Bible Odyssey

Explore the fascinating origins of the Bible and its eventful history. On Bible Odyssey, the world’s leading scholars share the latest historical and literary research on key people, places, and passages of the Bible. 

Arnold and Hess: Why We Wrote Ancient Israel's History

Here's an excerpt from the authors at the BakerAcademic blog:

Personally, this is the book we wish we had read as students and in our early days of research and writing. It would have introduced us to the scholars, the questions, and the evidence most necessary to understand and evaluate the field.

Zevit's What Really Happened in the Garden of Eden? (Review by John Walton)

John Walton, who has written a thing or two about Genesis 2-3, has offered a helpful review of Ziony Zevit's fascinating book, What Really Happened in the Garden of Eden? (Yale, 2013). Walton shows great appreciation for Zevit's insights, while noting a few points where Zevit's arguments are less convincing. Walton concludes by saying:

Opening up a book that proposes such a vast menu of fresh readings and resulting paradigm shifts should never foster the expectation that the reader will find agreement with every suggestion. Engagement with new ideas is invigorating in itself—the proverbial recognition that the journey may have intrinsic significance regardless of the destination. Zevit has provided a truly stunning journey that can make a contribution to our reading of the garden story even if we end up at different destinations.

Ancient History Encyclopedia

Ancient History Encyclopedia is looking for contributors and peer reviewers. If you're interested (and qualified), contact editor@ancient.eu.com.

Biologos

I have added Biologos to the "Theology" Section of Kyleinschriften. Here is what they have to say about the relationship between Science and Scripture:

In Christian belief, God reveals himself in both the written book of the Bible and the created “book” of the natural world.  Thus, the truths we find in scripture should not conflict with the truths we find in nature.  Yet at times the two revelations seem to be saying contradictory things about how God made the world.  Since God does not lie, the conflict must occur at the level of human interpretation: either a misunderstanding of what God is revealing in nature, or a misunderstanding of what God is revealing in scripture.  Conflicts motivate us to reevaluate both interpretations.  Christians may disagree on whether the scientific or the Biblical interpretation needs to change, but we can agree that God speaks to us in both revelations.

Secret Tunnel at Bethsaida?

A team of archaeologists excavating at the ancient site best known as Bethsaida not far from the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee have encountered what they suggest may be what is left of an escape tunnel that was used by the city’s royal elite during the times of ancient Israel and Judah.

JESOT 3.2 (2014)

The latest issue of Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament is available.

Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament (JESOT) is a peer-reviewed journal devoted to the academic and evangelical study of the Old Testament. The journal seeks to fill a need in academia by providing a venue for high-level scholarship on the Old Testament from an evangelical standpoint. The journal is not affiliated with any particular academic institution, and with an international editorial board, online format, and multi-language submissions, JESOT cultivates and promotes Old Testament scholarship in the evangelical global community. The journal differs from many evangelical journals in that it seeks to publish current academic research in the areas of ancient Near Eastern backgrounds, Dead Sea Scrolls, Rabbinics, Linguistics, Septuagint, Research Methodology, Literary Analysis, Exegesis, Text Criticism, and Theology as they pertain only to the Old Testament. The journal will be freely available to the scholarly community and will be published bi-annually online. Hard copies will be produced by request. JESOT also includes up-to-date book reviews on various academic studies of the Old Testament.

Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period

Numerous royally commissioned texts were composed between 744 BC and 669 BC, a period during which Assyria became the dominant power in southwestern Asia. Six hundred to six hundred and fifty such inscriptions are known today. The Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period (RINAP) Project, under the direction of Professor Grant Frame of the University of Pennsylvania, will publish in print and online all of the known royal inscriptions that were composed during the reigns of the Assyrian kings Tiglath-pileser III (744-727 BC), Shalmaneser V (726-722 BC), Sargon II (721-705 BC), Sennacherib (704-681 BC), and Esarhaddon (680-669 BC), rulers whose deeds were also recorded in the Bible and in some classical sources. The individual texts range from short one-line labels to lengthy, detailed inscriptions with over 500 lines (2500 words) of text.

Yale Babylonian Collection

Founded in 1909 by a gift from J. Pierpont Morgan, the Yale Babylonian Collection today comprises over 45,000 items, including cuneiform tablets, cylinder seals, and other artifacts, as well as a complete reference library, seminar room, work space for visiting scholars, casts of major monuments, and conservation facilities. It is the largest collection of material from ancient Mesopotamia in North America, and ranks among the leading collections in the world. Although it is an independent branch of the University, its curators have always been professors in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, and students actively use its resources in their training and doctoral research.

Pharaonic Rock Carvings Found

A rock inscription portraying the rare transfer of two obelisks from a quarry has been unearthed at Gebel el Silsila, Egypt’s largest sandstone quarries located to the north of Aswan, Antiquities Minister Mamdouh el-Damaty announced Monday.

Scenes depicting the phases and the technique of detaching blocks, loading them in sailing boats before sending them to their destinations through the River Nile, have been also discovered in the site.

Read more about it here.

Top 10 Biblical Archaeology Discoveries of 2014

From the translation of a Babylonian “Ark Tablet” to the resurfacing of a skeleton from Ur in a museum basement, 2014 was a year full of exciting Biblical archaeology discoveries and new interpretations. As we ring in the New Year, let’s take a look back at the top 10 finds that thrilled us in 2014.

Here's Biblical Archaeologist's Top Ten Discoveries from 2014.

Welcome to Kyleinschriften

Kyleinschriften is no Qumran cave, but it is a repository of sorts. On this site you will find helpful resources for the study of Bible, Theology, and the ancient Near East. It is designed with the two audiences in mind: undergraduate students in Bible/Theology, and scholars who want a single web site for their favorite online resources. 

If you know of web sites that should be included, please pass them along. 

For more information about this site, click on the "About Kyleinschriften" tab above.