Biblical Archaeology Review - Bible History to Life

CURRENT ISSUE

Table of Contents • Biblical Archaeology Review
July / August 2010

ON THE COVER: Fire and ash spew from Mt. Vesuvius with almost wrathful force in this 19th-century painting by an unknown artist. In “The Destruction of Pompeii: God’s Revenge?” Hershel Shanks asks whether the ancients drew a link between the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple and the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.

Free articles are marked with this star.

Want to read this
entire issue of BAR now?

Buy the current issue of BAR in the BAS Library
Premier Members of the BAS Library: LOGIN

Buy this issue of BAR in print

Current Issue Online

Letter from the BAR Managing Editor

Free articles are marked with this star.

BAR Notables

Current Issue Features

The Destruction of Pompeii—God’s Revenge?

By Hershel Shanks

Free articles are marked with this star.

The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius destroyed the opulent vacation destinations of Roman elites in August 79 C.E.—almost exactly nine years after Roman troops destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem. Did this seem like more than mere coincidence to the ancients?

Jezreel—Where Jezebel Was Thrown to the Dogs

By David Ussishkin

The Phoenician princess Jezebel is one of the most reviled characters in the Bible. She was ultimately thrown from her window at Jezreel, where she was trampled by horses and devoured by dogs. Excavations have revealed an 11-acre rectangular enclosure at Jezreel that may have served as Ahab’s cavalry headquarters and had a palace for the royal couple, where Jezebel met her death.

The Nash Papyrus—Preview of Coming Attractions

By Marvin A. Sweeney

When the first Dead Sea Scrolls were shown to John Trever in early 1948, the strange Hebrew writing reminded him of the Nash Papyrus, a small fragment that had been discovered in Egypt at the turn of the century. But what is this text that played such a critical role in the early study of the Dead Sea Scrolls?

From Vespa to Ashkelon: BAR Interviews Lawrence Stager

To continue the celebration of our 35th anniversary, editor Hershel Shanks sat down with Harvard professor Larry Stager, 20-year director of the Leon Levy Expedition to Ashkelon, to discuss everything from interpreting pig bones to understanding the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah.