This report from Israel introduces viewers to the basics on what we know and hope to soon learn about the skeletal remains of those Jewish men, women, and children who died at Masada under the Roman 10th Legion siege around Passover 73 CE. For the blog post I feature see:…
As many of you know I formed a “Tabor Research Community” in 2023 using Patreon…but my approach is different from most. Everyone who joins, at any level, gets the same materials–as I realize people have widely differing financial means, and I am not interested in “selling” my work to those…
In this video I examine two texts from Paul’s early letters (1 Thessalonians and 1 Corinthians), that many scholars think are interpolations. Paul says harsh things about Jews experiencing soon the Wrath of God, , and demands that women be SILENT in the assembly and even if they have a…
This is a video recording of a LIVE video lecture on Zoom I did with my students today in my “Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls” class. This is deep and complex stuff, but utterly fascinating as you get into it. I Many of you are in the course, but…
Today is the biblical Shavuot as observed in late 2nd Temple times–not on a date of the Jewish month (Sivan 5th), which never changes, but a literal counting of days from the Sunday (“morrow after the Sabbath”), seven Sabbath will be complete untiil the “morrow” (Sunday) after the 7th Sabbath.…
The traditional translation of “Den of Thieves” is misleading both in the mouth of Jesus in the Jerusalem Temple–but more significant,–in the mouth of the Prophet Jeremiah whom Jesus quotes. Here is the back-story on what was really going on, both in the time of Jeremiah and of Jesus. Here…
I don’t know how many of you have heard this verse quoted over the years growing up but the ideas behind it, spread to the world by the apostle Paul–have done untold harm, and led to the anguish and suffering of so many millions. A Single verse of the Bible–Jeremiah…
This is a long and serious study based on a lecture I recently gave to my students in the “Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls” course–which is still open to join. We went through a much neglected text–the WAR SCROLL–found in 1947 and seldom mentioned. As it turns out it…
In this recent lecture I explore a single chapter of the Hebrew Bible, within its wider contexts, in which I argue the fundamentals of “Abrahamic Faith,” are ideally set forth. https://youtu.be/iC0GchVMGZE
This film was produced in the UK and only shown once–as there was fear that Christians would watch it and conclude that the Rabbi had won the debate. The visual quality is poor–but please go ahead and watch it. You will be hooked by the story by 10-15 minutes in.…