MADISON BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY
53rd Annual Lecture, on Tuesday, April 28, 2009, entitled "Ancient Synagogues in the Land of Israel" presented by Jodi Magness, the Kenan Distinguished Professor for Teaching Excellence in Early Judaism at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
More than 100 synagogue buildings, dating from the first to seventh centuries C.E., have been discovered in ancient Palestine. Professor Magness surveyed these buildings, focusing especially on the surprising pagan motifs that decorate some of them, and considered such questions as where and when the institution of the synagogue originated. The lecture brought together archaeology, art history, and religious studies in a study of a central institution of Judaism with important ramifications for early Christianity.
This lecture was co-sponsored by the University Lectures Committee and the Department of Hebrew & Semitic Studies; additional co-sponsors are the Lubar Institute for the Study of the Abrahamic Religions, Religious Studies Program, and Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies. A story on the lecture is at www.allgodspeople.com.
==> On Tuesday, April 7, 2009, MBAS president Jeff Blakely spoke on "Generating a Regional Understanding through Survey: The Tell el-Hesi Survey," presenting information on his latest survey work at the site of Tell el-Hesi in Israel. Following 30 years of excavation and study, the archaeological survey of the surrounding region is one of the final aspects of the project.
==> On Sunday, March 1, 2009, Dr. Walter Kaiser spoke on "Major Archaeological Finds of the Biblical Periods."" Dr. Kaiser is President Emeritus and Distinguished Professor of Old Testament and Ethics at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and the General Editor of The NIV Archaeological Study Bible.
Dr. Kaiser's lecture is available as an MP3 file for listening or downloading here. (Time, approximately 65 minutes.)
Thank you to the following unofficial co-sponsors for their promotional support for this special event: Bethel Lutheran Church, Blackhawk Church, Edgewood College Religious Studies Department, Gateway Community Church, Geneva Campus Church, High Point Church, Hillel-University of Wisconsin, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Lake City Church, Lubar Institute for the Study of Abrahamic Religions, Luther Memorial Church, Mad City Church, New College Madison, New Crossing Church, Plymouth UCC Church, The Book and The Spade radio program and WNWC radio.
On Sunday, October 26, 2008, we heard from Timothy Harrison, Professor of Near & Middle Eastern Civilizations at the University of Toronto and the Project Director of the Tell Tayinat Project in Turkey. His talk was entitled, “Sea Peoples, Neo-Hittites and the ‘Land of Palastin’: Recent Investigations at Tell Tayinat on the Plain of Antioch.”
The past few summers have provided a wealth of new archaeological and epigraphic data about the Iron Age in the region of Antioch. At the same time, implications drawn from this work are likely to have an impact on our understanding of the Sea Peoples, their relationship to the Philistines of the Bible, and their arrival in what came to be called the ‘Land of Palastin.’ This was a time of systemic dislocation and disruption, the period of the Judges in the Biblical chronology. Professor Harrison is also the president of the American Schools of Oriental Research.
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On Tuesday, October 7, 2008, Dr. Katia Cytryn-Silverman of Hebrew University, gave a presentation on "Roads and Road-Inns in Palestine During the Mamluk Period." Dr. Cytryn-Silverman is an expert in medieval khans, or caravansarai, of the Holy Land. These are the road inns in which travelers and Christian pilgrims would have stayed during Ayyubid, Mamluk, and Ottoman times.
She reported that most of the Khans were built during the Mameluke period, 13th-16th centuries, to help connect the royal mail network. They provided an accomodation for travelers, rich and poor, to stay the night. Some khans in Turkey are still well preserved but khans in Israel are largely in ruins. However, several bridges that were built at the same time by the Mamluks are still in operation in Israel. The khans were run as charitable institutions and were established by high ranking Mamluks living in Cairo, or sometimes by rich merchants.
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On May, 5, 2008, Theodore J. Lewis, the Blum-Ivry Professor of Near Eastern Studies at Johns Hopkins University, presented the 52nd Annual Lecture of the Department of Hebrew and Semitic Studies and the Madison Biblical Archaeology Society. He spoke on “The Effective Power of Words: Incantations in Ancient Israel.” Magical incantations were widespread and important throughout the Ancient Near East and rabbinic Judaism, yet very few are quoted in the Hebrew Bible. In fact, archaeology has uncovered magical paraphernalia and inscriptions that show that magical incantations were indeed part of the life of Israel in biblical times. Careful examination of the Biblical text shows that the fundamental magical concept of effective words can indeed be found in the Bible.
Professor Lewis received his B.A. and M.A. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his Ph.D. at Harvard University. His numerous publications on the Bible and the Ancient Near East include Cults of the Dead in Ancient Israel and Ugarit (1989) and the forthcoming Religion of Ancient Israel.
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----- REMEMBERING MENAHEM MANSOOR -----
1911-2001
Professor Menahem Mansoor passed away on the evening of Sunday, October 21st, 2001. Professor Mansoor was the founder of the Madison Biblical Archaeology Society, as well as the UW-Madison Department of Hebrew and Semitic Studies. He was a very special teacher, tour leader, dedicated scholar and sage, and so much more. For more on Professor Menahem Mansoor, go to the MBAS History page.
Activities include lectures, field trips, and movies. MBAS also encourages its members to participate as volunteers in archaeological excavations in Israel and adjacent countries. Members of the Society have participated in excavations in Israel and Jordan since 1976. MBAS membership is open to anyone who is interested in Biblical Archaeology. MBAS is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, and contributions are tax deductible.
If you have questions about MBAS, please Email President Jeff Blakely or call him at 238-2227. For further information on MBAS activities or to become a member of MBAS, contact MBAS Secretary Gordon Govier or MBAS Treasurer Dorothy Whitcomb .
Most MBAS lectures are typically held on the campus of Edgewood College in Room 313 of DeRicci Hall. DeRicci Hall is located on the west end of the campus (left hand side on the Edgewood Campus map at left). Anderson auditorium is on the first floor of the Predolin Humanities Center, which is the opposite end of the same building. Parking is free in the surface lots and the parking ramp on the Edgewood campus. Directions to Edgewood College here.
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Professor Mansoor began MBAS in 1967, out of a desire to offer the public an opportunity to learn more about the development and significance of Biblical Archaeology. The Purpose of MBAS is to promote the knowledge of, and an interest in, Biblical Archaeology in the Madison area and throughout the state of Wisconsin.
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