Reading the blogs

The majority of the content of this blog deals with biblical studies, archaeology, travel and photography. Concentration is especially on travel in the Bible World. As a result of this I follow several blogs that are extremely helpful. These include:

Bible Places Blog. Todd Bolen’s Weekend Roundup, and Midweek Roundup are extremely helpful, as are his insightful comments on recent archaeological announcements.

HolyLandPhotos’ Blog by Carl Rasmussen covers numerous lesser known places. Recently he has covered some sites visited, or probably visited, by Paul on his journeys through Asia Minor (modern Turkey).

The wilderness of Judea. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

I have a few former students  who write about these areas. You might enjoy taking a look at Leon’s Message Board (Leon Mauldin), Exploring Bible Lands (Barry Britnell), Luke Chandler’s Blog. Leon recently posted photos of the gathering of olives at Shechem. Trent and Rebekah, former tour members, have posted some helpful articles during their six months in Israel.

Gordon Franz writes less frequently on his Life and Land Seminars, but most of his material reflects a considerable amount of research. As part of his ongoing Cracked Pot Archaeology series he posted a response to the theory that the Arabia of “Mount Sinai in Arabia” (Galatians 4:25) is in modern Saudi Arabia.

Leen Ritmeyer,  Ritmeyer Archaeological Design, writes about the way the buildings looked in Bible times as well as recent discoveries and developments.

Wayne Stiles seeks to connect the Bible and its Lands to Life. In a recent post he discussed the “Top 5 Gifts for Bible Lands Study.”

Shmuel Browns, Israel-tourguide, has an interesting blog with great photos. A recent post features fascinating photos of Nahal Prat or Wadi Qelt. This may be where Jeremiah was told to go and bury his loincloth (shorts) (Jeremiah 13:4-7). Most English versions use the word Euphrates for the Hebrew term Perath. The NET Bible transliterates the term. Nahal Prat is near Jeremiah’s hometown Anatot (Anathoth). We wrote about a morning with Shmuel here.

Recently I learned of two new blogs dealing with the Bible lands and customs. Mark Ziese writes Bible Lands Explorer. Mark’s most recent post is about the Milk Grotto in Bethlehem. Yep, a place dedicated to Mary feeding baby Jesus. Willis Britt writes on Lessons From The Land. A recent series deals with Preaching and the Land.

Believe me, there is quite an education in reading these blogs.

I keep links to these and other blogs on the Scholarly page at the Biblical Studies Info Page.