Biblical Archaeology Review, Summer 2024

Features
Traces of wall paintings in the Byzantine-period village of Shivta in the Negev have been recently identified as images of Jesus. They portray Jesus’s baptism, painted in the North Church’s baptistery, and the Transfiguration, in the South Church. These rare compositions elucidate the development of early Christian iconography and cultural life in this remote region.
Despite Moab’s proximity to Israel and Judah and its prominence in the biblical account, we still know little about this ancient kingdom east of the Jordan. A more fulsome picture is coming to light thanks to excavations at the site of Khirbet Balu‘a, one of the largest Moabite sites ever discovered. Journey into the heart of Moab to see what archaeology has revealed about this ancient city and its connections to the biblical past.
Did Solomon fortify the royal city of Gezer as the Hebrew Bible claims (1 Kings 9)? Explore new archaeological evidence that confirms he did. Monumental architecture now securely dated to the mid-tenth century BCE testifies that Gezer was a fortified administrative center already during the time of King Solomon, when the rising power of Judah was expanding westward into the Shephelah.
In the wake of the Late Bronze Age collapse, change swept over the eastern Mediterranean world. In the southern Levant, the once-formidable Canaanite city-states yielded to the rise of new kingdoms, including biblical Israel. Explore this historic transformation and the ways in which various peoples adapted to the shifting realities of a changed world.