CURRENT ISSUE
Table of Contents • Biblical Archaeology Review • May / June 2009
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ON THE COVER: A strikingly human-shaped formation known as Lot’s Wife looks out over the southern end of the Dead Sea from Mt. Sedom. This cover won our online cover contest by the narrow margin of 83 votes. In “How Lot’s Wife Became a Pillar of Salt”, geologist Amos Frumkin investigates the origins of this salt pillar and the Biblical story that linked it with Lot’s disobedient wife.
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Features
By Boaz Zissu
In 1913 French archaeologist Raymond Weill uncovered the remains of a circular tower in the southern part of the City of David. Could it be the “tower of Siloam” Jesus mentions in Luke 13? Boaz Zissu argues that it was a columbarium, or dovecote, and that pigeon raising was big business in first-century Jerusalem.
By Amos Frumkin
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How do we explain the towering pillar of salt at the southern end of the Dead Sea? How did it become associated with Lot’s wife? This geological monument first appeared about 2000 B.C.E., at almost the same time the Bible seems to date the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah: It was Lot’s wife, turned into a pillar of salt because she looked back on the destruction.
Searching for Sodom and Gomorrah
By Robert Deutsch
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Some professional associations of archaeologists have policies refusing to look at or publish unprovenanced artifacts in the misguided hope that this will deter looting of ancient sites. BAR does not have such a policy, which thus enables us to bring you this story about how a find from the antiquities market illuminated a decades-old excavation puzzle.
The Valuable Contributions of “Worthless” Artifacts
By Raymond Westbrook
Jacob immorally takes advantage of the law; then he gets a taste of his own medicine. By deception, he takes advantage of the law to supplant his firstborn brother, Esau. Then, by deception, he is taken advantage of when he is tricked into recognizing the rights of Laban’s firstborn daughter, Leah. As a shepherd working for his uncle Laban, Jacob operates under traditional shepherd’s contracts well documented in Mesopotamian texts. His story illustrates that law and morality are not the same.
Departments
Free articles are marked with this star.
By Hershel Shanks
Why BAR Publishes Article by Author Indicted for Forgery
A Nursing Love Goddess
To Eat, Be At the Kill
From Tiara to Trowel
The Writing on the Wall
By Ben Witherington III
Carbon 14—The Solution to Dating David and Solomon?
By Lily Singer-Avitz
Flora and Fauna of Mt. Sedom
The Biblical World: An Illustrated Atlas by Jean-Pierre Isbouts
Biblica: The Bible Atlas by Barry J. Beitzel
Aerial Atlas of the Holy Land by John Bowker
The IVP Atlas of Bible History by Paul Lawrence
Tillya Tepe, Afghanistan
Double Issue Coming
Your next issue of BAR will be our special double 200th issue—coming by mid-August.
New Study Supports Authenticity of Yehoash Inscription
Scientific testing confirms ancient patina.
Accused BAR Editor Replies
What was Shanks’s “pivotal role” in the forgery scheme?
Tov and Mazar Receive Israel’s Highest Honor
Distinguished Bible scholar and archaeologist are awarded the Israel Prize.
A Face Only Rocky Could Love
Boxer figurine surfaces in Jerusalem dig.
In History
Leonard J. Greenspoon
Shave and a Haircut
How Many?
What Is It?
In Their Own Words
Rebecca Moore and Risa Levitt Kohn
Special Collections
Ancient Jewelry
A Temple Singer
The Psalms of King David
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