Current Events Articles: January 2014

"...[W]hen you pull together all the evidence – archaeological, epigraphic and literary – it is overwhelming and, we believe, conclusive: they did kill their children, and on the evidence of the inscriptions, not just as an offering for future favours but fulfilling a promise that had already been made," argues Josephine Quinn, ancient history lecturer at Oxford University. Quinn and her colleagues published the results of their study in their article, "Phoenician Bones of Contention" in Antiquity, volume 87. (off-site link).

For more on this story, see (off-site links):

The Guardian

Archaeology and the Arts

University of Oxford

Watch this preview of the ABR DVD: Canaanite Child Sacrifice and Modern Day Abortion, available in the ABR bookstore.

Major Artifact Confirms Biblical Account

ABR has been conducting excavations in Israel since 1995 at Khirbet el-Maqatir (9 miles north of Jerusalem), which meets the biblical requirements to be identified as the fortress of Ai conquered by the Israelites as recorded in Joshua 7-8.

Copyright 2013, Associates for Biblical Research. may not be reproduced anywhere, in any format, without the express written permission of the Associates for Biblical Research. Photo by Mike Luddeni.

Pottery excavated at the site indicates the fortress was in use in the Late Bronze period, circa 1500-1400 BC. The scarab is a rare type that was made in the early 18th dynasty, ca. 1485-1418 BC. This is a significant discovery since it provides an independent date for the fortress apart from pottery. According to the Bible, the Israelites left Egypt in 1446 BC and entered Canaan in 1406 BC. The scarab substantiates the historical accuracy of the narratives found in Joshua.

Named the Number One Discovery of 2013 by Christianity Today!

The Egyptian scarab from Khirbet el-Maqatir will be on display in the Dunham Bible Museum at Houston Baptist University from January 22 to December 20, 2014.

For more information, please contact:

Henry B. Smith Jr.

Associates for Biblical Research

Director of Development

Contact Page

Download Press Release

Download Museum Exhibit Flyer

Media Photo File (off site link)

Watch video footage of the Discovery of the Scarab at Khirbet el-Maqatir.

Hear Dr. Scott Stripling talk about the Khirbet el-Maqatir Exhibit at Houston Baptist University.

Press Release Maqatir Scarab Museum-1a.pdf (406.69 kb)

rev 1-10(2) full page HBU Exhibit_red crackle.pdf (1.34 mb)

Press Release Maqatir Scarab Museum-Press Conf FINAL.pdf (411.72 kb)

The tomb discovered by the Pennsylvania University mission working south of Abydos, Sohag. The first lead to this discovery was when the huge quartzite sarcophagi of 60 tons was found in 2013. Then, parts of tablet were found depicting the name of the King and show him sitting on his throne.

For more see (off-site link): Luxor Times

Tarshish, which means “to smelt,” was a source not only of silver, but also other refined metals such as iron, tin and lead (Ezekiel 27:12). Recent lead isotope ore provenance analyses of silver found at Akko, Dor, Ein Hogez and Tell Keisan in southern Phoenicia, indicate that Biblical Tarshish was located on the island of Sardinia.

For more, see (off-site link): Silver at Tarshish