Current Events Articles: August 2016

Secret Hittite Tunnel Discovered posted by Bryan Windle

Archaeologists excavating the ancient Hittite capital city of Alacahöyük, in western Turkey, have unearthed a 2300-year-old secret tunnel. The team was excavating a sanctuary that had been previously discovered in 2014, when they uncovered the tunnel, also known as a potern. So far, 23 meters of the tunnel have been dug and cleaned, but excavators believe it is longer still. These secret tunnels were often dug beneath the castle, and extended into the city. Because this potern is located under a sanctuary, the archaeological team believes it may have had a sacred purpose. 
 
Off-site Link:
- http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/.aspx?pageID=238&nid=103034&NewsCatID=375

Stone Vessel Factory Excavated Near Nazareth posted by Bryan Windle

Recent excavations in a cave near Nazareth have uncovered a 2000-year-old quarry where stone vessels were produced. The cave, hewn of chalkstone, revealed numerous stone vessels in various stages of production, and has lead archaeologists to conclude that there was a healthy market for such items in that geographical region. In the first century, Jews in Galilee used pots and storage jars made of stone, as they did not become ritually impure.  In John 2:6, the gospel writer describes Jesus turning the water into wine in stone jars during the wedding at Cana.  Interestingly, the stone quarry cave is located in the same general vicinity as biblical Cana likely was, suggesting the possibility that the stone jars described in the gospel may have come from the nearby stone vessel factory being excavated today. At the very least, the discovery confirms the use of stone jars in first-century Galilee, just as the Bible describes.
 
Off-site Link:
- http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/216697

First-Century Synagogue Unearthed in Galilee posted by Bryan Windle

A synagogue, predating the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD, has been discovered at Tel Rechesh in Galilee. The synagogue was unearthed at the site of an ancient Jewish farm. The estate was identified as Jewish by the ritual stone jars that were found and the lack of pig bones. The synagogue itself measures 26 feet by 29.5 feet and its walls are lined with the remains of limestone benches. Excavators also found one of the pillars which would have supported the synagogue's roof. This discovery marks the eighth synagogue found in Israel which predates 70 AD, but the first found in a rural rather than an urban setting. The Bible says that "Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people" (Mt. 4:23).

Off-site Links:
- http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4841308,00.html
- http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.736752
- http://www.jns.org/news-briefs/2016/8/15/second-temple-era-synagogue-unearthed-in-northern-israel

Biblical Manuscripts From Greek Library Digitized posted by Bryan Windle

The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM) has announced the completion of their project to digitize all of the New Testament manuscripts from the National Library of Greece (NLG). The collection at the NLG is one of the largest in the world, and will now be available online for scholars to study in detail. Over 150,000 pages from more than 300 manuscripts were digitized, including 21 manuscripts that were previously unknown to the Institute for New Testament Textual Research (INTF) in Muenster, Germany. According to the CSNTM, these manuscripts will be freely available to all and "will increase our fund of knowledge about the transmission of the NT text and add some important 'discoveries' especially of manuscripts with patristic commentary."

Off-site Links:
- http://csntm.org/Blog/Archive/2016/8/3/MissionAccomplished
- http://csntm.org/Manuscript

Egyptian Statue Discovered at Hazor posted by Bryan Windle

Part of an Egyptian statue was recently uncovered at Tel-Hazor. The lower part of the limestone statue depicts a foot on a square base with a few lines of Egyptian hieroglyphics inscribed on it. It is estimated that the complete statue was that of a life-sized man. This is not the first Egyptian statue to be discovered in Hazor; three years ago, a fragment of a sphinx was discovered in the same building. In fact, over the past 30 years, 18 different Egyptian statues have been discovered in excavations at Tel-Hazor. It seems that all of the statues were already "antiques" at the time they arrived in Israel, as they all predate the city's existence. Hazor is the largest biblical site being excavated in Israel. It is one of the cities that Joshua conquered and burned (Joshua 11:11).

Off-site Links:
- http://new.huji.ac.il/en/article/31994
- http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Historic-archeological-discovery-of-Egyptian-statue-unearthed-in-Tel-Hazor-462312

Bible and Spade magazine news! posted by Rick Lanser MDiv

Dear friends,

It is always a blessing to know when one's labor is appreciated, and we at ABR find out about this in different ways. Usually it takes the form of a casual comment to a staffer at a conference, or a brief "Atta boy, keep up the good work!" email. Other times, particularly when an issue of Bible and Spade has been delayed for some reason, it takes the form of letting us know we have been missed. The latter has recently happened; the Spring issue of Bible and Spade has been delayed, and many of you did let us know!

If you are a subscriber to Bible and Spade, please know that we encountered some unavoidable production delays with the Spring 2016 issue. As a result, we have decided to create a longer Spring/Summer combined issue, which we expect to go to the printer in the next couple of weeks. We have on occasion put out combined issues in the past, but it has been a fair number of years since this was last done, so this situation probably took some by surprise and may have caused concern. We hope you will agree the wait was worth it.

By the way, if you are NOT an ABR member or subscriber to the magazine, may we encourage you to consider signing up for it? After the combined Spring/Summer issue goes out, we plan to return to our normal quarterly schedule beginning with the Fall issue. Just go to http://www.biblearchaeology.org/publications/bibleandspade.aspx to become a member of ABR, which includes a subscription to the magazine, or a subscriber.

Thank you for your support and prayers as we strive to make the magazine the best it can be with a very small staff.

In His service,

Rick Lanser, MDiv
Editor, Bible and Spade Magazine

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