collin Cornell

Episode: Elephantine continues to fascinate scholars of Second Temple Judaism, in part, because it shows that there wasn't just one Jewish temple after the return from exile. In this episode, which is part of longer episode to be released later on OnScript, Collin Cornell discusses this fascinating site and its significance for understanding early Judaism. This is part 1 of a longer interview that will release later on OnScript. 

Guest: Collin Cornell is Office of the Provost-Candler School of Theology Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow at Candler School of Theology (at Emory University). Before returning to Emory, he taught for three years as a visiting assistant professor of biblical studies in the School of Theology at the University of the South (Sewanee). For one year he managed Sewanee’s Center for Religion and Environment, coordinated Sewanee’s Indigenous Engagement initiative, taught Old Testament for Duke Divinity School’s hybrid MDiv program, and served as academic dean of the Stevenson School for Ministry, a local formation project of the Episcopal Church. Collin is author of one book, Divine Aggression in Psalms and Inscriptions (Cambridge University Press, 2020), editor of two, Divine Doppelgängers: YHWH's Ancient Look-Alikes (Penn State University Press, 2020) and The Incomparable God: Readings in Biblical Theology (Eerdmans, 2023), and co-translator of a third, Biblical ABCs: The Basics of Christian Resistance (Lexington Books, 2021). He is currently working on a book entitled, Monotheism and Divine Aggression, for Cambridge University Press. He is also working on The Lords that Never Were: Early Judaism and the Gods of the Hellenistic Levant. He has also written several articles on Elephantine. (adapted from the Candler School of Theology Website)

Image Attribution: "Aswan, Elephantine, west bank, Egypt, Oct 2004." CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=181182

Host: Matt Lynch

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