Old Testament

10 Stories

His Ancient Find Was 'Too Good to Be True.' Maybe Not

Inside new research on what one scholar says is a precursor to the Book of Deuteronomy

(Newser) - Biblical scholar Idan Dershowitz started a fellowship at Harvard's Society of Fellows in 2017 , and he sent emails to its chairman about a theory he had about 15 manuscript fragments found more than a century ago. The response he got: "You're crazy, I don't want to...

Hold Up, Is Bacon Kosher?
Hold Up, Is Bacon Kosher?
May 22, 2017 12:30 PM CDT

Hold Up, Is Bacon Kosher?

Some biblical scholars argue that not eating bacon is part of broader misunderstanding

(Newser) - Have Jews been depriving themselves of bacon for no reason? A group of biblical scholars makes the argument in Haaretz that the Book of Leviticus, the third in the Old Testament that lays down various laws dictating how Jewish people should live, wasn't actually meant for the laity. Rather,...

Ancient Letters Reveal Bible Bombshell

Parts likely written 2.6K years ago: study

(Newser) - "A full homer of wine, bring tomorrow; don't be late." That command, written on pottery excavated near the Dead Sea, not only shows soldiers liked to drink in the Kingdom of Judah around 600BC. It might also push back the date of the Old Testament. In analyzing...

Scroll So Charred It Looks Like Charcoal Finally Read

1.5K-year-old scroll sat unreadable since being found in 1970

(Newser) - When a 1,500-year-old scroll was found in the ashes of an ancient synagogue on the shores of the Dead Sea just south of Jerusalem in 1970, it was so charred it resembled a piece of charcoal and was impossible to read or preserve. But now, thanks to the latest...

Tomb of Old Testament Prophet Discovered?
 Tomb of Old Testament 
 Prophet Discovered? 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Feb 6, 2011 6:30 PM CST

Tomb of Old Testament Prophet Discovered?

Archaeologists find spectacular church in Israel, plan to rebury it

(Newser) - Israeli archaeologists have hit on a stunning site in the Judean hills: a 1,500 year-old Byzantine basilica, which sits on top of an even older structure, which sits on top of a series of tunnels, which lead to a small cave that they believe might be the legendary burial...

Jurors Used Bible to Decide Death Sentence

Amnesty International troubled by Old Testament justice

(Newser) - Death-row foes are complaining that a Texas jury ordered to consider only evidence presented in court consulted the Old Testament before condemning a man to death. Jurors examined highlighted passages in Bibles passed around the jury room to help them decide the fate of Khristian Oliver. The con killed a...

James Frey's Latest Creation: Pro-Choice, Pro-Gay Jesus

Once Oprah's enemy, now Christians'?

(Newser) - James Frey pissed off a lot of people—including Oprah—when his “memoir” A Million Little Pieces was exposed as fictional—but his new book might spark even more ire. Illumination: The Final Testament of the Holy Bible features a Messiah who marries gays, impregnates a teen, and later...

Pope Out of Touch on Homosexuality: Blair

Former PM advocates 'metaphorical' reading

(Newser) - It's time for Pope Benedict to rethink his outdated views on homosexuality, charges former British prime minister Tony Blair. The Vatican considers homosexuality a "tendency" toward "moral evil," citing biblical references. But Blair, a Catholic convert, tells the gay magazine Attitude that religious leaders should treat the...

Dig May Confirm Solomon's Mines

Biblical account matches unearthed copper center in Jordan

(Newser) - Science and the Bible have a rare moment of “confluence,” says an archaeologist who helped unearth possible proof of King Solomon's reign, Newsweek reports. In present-day Jordan, scientists have found a 10th-century BC copper production center that coincides with the rule of the Biblical king of Israel. A...

World's Oldest Bible Makes Web Debut Thursday

German university, British Library compile 390 pages of 4th-century parchment

(Newser) - The world's oldest nearly intact Bible—a fourth-century manuscript written in ancient Greek—will be published online later this week, Deutsche Welle reports. The Codex Sinaiticus, rediscovered in a Sinai Peninsula monastery in 1844, contains half the Jewish Old Testamant and most of the Christian New Testament. The University of...

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