Bible and Archaeology

What happened when you died in ancient Israel? The Hebrew Bible offers no clear picture of heaven or hell, but it does preserve a fascinating world of ancestors, burial rituals, Sheol, and the ongoing process of dying.
This week, Dr. Matthew Suriano joins the podcast to talk about death and the afterlife in the Hebrew Bible, including the meaning of nefesh, the importance of burial, and why a “bad death” was one of the greatest fears in the ancient world. Drawing on archaeology, biblical texts, and ancient Near Eastern history, this conversation explores what it meant to become one of the dead in ancient Israel.
📚 Reading Recommendations
A History of Death in the Hebrew Bible by Matthew Suriano

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🎙️ Credits
Guest: Dr. Matthew Suriano
Hosted and edited by Dr. Jordan Jones
Bible & Archaeology is a University of Iowa Office of Innovation production. The views and opinions expressed on Bible & Archaeology belong solely to the individuals who share them. They do not represent the positions of the University of Iowa or the State of Iowa.

In this episode, Susan Ackerman joins us to explore the life cycle of women in ancient Israel, from puberty and marriage to motherhood, ritual impurity, and death. We discuss why childbirth made women “unclean,” why women occupied a liminal role in ancient Israel, the story of Jephthah’s daughter, the concept of social menopause, and more. Along the way, we unpack what archaeology and biblical texts can, and can’t, tell us about the realities of womanhood in the ancient Near East.

📚 Reading Recommendations
Maturity, Marriage, Motherhood, Mortality: Women's Life-Cycle Rituals in Ancient Israel by Susan Ackerman

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🎙️ Credits
Guest: Dr. Susan Ackerman
Hosted and edited by Dr. Jordan Jones
Bible & Archaeology is a University of Iowa Office of Innovation production. The views and opinions expressed on Bible & Archaeology belong solely to the individuals who share them. They do not represent the positions of the University of Iowa or the State of Iowa.

Did ancient Israelites really sacrifice children? Dr. Kristine Garroway joins us to separate myth from archaeology. We dig into child burial practices, infant mortality, and what the archaeological record actually tells us. Spoiler: there are no mass burial pits of sacrificed children in ancient Israel, but what's really behind those "passed through fire" passages may surprise you.
📚 Reading Recommendations
The Dying Child: The Death and Personhood of Children in Ancient Israel by Kristine Henriksen Garroway

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🎙️ Credits
Guest: Dr. Kristine Henriksen Garroway
Hosted and edited by Dr. Jordan Jones
Bible & Archaeology is a University of Iowa Office of Innovation production. The views and opinions expressed on Bible & Archaeology belong solely to the individuals who share them. They do not represent the positions of the University of Iowa or the State of Iowa.

What did it take to become a scribe in ancient Mesopotamia, and how do we actually know? This week, Dr. Joshua Bowen reveals how the physical shape of clay tablets unlocked the secrets of ancient education, and why the literary texts describing school life can't always be taken at face value. From vocabulary lists and memorization to indoctrination and local variation, the archaeology tells a very different story than the texts alone.

🔗 Resources & Links
Check out Digital Hammurabi's website for more
Learning to Pray in a Dead Language: Education and Invocation in Ancient Sumerian by Joshua Bowen
Join Kipp Davis for Hebrew this summer
📺 Check out Digital Hammurabi on YouTube

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🎙️ Credits
Guest: Dr. Joshua Bowen
Hosted and edited by Dr. Jordan Jones
Bible & Archaeology is a University of Iowa Office of Innovation production. The views and opinions expressed on Bible & Archaeology belong solely to the individuals who share them. They do not represent the positions of the University of Iowa or the State of Iowa.

Was the author of Acts trying to preserve history, or persuade you of something deeper?
For years, readers have pointed to Acts’ historical accuracy as proof of its reliability. But what if that accuracy is actually part of the literary strategy? In this conversation with CJ Cornthwaite, we explore why Acts may be more historically precise than expected, and why that actually raises bigger questions about how it shaped the past.

📺 Check out CJ on YouTube
The Jerusalem Council is probably fabricated
Acts Is surprisingly accurate. That's the problem

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🎙️ Credits
Guest: Dr. C. J. Cornthwaite
Hosted and edited by Dr. Jordan Jones
Bible & Archaeology is a University of Iowa Office of Innovation production. The views and opinions expressed on Bible & Archaeology belong solely to the individuals who share them. They do not represent the positions of the University of Iowa or the State of Iowa.