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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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Judah

Ancient wine and amphorae. Source:  Luka / Adobe Stock. Inset: Vanilla bean. Source: Shawn Hempel / Adobe Stock

Judean Elites Sipped Vanilla Wine 2,600 Years Ago

Researchers analyzing several broken wine jars taken from an archaeological site in Jerusalem discovered something surprising about the alcohol consumption of elites in the 6th-century-BC Kingdom of...
Researchers say priests included cannabis in their religious ceremonies in Judah 2,700 years ago. Source: Public Domain

Ancient Judahites Performed Cannabis Ceremonies on the “High-Way” to Yahweh

According to a new paper published in the journal Tel Aviv , ancient esoteric worshippers at a Judahite temple at the fortress mound in Tel Arad in Israel “likely smoked cannabis during cultic...
Kosher Female Figurines in Judah During The Biblical Period?

Kosher Female Figurines in Judah During The Biblical Period?

Israeli archeologist Dr. Aaron Greener asks “what are clay female figurines doing in Judah during the biblical period?” My non-archeologist answer is; they represent kosher (suitable for religious...
Depiction of the Captivity of Judah.   Source: The Providence Lithograph Company / Public domain

The End of Ancient Judaism: The Captivity

The twelve tribes of ancient Judaism were united into a single kingdom under the reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon. The destruction of this kingdom and the forced exile of its population is known as...
Was King Solomon really the author of the Key of Solomon?

Grimoires by a Biblical King? The Magical Treatise of Solomon and the Key of Solomon

The ‘Magical Treatise of Solomon’ and the ‘ Key of Solomon’ are two grimoires (magic handbooks) commonly said to have been written by the biblical King Solomon . The latter grimoire has been...
The Good Samaritan.

The Powerful Politics Behind the Parable of the Good Samaritan

Today, the term “Good Samaritan” is often used to refer to any person who does a selfless good deed for a stranger or someone who is not part of their normal ingroup. It is also referenced in the...
Stained glass representation of the Prophet Isaiah by Valentin Bousch.

What is the Legacy of Isaiah the Prophet?

Isaiah the prophet is known for having urged Israel to rely on Yahweh, their national god, instead of on the political power, and the gods of nations like Egypt or Assyria for protection and...
The biblical town of Libnah from the Book of Exodus

Could Iron Age settlement be the biblical town of Libnah from the Book of Exodus?

Excavations at Tel Burna, an Iron Age settlement in the Shephelah region of modern-day south-central Israel, have revealed artifacts and fortifications dating back to the seventh and eighth centuries...
A lion is hunted, and is near death. Assyrian relief, Nineveh, north palace, 645-635 BCE

Hunting the Lions: A Dead King, and a Collapsing Assyrian Empire – Part I

The fall of Assyria was with a whimper and in no way ended with a bang. Instead, it ended in a slow, agonizing death. Ashurbanipal, Assyria's last great king, ascended the throne only to inherit a...
Ostraca from Arad numbers 24, 5, and 40. The poor state of preservation, including stains, erased characters, and blurred text, is evident.

Analysis Shows that the Hebrew Bible May Be Centuries Older than Once Thought

New research may change to the early history of Christianity and Judaism. Researchers from Tel Aviv University believe that a discovery from Arad proves that the Hebrew Bible was written much earlier...
One of the panels from the Lachish Reliefs depicting the Assyrian assault on Lachish.

The Siege of Lachish: History from Both the Victors and Defeated

The siege of Lachish was an event that happened in 701 BC. During this incident, the Israelite settlement of Lachish was besieged and conquered by the Assyrians. It is often said that “History is...
The Canaanite inscription; the large clay jar dates back 3,000 years.

Name from Davidic era found inscribed on 3,000-year-old vessel

Archaeologists in Israel have discovered a large, clay storage pot in the Elah Valley with a name from the era of King David inscribed on it in raised Canaanite letters. The pot dates to the Iron Age...