Scholars over the past 200 years have intensely debated the question of why the authorities–whether Jewish or Roman, moved at Passover in 30 CE to have Jesus brutally executed. The traditional theological answer, of course, is that he gave his life as an atonement for the sins of the world–John…
Don’t miss this one…yes, that is really ME… In December 1991 through January 1992 I participated in the very first extensive archaeological survey of caves at the Dead Sea–from Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, all the way to En Gedi. In this rare archive footage you see…
This wonderful interview with Robert Eisenman, famous Dead Sea Scrolls scholar whose views are out of the mainstream, captures the man, his life, and his ideas. He is relaxed, reminisces, and lays out his basic theory about Christian Origins, Paul, James, and Jesus. Don’t miss this one! Check out his…
I have recently formed a “Research Community” for anyone interested in my academic work. I post several things a week related to my own research and my field in general, whether breaking news, book recommendations, videos, and articles, as well as sharing and discussing inside material even before it is…
Our earliest gospel of Mark implies that Jesus left the Galilee and headed for Jerusalem for Passover in the Spring a few weeks before his death. Based on additional textual sources and geographical references it appears he traveled to the Mt Herman area in the far north, then spent his…
I am most honored and pleased to be invited by the Biblical Archaeology Society to be the host, teacher, and tour guide on their first ever eastern Mediterranean Cruise! The theme of our tour is “The Seafaring Paul in His Jewish Roman World.” This is not a typical “cities of…
https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-israel/rethinking-the-pool-of-siloam This article speaks for itself but if Szanton is correct we have all been wrong now for several years. Notably, the excavations of the huge pool with the steps have not turned up what everyone expected. I have taken groups there for years, but in 1962 on my first…
In this video I relate the remarkable discovery in 2000 of a Cave west of Jerusalem, at Suba, that has what might be the earliest art work related to the John the Baptist-Jesus movement–right outside John’s village of Ein Kerem. What we found in our excavations (2000-2006) shed some remarkable…
I am using the term “Luke” here advisedly, for the author of the two-volume New Testament work of Luke-Acts. See “Who Wrote the Gospel of Luke?” by Mikel C. Parsons for who the author might have been and what might be said for the tradition view of a companion of…
We are living in the last days, on this LAST GREAT day of Gregorian Year 2023! We had a really wonderful ZOOM meeting yesterday with a mixture of students from both my on-line courses–Mark as well “Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls.” The meeting was recorded and will become part…