In 2013 I had the pleasure of studying archaeology under Dr. Chaya Katz of the Open U, and do archaeological studies in actual sites under Dr. Amit Dagan of the Bar-Illan U. One of the sites we studied was Khirbet Qeiyafa near the the Elah Valley. On the site Dr. Yoseph Garfinkel has discovered portable temples made of clay which might represent temples which were common in Israel. If this is true, we might be looking at a prototype temple which was used as the model for the Temple of Solomon.
Biblical History
11
Jul
New findings from Timn’a have shown a plant-based dye for blue and red. This discovery sheds more light on the substances used for the dying process in the land of Israel.
18
Jun
Several months ago I had the delight of writing a paper on the usage of Hebrew among Christians. The paper itself was a summary of a detailed study we did on the Christian will to be exposed to the tanakh and other Jewish sources in their original language. My thanks go out to Dr. Adi Portuguez for instructing me in the subject. The following is a translation of the paper, with some additional sections.
28
May
Very rarely do we find direct references to characters who appear in the bible in extra biblical material. However, some very prominent characters do have a reference in the inscriptions of the Assyrian and Babylonian kingdoms. These references are usually in relation to war or taxes. The Assyrians specifically mention one great king of Israel, Ahab, son of Omri, who belonged to one of the longer reigning families (however, very short in comparison) of the North.
30
Apr
One of the problems facing historians is the transition from one era of history to another. The seam between points in time creates in some cases hybrid points which become a point of contention between historians over the definition of things.
30
Mar
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Sit in on our group Bible Class as Yoel teaches on the ancient calendars of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece and Israel, including the Qumran calendar and the Hillel II calendar.
19
Mar
As in many cases, the stories we get in the Tanakh were chosen to reflect important or selected items for future generations. We can learn something from each story, and even though they are accounts of something from the past, one can find ideas which will fit our times.
17
Dec
A question is raised on the following verse:
אֱלֹהֵי אַבְרָהָם וֵאלֹהֵי נָחוֹר, יִשְׁפְּטוּ בֵינֵינוּ–אֱלֹהֵי, אֲבִיהֶם; וַיִּשָּׁבַע יַעֲקֹב, בְּפַחַד אָבִיו יִצְחָק
“May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob took an oath in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac. Gen 31:53
13
Dec
Probably one of the more misunderstood Hebrew verbs is להשתחוות. This verb has been translated as “to worship”, which has spun many ideas which are not true. The verb’s root is debated, varying from שחה to חוה. The main issue is the context this verb appears in. It is true that as a general idea the verb can be used as “to worship”, however it actually means “to bow down”. Cases where the verb would mean “to worship” are only if it is used as a lone verb of worshiping, and when it is directed to God. Any other case only means “to bow down”.
2
Nov
While preparing for my weekly Tanakh class, I came across a word which had an interesting memory for me. The word is סלת-Solet, and is associated mostly with Temple service. In modern Hebrew Solet usually means Semolina, however in the past it probably had a different meaning. As I have demonstrated in the past, words can change meaning as time progresses.
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