Home » Archives for May 2008
Archive for May, 2008
Nahman Avigad participated in the excavation of the synagogue of Beth Alpha begun in 1929 and in the excavation of the Hammat-Gader synagogue begun in 1932, both under the general direction of the late E. L. Sukenik. In 1953 Avigad assumed direction of the excavations of the necropolis of Beth Shearim, the famous site where […]
Dan, 921 B.C., 5 a.m.- King Jeroboam I of Israel sits on a stone bench in the entranceway to the walled city of Dan and watches Israelite laborers and slaves construct an altar for the golden calf. A stonecutter, wearing a sheepskin loin cloth, swings his stone hammer, putting the final touches on a basalt […]
Bible translations are nothing new. As early as the sixth century B.C. Babylonian Jews may have listened to translations (targums) of the Hebrew Torah into Aramaic. While Ezra read the Torah to the returned exiles in Jerusalem, the Levites “read from the law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people […]
Bible and Beyond Generations of Christian Pilgrims to the Holy land brought home traditional mementos such as pressed wild flowers from Jerusalem, olive-wood covered Bibles, and a homely little ball of dried-out twigs with miraculous properties—the Rose of Jericho (Anastatica hierochuntica). The desiccated skeletons of the small desert plant are still sold at souvenir shops […]
This is almost as much a personal story of luck and adventure as it is an archaeological story. It tells of my first dig—my own dig, that is—after graduating with a B.A. in archaeology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. My story will perhaps explain why, despite the scientific advances and the careful, methodical techniques […]
May 8, 1954 “Israel is an artificial state which must disappear.” March 3, 1955 “We were not defeated in Palestine in 1948, for the Egyptian army did not fight in 1948.” (I.L., II/667). Source- Y. Harkabi, Arab Attitudes To Israel, Trans. By Misha Louvish, New York- Hart Pub. Co., 1972, p. 374. October 14, 1955 […]
At Christmas time the thoughts of Christians all over the world naturally turn to the land where Christ was born and taught and died. The story of Bethlehem is perhaps the most beautiful story ever told, as the picture of the worshipping shepherds is perhaps the most familiar of pictures. At Christmas time Palestine is […]
What archaeologists find is important. But what they don’t find can be just as important—such as their failure to find coins anywhere in the world before the end of the 7th century B.C. In the Holy Land, coins are not found until about 100 years later. This total absence of coins—despite extensive excavations—is an important […]
2-55 P.M. (Local) THE PRESIDENT- President Peres and Mr. Prime Minister, Madam Speaker, thank very much for hosting this special session. President Beinish, Leader of the Opposition Netanyahu, Ministers, members of the Knesset, distinguished guests- Shalom. Laura and I are thrilled to be back in Israel. We have been deeply moved by the celebrations of […]
REDIRECT The Lebanon War and the Intifadas, 1974-2008