1383-1384 Prof. Clyde Billington – ARTIFAX News Digest

ARTIFAX magazine cover

In these two programs we review the news digests of the latest issue of ARTIFAX magazine for Biblical Archaeology items that we haven’t yet reported on the Book & The Spade. Items include an update on reconstruction plans for Herod’s Tomb, archaeological developments at Shiloh-the site of the Tabernacle, restoration of Avdat, and Negev farming. In the second program we discussed new archaeology at Carchemish, the discovery of a “Gate of Hell” in Turkey, and a computer analysis that provides a solution to the question, “Who Wrote the Book of Hebrews.”

1380-82 Steve Mason – Josephus

Josephus

Steve Mason, a professor of history at York University in Toronto, gave us some insights into the ancient historian Josephus, in this August, 2000 interview.

Josephus was a prolific writer and his writings offer many insights into the world of first century Judaism. In this 3-part conversation, some new insights into Josephus.

1379 Michael Cosby – The Search for Barnabas

Barnabas

Messiah College New Testament professor Michael Cosby was intrigued by the lack of information on the apostle Barnabas, outside of the New Testament. So he set off to Cyprus to find out what else he could discover about one of the top leaders of the early church. And what he found out was that there was much additional early evidence. But there are some later traditions, which have their own issues.

1378 Seymour Gitin – Inside the Albright Institute

Prof. Seymour Gitin at the Albright Institute, 1085.

This is a re-broadcast of a 1985 program, following our first Book & The Spade tour. We visited the Albright Institute in East Jerusalem and Albright Director Seymour Gitin took us to the basement storage rooms and gave us a brief history of Biblical Archaeology.

This is one of the most memorable programs in our 30-year history.

1377 Paul Kulp – History of the Bible

Biblical scroll

My InterVarsity colleague Paul Kulp recently shared a quick timeline for how we got the Bible. Here’s the edited version of that talk.

1376 Alan Millard – The History of Writing

Prof. Alan Millard

A few weeks ago we featured the first half of our 1988 interview with biblical scholar and Assyriologist Alan Millard. This week we have the second half of that interview, on the history of writing, which is closely tied to biblical peoples and the biblical world.

1375 Matt Waters – Cyrus & his Cylinder

Cyrus Cylinder

With the Cyrus Cylinder now on display at the Sackler Gallery in Washington DC, and after that in four other major U.S. cities, we pulled out our interview on Cyrus the Great with Matt Waters. Matt Waters is a professor of classics and ancient history at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

Cyrus, what an incredible historical leader, with approbations from biblical writers as well as historians. Here’s more background information.

The Cyrus Cylinder: Program #1375 || British Museum || Sackler Galley || Translation || ABC News || Ted Talk

1374 Bela Sandor – Pharaoh’s Chariot

Prof. Bela Sandor describes the technical marvels that made up the Tut class of ancient Egyptian chariots.

The recent PBS NOVA special on Building Pharaoh’s Chariot featured University of Wisconsin professor emeritus Bela Sandor. So we contacted prof. Sandor, invited him to the local archaeology society, and talked with him about ancient chariots.

It turns out ancient Egyptian technology in this area was hard to reproduce because it was so advanced. A new perspective on the biblical stories of the Pharaoh that chased Moses into the Red (or Reed) Sea, Solomon’s chariot cities, and the Ethiopian eunuch.

Give a listen and see what you think.

1372-1373 Paul Maier – Herod the Great, How Great?

Herod the Great

Herod the Great is the subject of one of the largest exhibitions ever mounted by the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. This video from CBN News gives somewhat of a sampling of what a visitor would see. We wanted to find out more about this brutal tyrant (according to New Testament accounts) so we called up Paul Maier. Prof. Maier is a professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University, and thoroughly familiar with Herod after re-translating the largest source of information about Herod, the ancient historian Josephus Flavius.

1371 Dan Schowalter – Echo at Omrit

Professor Daniel Schowalter, Carthage College, describing Omrit

Intriguingly, the gospels do not say that Jesus and His disciples went to Caesarea Philippi, but rather the region of Caesarea Philippi. So this Herodian temple being excavated by Carthage College professor Dan Schowalter and his colleagues, just three miles from modern Banias (Caesarea Philippi), is just close enough to squeeze into that story. What has been found at Omrit is quite interesting, including an inscription which mentions the nymph Echo.

Professor Schowalter returns to The Book & The Spade to bring us up-to-date on the latest developments, on this excavation which just gets more and more interesting.