The Dead Sea Scrolls were preserved in remarkable condition for 2000 years in the Qumran caves overlooking the Dead Sea. It seems almost a miracle that these caves in which the Essenes stored their scrolls were very nearly the perfect environment for the preservation of the documents. Despite the capabilities of modern science, it is […]
This is the first publication of a Hebrew inscription of 87 lines, written in ink on a large stone. Its precise provenance is unknown. The text is arranged in two columns, similar to the columns in a Torah scroll, and is written in a ‘Jewish’ script of the late first century BCE resembling the script […]
With the Dome of the Rock as a backdrop, volunteers sifted through earth illegally excavated from Jerusalem’s Temple Mount while expanding an entrance to an underground mosque. Among the finds- a Hasmonean-era coin inscribed “Jonathan, High Priest, friend of the Jews.” “Sifting the Temple Mount Dump; Finds from First Temple Period to Modern Times,” BAR […]
An Idealized Jerusalem Temple Date- c. 100 BCE Current Location- Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel Language and Script- Hebrew; alphabetic The Temple Scroll General Information- The Temple Scroll is an excerpted collection of legal portions of the Pentateuch with some interpretation. It includes a description of an idealized Jerusalem Temple. In contrast to the delivery of […]
King Alexander Coin The Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus (103–76 B.C.) minted the first Jewish bilingual coinage—for a kingdom that had become bi- or multi-lingual. The obverse of one coin depicts an upside-down anchor and bears part of the Greek legend Basileos Alexandrou, “of King Alexander.” On the reverse, circling a lily, is the monarch’s Hebrew […]
Material- Bronze Denomination- Prutah Size- 6/10 inch in diameter First Bilingual Jewish Coin – Obverse This coin was minted by the Hasmonean ruler Alexander Jannaeus (103–76 BCE), son of John Hyrcanus I, who during his reign gained control of most of the territory of the ancient Davidic kingdom. Like the preceding Hasmonean coin, this one, […]
Material-Bronze Denomination- Prutah Size-1/2 inch in diameter First Jewish Coin from Jerusalem – Obverse The coin shown here is the first coin to be minted by a Jewish government in Jerusalem. Issued by John Hyrcanus I, the High Priest (the title used by the highest governing Hasmonean authority at the time), it evokes the glories […]
Sling “bullet” from the Maccabean period discovered during the archaeological excavations at Beth Zur, where Lysias battled with Judah. Pearlman, Moshe. The Maccabees. London- Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1973.
Ancient Israel From Abraham to the Roman Destruction of the Temple. Ed. Hershal Shanks. Washington, D.C.- Biblical Archaeology Society, 1999. Hasmonean Rulers of Judea, 142–37 B.C.E. Simon 142–134 John Hyrcanus 134–104 Aristobulus I 104–103 Alexander Jannaeus 103–76 Salome Alexandra 76–67 Aristobulus II 67–63 John Hyrcanus II 63–40 Mattathias Antigonus 40–37 Combining Political and Religious Power […]
In Jerusalem, some Jews responded favorably to Hellenism. This caused sharp internal conflicts I which the emperor often intervened. In 169, he seized the opportunity of “restoring order” during one such clash to enter the Temple, plunder it, and carry off its holy and precious vessels and treasures. This touched off city-wide riots, and Antiochus […]