Wednesday, June 23, 2021, at 8 pm EST via Zoom

What Recent Excavations Reveal About the Formation of Ancient Israel

James W. Hardin, Mississippi State University

Recent archaeological finds attending the formation of ancient Israel and Judah, especially during the putative times of David and Solomon, have ignited a debate about the history of the ancient Near East.

New excavations along the Philistine and Judahite frontier such as Khirbet Summeily, and a better understanding of old ones such as Tel el-Hesi, are providing a better understanding of the formative stages of ancient Israel during the Iron Age I/Iron Age II transition (the proposed time of David and Solomon).

When this information is combined with that from other sites in the larger region, it seems that a process had begun of integrating settlements into larger socio-political and economic networks. Some possible explanations as to the complex settlement processes and causes in the southern Levant are suggested in the presentation, with a particular focus on trade.

BAF and its sister organization in Northern Virginia (BASONOVA), are delighted to announce a joint resumption of their lecture series on the ancient Near East and Eastern Mediterranean. This series will be broadcast “live” via Zoom, and “attendees” will be able to direct questions of the presenters.

How to Access the Lecture Series

We will announce additions to the line-up of presenters on a regular basis, as it is our aim to offer more than one event each month. Members will also receive a regular listing of recommended lectures in the public domain.

If you wish to subscribe to the series*, please access the BASONOVA PayPal portal and use a credit card for a one-year subscription ($35 per family). Go to: http://www.basonova.org/membership-form.html

It is also possible to access the series one lecture at a time, for $6 per lecture. To receive your single-lecture Zoom invitation, go to: http://www.basonova.org/next-lecture-reservation.html

*Maryland residents will be enrolled in BAF and Virginians will be enrolled in BASONOVA. There is no advantage in enrolling in one group versus the other, only that when in-person lectures begin again you will be apportioned to the group that matches your state of residence.

Wednesday, July 28, 2021, at 8 pm EST via Zoom

The House of the Sun-Disc

Susan Redford, Penn State University

For reasons only dimly perceived, the Pharaoh Akhenaten of Egypt in the 14^th century B.C. carried Egypt unexpectedly into a stage of religious thought we can only call “monotheism”.

The lecture will present some of the most important evidence (hitherto only partly accessible) related to the Amarna revolution in Ancient Egypt. This involves new discoveries from Theban Tomb188, the only tomb in the Theban necropolis dated wholly and securely to the reign of the heretic pharaoh Akhenaten. The tomb belonged to Parennefer, the tutor and erstwhile butler of the king.

The rapid evolution in the realms of ideology, iconography and permissible artistic themes and motifs is well represented in Parennefer’s tomb, whose decoration kept pace with the momentous changes in the king’s thinking. When dovetailed with the pictorial evidence gleaned from the excavations of the great Gem-pa-aten temple at Karnak, it becomes possible to chronicle these rapid changes.

BAF and its sister organization in Northern Virginia (BASONOVA), are delighted to announce a joint resumption of their lecture series on the ancient Near East and Eastern Mediterranean. This series will be broadcast “live” via Zoom, and “attendees” will be able to direct questions of the presenters.

How to Access the Lecture Series

We will announce additions to the line-up of presenters on a regular basis, as it is our aim to offer more than one event each month. Members will also receive a regular listing of recommended lectures in the public domain.

If you wish to subscribe to the series*, please access the BASONOVA PayPal portal and use a credit card for a one-year subscription ($35 per family). Go to: http://www.basonova.org/membership-form.html

It is also possible to access the series one lecture at a time, for $6 per lecture. To receive your single-lecture Zoom invitation, go to: http://www.basonova.org/next-lecture-reservation.html

*Maryland residents will be enrolled in BAF and Virginians will be enrolled in BASONOVA. There is no advantage in enrolling in one group versus the other, only that when in-person lectures begin again you will be apportioned to the group that matches your state of residence.

Wednesday, August 11, 2021, at 8 pm via Zoom

From Sanctuary to Synagogue

Robert Stieglitz, Rutgers University

This illustrated lecture details the origins of the synagogue and its decorative arts. This religious institution and its practice have roots that can be traced back to the Biblical traditions of the “sanctuary”(miškan), also known as the Tabernacle, and the subsequent permanent “house” (bayit), or temple (miqdaš) built for the God of Israel.

Special attention will be given to the artistic motifs unearthed in the ancient synagogues unearthed in Israel, structures primarily datable to the Byzantine period (4^th-7^th centuries C.E.). The synagogues and their art can be seen as the culmination of a long process of development, whose roots are traceable to the Hellenistic era (3^rd-1^st centuries B.C.E.).

Robert Stieglitz is Professor Emeritus at Rutgers University

BAF and its sister organization in Northern Virginia (BASONOVA), are delighted to announce a joint resumption of their lecture series on the ancient Near East and Eastern Mediterranean. This series will be broadcast “live” via Zoom, and “attendees” will be able to direct questions of the presenters.

How to Access the Lecture Series

We will announce additions to the line-up of presenters on a regular basis, as it is our aim to offer more than one event each month. Members will also receive a regular listing of recommended lectures in the public domain.

If you wish to subscribe to the series*, please access the BASONOVA PayPal portal and use a credit card for a one-year subscription ($35 per family). Go to: http://www.basonova.org/membership-form.html

It is also possible to access the series one lecture at a time, for $6 per lecture. To receive your single-lecture Zoom invitation, go to: http://www.basonova.org/next-lecture-reservation.html

*Maryland residents will be enrolled in BAF and Virginians will be enrolled in BASONOVA. There is no advantage in enrolling in one group versus the other, only that when in-person lectures begin again you will be apportioned to the group that matches your state of residence.