Archeology and the Bible Terms to Review

Mizpah

Government center (mentioned in Jeremiah), settlement discoveries, might have had a palace, storage facilities, SH seal impressions

Ramat Rahel

monumental trade center 3 miles from Jerusalem; likely Assyrian tax center; lots of Rosette Impressions (royal stamps) found

Lachish Letters

Letters written to Yaush the commanding officer at Lachish; details Judah's preparations for the invasion and a possible alliance with Egypt

Kate Hinmom

burial site; under a church; central room with side burial chambers; family bone box; survived a millennia of occupation, but very difficult to do research on

Silver Amulet of Ketef Hinnom

Silver Amulet of Ketef Hinnom

two silver scrolls were discovered containing Numbers' priestly blessing; earliest inscription relating to the Bible; "may the Lord bless you and keep you"

Hippodamian Style

credited to Hippodamus of Miletus; grid structure design with the main city in the center; infrastructure: people living around center; in Dor this structure predates Hippodamus

Mount Gerizim

center for Samaritan worship, sacrifice, and faith; located in former K. of Israel; history is traced through Josephus and Samaritan Pentateuch; temple

Hasmonean Dynasty

began with the Maccabean Revolt (against Seleucids); started with Matthias but leadership taken over by Judas Maccabeus later; period marked by economic independence, Jewish statehood (1st since Babylonian exile), territory expansion; tension between high priest and king rule

Miqveh

baptismal pool with steps; early form of baptism; process of ritually cleansing yourself (maybe from end of mensural cycle, touching dead body, etc); distinct sign of Jewish identity

Ossuary

aka bone boxes; boxes/chests to pile one's bones into rather than laying the entire body out into a loculi/burial niches

Sepphoris

In the Galilee region, blend of Jewish, Hellenistic, and Roman cultures. Features hippodamian (grid) city planning, a card, and Dionysus Mosaic. Glass, copper, pottery, clothing

Soreg Inscription

Second temple Jerusalem, it says that gentiles cannot pass. written on the balustrade in the inner courts of the second temple in Jerusalem

Pontius Pilate Inscription

“To the divine Augustus, Tiberius pilate, prefect of Judea has dedicated this” found near theatre. Confirmed administrative role in the Roman governance

Herodium

Palace that Herod built up on a hill. Triclinium, dining room with reclining couches, Roman bath, pool system. Upper and Lower Herodium

Arch of Titus

Commemorates Roman victory in the Jewish war. Emperor Titus triumphed the jews after the first Jewish revolt. He also destroyed the temple. The arch shows romans carrying the Menorah, table of the bread of presence, the trumpets

Aelia Capitolina

Roman city built on Jerusalem after the Bar Kokhba Revolt. Featured the Cardo, the Nea church, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, was a pilgrimage destination.

Madaba Map

Floor map In the church of St. George in Madaba Jordan. Oldest geographical map of Jerusalem, The Holy Land, parts of the near east. Evidence for the Cardo, Holy Sepulchre, Nea church

Nea Church

Pilgrimage destination in Jerusalem. Built by Justinian (proved by inscription within the church). Connected to the Holy Spelechure through the Cardo.