A vast prehistoric necropolis some 4,200 years old has been found near the Palestinian city of Bethlehem, proving for the first time that the city had existed and thrived in Canaanite times. The burial ground, found by a team of Italian and Palestinian archaeologists, covers 3 hectares of the site called Khalet al-Jam’a. It was discovered…
If you missed the holiday yesterday, take a moment to give it a second look. Yesterday was, after all, the Jewish festival of second chances. If you haven’t heard of it before, take a moment to catch up. The formal name of the day is Pesach Sheni, or “Second Passover.” It’s decreed in the Bible…
The ‘Jewiest dog in show’ returned to the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show Monday — but fell short in the prestigious competition. Pleasant Hill Magnum Of Samara, a Canaan Dog with roots in Israel, failed to make the top 4 in the herding dog category at New York’s Madison Square Garden Monday night. Spokeswoman Julie…
Between 1250 and 1100 B.C.E., all the great civilizations of the eastern Mediterranean – pharaonic Egypt, Mycenaean Greece and Crete, Ugarit in Syria and the large Canaanite city-states – were destroyed, ushering in new peoples and kingdoms including the first Kingdom of Israel. Now scientists are suggesting a climatic explanation for this great upheaval: A…
Facebook users are always looking for ways to make their statuses stand out on the uber-popular social network. One user has put a unique spin on the quest for original updates, tapping into the ancient Semitic language of Aramaic to create an entire page in the Canaanite tongue. And now, the person running a new…
Israeli archaeologists have recently unearthed a palace at the Tel Hatzor National Park in Upper Galilee, revealing rare findings – jugs containing scorched wheat from some 3,400 years ago. The find provides still more tangible evidence of the destruction of Canaanite city of Hatzor, an event dated at the mid-13th century B.C.E. The jugs were…
Each Thursday, The Arty Semite features excerpts and reviews of the best contemporary Jewish poetry. This week Jake Marmer introduces “The Household Gods” by Richard Chess. The story of Abraham smashing the idols and questioning his father about their potency is probably the most famous midrash out there. This week’s shul-goers, listening to Parshat Veyetzei,…
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