Melchizedek Conference

Three of the four papers presented on Nov 8 in Oxford by the "Temple Studies Group" associated with Margaret Barker are now available online.

http://www.templestudiesgroup.com/Symposia.htm

New Book Notice: Liturgical Drama

Forthcoming in Summer of 2009, Paulist Press will publish:

Christine C. Schnusenberg, The Mythological Traditions of Liturgical Drama: The Eucharist as Theater (Paulist, 2009), ISBN 0809105446.

Its interesting thesis is described in the blurb:

This book, of unprecedented scope and richness, explores the multiple dimensions of the theater, open to detail and hermeneutic possibilities. It synthesizes an immense amount of cultural complexities. It arose out of the question about the problem of the polemics of the Church Fathers against the Roman theater and the subsequent manifestations of Western liturgical drama as a continuation of the Roman theater until Amalarius of Metz. She holds that theater was worship and worship was theater beckoning for participation in the mimetic repetition of the drama of a given cosmogonic myth. Having laid out a vast panorama, the book concludes with the argument that the beginning of the Christian theater, as embedded in the cosmogony of the Christ event, developed out of the same mimetic cosmogonic stream as those from times immemorial.

It is available on Amazon for pre-order.

Book Notice: Temple and Contemplation

The most recent number of an annual journal, Letter and Spirit, published by the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, is entitled Temple and Contemplation. It contains a number of interesting articles of Catholic interpretations of the importance of the temple in the Bible and early Christianity. It can be purchased on Amazon by ISBN number 1931018529.

New Temple Illustrations

The English Standard Version Study Bible (ESV) was recently published. It includes a number of very nice color illustrations of the Israelite tabernacle and temples based on designs by Leen Ritmeyer.

http://www.esvstudybible.org/

When you purchase the Bible you are given an access code which allows you to use their online materials, including nice digitized versions of the Temple illustrations.

http://www.esvstudybible.org/images/illust-sample.jpg

SANE Temple Symposium update 2

Bryce Hammond on "Temple Study" has been keeping an updated list of the videos of the speakers at the SANE Temple Symposium. All but two are now available.

SANE Temple Symposium recordings.

Ritmeyer Blog

Leen Ritmeyer, author of The Quest: Revealing the Temple Mount in Jerusalem (a must read!), has a blog focusing on Temple Mount history and archaeology.

http://www.ritmeyer.com/

Temple Studies Group in England

Margaret Barker and some other English scholars have formed a "Temple Studies Group" in England. They have a web page under construction:

http://www.templestudiesgroup.com/

Last weekend they held a Seminar on Melchizedek and temple traditions. The papers will be posted on the web page in the next week or two. I'll send an update when they are available.

Margaret Barker has her own web page:

http://www.margaretbarker.com/

More on Temple Mount Discoveries

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1226404750389&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

This in fact confirms pilgrim testimony that there was a Christian church on the Temple Mount, that there was "a cross-shaped basilica" at the "pinnacle of the temple." (Brevarius, version B, from the sixth century, see J. Wilkinson, Jerusalem Pilgrims (2002), p 121)

Temple Mount discoveries

The Temple Mount Antiquities Salvage Operation keeps a blog on their activities and discoveries in sifting through the earth dump from the construction projects the Waqf is undertaking on the Temple Mount/Haram.

http://templemount.wordpress.com/about/

Zachi Zweig, one of the directors along with Gabi Barkay, has written a summary of the brief archaeological discoveries of the past few decades

http://templemount.wordpress.com/2008/11/16/new-substantial-discoveries-in-past-waqf-excavations-on-temple-mount/

The full article is only in Hebrew, but includes pictures of the major archaeological finds on the Temple Mount, largely discovered during Muslim renovations.

http://templemount.wordpress.com/about/

Solomon's Temple video

Here's a brief computer generated recreation of Solomon's Temple for an upcoming Nova TV production.

http://thoughtware.tv/videos/show/3076

10th Century BC Jerusalem Water Tunnel

Picture of the recently discovered 10th century BC water tunnel from Davidic or Solomonic Jerusalem.

http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Early+History+-+Archaeology/First_Temple_tunnel_City_of_David_Jerusalem_11-Nov-2008.htm?DisplayMode=print

New SANE Temple Symposium presentation online

Andrew Miller
"Ante-Nicene Mysteries in New Testament Sources"

http://strongreasons.wordpress.com/2008/11/08/im-on-youtube/

Also, Bryce Hammond is making a complete list of all the presentations from the SANE Symposium, and links to those that were recorded.

http://www.templestudy.com/2008/11/11/videos-of-sane-symposium-lectures-on-temples-and-ritual-in-antiquity/#more-1187

SANE Temple Symposium update

FAIR has begun to post videos of the SANE symposium speakers on its YouTube web page:
http://www.youtube.com/user/fairldsorg
More will be coming in the next few days.
Right now the following presentations are available.

Ante-Nicene Mysteries by Andrew Miller
pt 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baYt9JD4HKg
pt 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwfjfxHs6y0

Early Christian Prayer Circles
pt1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFTXhsMNzBs
pt 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7DHwb5YJO0
pt 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7nr_sACoto

SANE Temple Symposium

The BYU "Students of the Ancient Near East" sponsored a symposium yesterday on "Temples and Rituals in Antiquity." Many of the presentations were video taped, and will be put on Google Video in the next week or so. I'll provide a link when these are ready.

In the meantime, two presentations are available on the web as video podcasts:

William Hamblin
"What is the Merkabah (Chariot) in Ezekiel 1"
http://web.me.com/hamblinwj/HamblinClasses/201_Podcasts/Entries/2008/11/7_What_is_Ezekiels_Merkabah.html

David Seely and William Hamblin
"The Hand of God: From Theophany to Apotheosis"
http://web.me.com/hamblinwj/HamblinClasses/201_Podcasts/Entries/2008/11/7_The_Hand_of_God%3A_From_Theophany_to_Apotheosis_(pt_1).html
http://web.me.com/hamblinwj/HamblinClasses/201_Podcasts/Entries/2008/11/7_The_Hand_of_God%3A_From_Theophany_to_Apotheosis_(pt_2).html

The One that Got Away?

Although it is about Solomon's Temple, for some reason I don't find this story completely convincing.

http://agnusdaily.com/science/51-archeology/62-archeologists-find-solomons-temple-but-lose-it-playing-cards

New Book: Architecture of Herod

A new book on the buildings of Herod the Great includes a chapter on the Temple, as well as materials on archaeology, engineering and design that can help us visualize how the Temple may have looked.

Ehud Netzer
Architecture of Herod, the Great Builder
(Baker, 2008)
ISBN 0801036127

From the Blurb:
Herod the Great, one of the most famous builders of the biblical world, is a name well known to New Testament readers. Recently a team led by Ehud Netzer, a leading Israeli archaeologist of the Herodian period, discovered the tomb of Herod in one of his palaces two thousand years after his death. This volume highlights Herod's personal involvement with and contributions to his building projects, which benefited from his analytical mind, creative imagination, and deep understanding of the building and planning process. In many ways, the book presents the first comprehensive synthesis of Herod's enterprises from architectural and archaeological viewpoints.