Biblical Archaeology Review, September/October 1980

Excavations at ancient Ugarit in modern Syria began in 1929. To date, thousands of cuneiform tablets have been unearthed revealing a Canaanite civilization which, in many respects, is linguistically and culturally closer to the civilization of the Old Testament than any civilization ever uncovered. Thus, these cuneiform tablets have been the subject of numerous […]

In the past many scholars have regarded Sodom and Gomorrah—and the Biblical stories in which they appear—as mere legend. Now, however, two highly respected American archaeologists are about to propose that they may have found the remains of the ancient cities.

Generations of Christian Pilgrims to the Holy land brought home traditional mementos such as pressed wild flowers from Jerusalem, olive-wood covered Bibles, and a homely little ball of dried-out twigs with miraculous properties—the Rose of Jericho (Anastatica hierochuntica). The desiccated skeletons of the small desert plant are still sold at souvenir shops in Jerusalem’s […]

The Hebrew word bat means daughter. The plural is banot.

The following interview with Professor Giovanni Pettinato was conducted by BAR Editor Hershel Shanks on May 4, 1980. Professor Pettinato was the original epigrapher of the Italian Mission to Ebla. He resigned following a bitter personal and scholarly dispute with the mission director and chief archaeologist, Paolo Matthiae. Matthiae has now appointed a 10-man […]

At a November 1979 gathering of science writers in Palo Alto, California, sponsored by the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing, Robert Biggs, Professor of Assyriology at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, is reported as having said: “In my opinion, parallels with the Bible are quite out of the question […]