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< PreviousThis coming January, we hope to bring an end to the search for Zoar with our STS archaeological excavation. While we are not the first to dig at the site, we expect to be the first to reach down to the layer that will uncover the ancient city where Lot escaped. A brief history of the various archaeological clues we have received will reveal why we are so confident in pursuing this dig. Centuries ago, around AD 324, the early church historian Eusebius mentioned Zoar in his work, The Onomasticon. He writes: “Bala [Bela] . . . now called Zoora, the only one of the cities of the Sodomites to be saved. Even now, it is still inhabited, lying beside the Dead Sea.” Eusebius cites Genesis 14:2 in calling the city “Bela (that is, Zoar).” His writing informs us that the Old Testament city of Zoar was, in Eusebius’ day, called Zoora and was still inhabited. This reference provides our first clue that the city of Zoora is biblical Zoar and that it lies by the Dead Sea. Another important clue came in 1884 during renovations in a church in the town of Madaba, in modern-day Jordan. A mosaic floor depicting a map of the Holy Land dating to the 6th century AD was discovered. As Eusebius had described, the map included a city called Zoora, near the Dead Sea—an “X marks the spot” for the location of Zoar. With that ancient map in mind, archaeologist Dr. Constantinos Politis (pictured above) knew where to begin excavating in 2006. At a site known locally as Khirbat ash-Sheikh ‘Issa, Dr. Politis dug through the upper Islamic and early Christian layers, finding two Byzantine-era churches and confirming the identification of Zoora—the same Zoora on the Madaba Map. With the early Christian level of Zoora uncovered, biblical Zoar had to be underneath since Eusebius had declared them to be at the same place. Unfortunately for Dr. Politis and his team, the main financial sponsor dropped out at this point, bringing the excavation to an abrupt end. Before leaving the site, however, Dr. Politis pulled up a large paving stone from the floor of the larger of the two churches that had been uncovered. He did so out of curiosity, to see if the archaeology continued below the floor. It did. Beneath the stone, he found early Roman material revealing the top of the next archaeological layer. Those archaeological layers are still waiting to be explored. As new sponsors, the STS Archaeology Department plans to join Dr. Politis to restart the Zoora dig. What do we expect to find? Our expectations are based on what Dr. Politis has already found and published in his excavation report entitled, Ancient Landscapes of Zoara I: Photo: The mosaic map in Madaba showing the city of Zoora, the 6th century AD name for Zoar. 10Follow Joel Go to www.expeditionbible.com to find out more about: • His Book “Where God Came Down” • His Biblical Trips to Tour Israel • His latest YouTube biblical archaeology video “At Khirbat ash-Sheikh ‘Isa . . . have also yielded residual EB [Early Bronze] pottery . . . (pg. 116). During excavations at Khirbat ash-Sheikh ‘Isa residual MB [Middle Bronze] pottery sherds were also found . . . ” (p.116). “Iron Age pottery sherds have been identified . . . they indicate the proximity of Iron Age occupations.” (p.143). The early Christian city of Zoora has been excavated, but the older, Early Bronze city of Zoar (of biblical fame) likely lies deeper. Our goal is to find and expose it. Uncovering biblical Zoar would be significant in establishing the archaeological story of all the Cities of the Plain. Because the Bible tells about Lot being protected in Zoar, the archaeology of this city should stand in stark contrast to all the other excavated cities of the Plain. Previous excavations have revealed evidence that all the other cities in the Plain were completely burned by fire. However, our STS dig does not expect to find a burn layer over the Early Bronze city of Zoar. In addition, because the Bible tells us that Zoar continued to be inhabited, we expect to find Middle Bronze and Iron Age ruins lying above the Early Bronze ruins, demonstrating that the city of Zoar did indeed survive what brought the other Plain cities to a fiery end. As an archaeologist, I cannot think of a stronger correlation between the Bible and archaeology than what we hope to establish in the Zoar excavations. We have the opportunity to uncover tangible archaeological evidence that in the center of an entire region being cataclysmically burned to destruction, the city of Zoar alone survived, free from the ash that buried all the surrounding Cities of the Plain. Our dig has the opportunity to use the archaeological spade to let Zoar rise once again and be a witness to this Biblical truth: when God’s promised wrath is poured out, there is a way of salvation for those who will listen, obey, and follow Him. In his first quote, Dr. Politis uses “residual” to refer to pottery from older archaeological layers being found in higher, younger layers. This mixture of older pottery in more recent layers is common because ancient people dug down into the deeper layers and “mixed them up” for a variety of reasons (such as laying the foundations for a house). Finding residual pottery from the Iron Age, Middle Bronze, and Early Bronze periods in the upper Islamic and Byzantine levels indicates that this is the situation at Zoora. 1112 The Shepherds Study is a platform where pastoral wisdom meets scholarly insight. Join us as we explore the rich tapestry of theology and its practical application in ministry. As a podcast of Shepherds Theological Seminary, we offer a unique blend of academic insights and real-world pastoral experience. Discover fresh perspectives, theological foundations, and practical tools to equip you to shepherd God’s people. To join the adventure, subscribe to the podcast and listen on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, Amazon, Cast Box and more! For a full list, scan this QR code to go to our website. Speaker: Dr. Donald Sunukjian Date: February 18, 2025 Time: 8:30 am-12:00 pm with a Lunch Following Topic: “Making the Connection: How to Increase Relevancy in Your Teaching and Preaching.” PETTEGREW LECTURE SERIES13 DIGGING DEEPER: Shepherds Theological Seminary’s Archaeological Focus by Dr. Tim Miller, Vice President of Academics, Dean of Faculty This year, Shepherds Theological Seminary has expanded our Archaeology program. It has always been our ambition to teach our students “about the Bible lands in the Bible lands” by offering a tour of Israel through our History and Geography of Israel class. Now, our love for the land has caused us to expand our focus to engage more in the research of the land. One way we are accomplishing this is our recent hiring of Research Professor of Biblical Archaeology, Joel Kramer. In addition, STS created the Master of Arts in Biblical Archaeology degree program. This archaeological focus for STS is pertinent for three reasons. First, STS is grounded in history. Our approach to biblical hermeneutics is referred to as grammatical– historical–literal interpretation. The final two elements of this description relate directly to archaeology. Because we believe that the Bible must be interpreted in its historical setting, the more we mine concerning the past, the more nuance we bring to the biblical text today. A nuanced understanding of Scripture is crucial. We do not believe our archaeological findings will ever fundamentally change the basic understanding of biblical text. Nevertheless, we believe there are yet findings to be discovered that will help us fill in details of understanding that are presently obscure. What a joy to be a part of recovering such understanding! Second, STS is confident in biblical truth. As noted above, we believe in a grammatical–historical–literal approach to the Bible. Many have challenged the literal aspect of interpreting Scripture in recent years—some dispute this from a hermeneutical angle, while others object from a purely historical angle. The objective of archaeology is to uncover the truths of biblical revelation. STS enters archaeology with strong confidence because we believe the Bible is true. Unearthing biblical sites will not destroy our faith; it will only affirm the integrity of our faith. Third, STS believes in presuppositional apologetics. Though archaeological findings may defend the biblical record, humans are not neutral observers of such findings. The same evidence may be interpreted in multiple ways, and this is because our preconceptions and presuppositions guide our conclusions. With this in mind, we cannot leave the field of archaeology to those who have an implicit bias against biblical truth. STS enters the field of archaeology because we believe we can help prepare the next generation of archaeologists to evidence both critical skills and biblical fidelity. Since the time STS launched the archaeology program, we have been thrilled to see the level of student interest. Our desire to meet the needs of future biblical archaeologists is being matched with a desire from students to engage in that work. Pray for us that the Lord will guide us as we seek to please Him in these new and exciting endeavors.14 When your career involves studying ancient manuscripts and the curator of a collection asks if you are interested in seeing an unpublished Greek papyrus fragment of Acts, the only acceptable answer is yes or yes, please! However, my first look at P. Duke Inv. 1377 (which is now known in biblical studies as Papyrus 136) drew a puzzled expression. The writing on the front and back of this Acts papyrus was reversed. Turn the page of a book, and the writing on the front and back of the page had the same alignment. This fragment was from a book roll or scroll. Yet, the early adoption of codex form (i.e., book) for canonical Christian books was nearly ubiquitous. My curiosity was piqued. Papyrus 136 had been purchased in 2000 from a London antiquities dealer by a private collector who kept the piece with some others in a safety deposit box. He was a carpenter for Disney with an uncanny eye for Detective Work with Biblical Manuscripts by Dr. Andrew Smith, Director, Center for Research of Biblical Manuscripts and Inscriptions, Professor of New Testament and Early ChristianityDr. Andrew Smith is professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at Shepherds Theological Seminary. Dr. Smith is also the director of STS’s Center for Research of Biblical Manuscripts and Inscriptions (CRBMI). The center studies the sister manuscripts, having published a peer-reviewed article on Dead Sea Scrolls fragments that scholars had failed to put together as a set. After his untimely death in 2007, a note in the safety deposit box indicated that the papyrus should go to the Papyrology Department at Duke University, which the Floridian collector had visited on more than one occasion to view manuscripts. Any paperwork that accompanied his collection was destroyed, so understanding this little orphaned fragment would require some detective work. Given its uncertain origins and its unusual format, I had concerns from the start that the papyrus could be a forgery. The text of the papyrus fragment was simple enough to identify as Acts 4:27-31 on one side and Acts 7:26-30 on the other. There was one unique reading at 4:28 (“your hand and your purpose” instead reads “your hand and your servant”) in addition to two minor variations. Palaeographically, I could date the chancery style Greek writing to the sixth century based on a small set of similar hands. It was written in the format of a rotulus (a scroll that rolls/unrolls vertically), the style of which (though never common) had a surge of popularity in the sixth century. Based on the surviving text, if the rotulus contained Acts by itself, it would have held Acts 1:1-13:43 and the entire book of Acts would have required two scrolls. A few readings that were uncertain in visible light due to staining were easily confirmed using multi- spectral imaging (under 780nm infrared light the carbon of the ink remains dark while the stains vanish). Having just attended several papers on using Raman spectroscopy to date carbonaceous inks in ancient manuscripts—a hotly debated topic if the Q&A period was to be any indication—I applied for a small grant, learned to use the equipment at Duke’s Shared Materials Instrumentation Facility, and tested Papyrus 136 as well as a modern control papyrus. My wife (a biostatistician) processed the lab data using Origin Pro curve-fitting software and we learned three things from the results: (1) the papyrus was ancient (the fluorescence of papyrus multiplies with age); (2) the ink was carbon-based (a good thing to confirm); and (3) the debate at the papers I attended was likely justified (we could not date the ink based on spectra peak positions). A couple years before our experiments, Maurizio Forte at the university’s DIG@Lab had tested 3-D imaging on Papyrus 136 and the V-shaped dent in the papyrus (difficult to spot with the naked eye) seemed to confirm that the papyrus was not folded to form a small amulet (folding creates X-shaped contours). The cumulative results of these analyses created a compelling argument that Papyrus 136 was a legitimate sixth-century papyrus fragment with portions of Acts 4 and 7. My wife and I co-published the results and one more manuscript of Acts was added to the witnesses found in the critical editions. 15 disciplines to archaeology: biblical textual criticism (the transmission history of our biblical books), codicology (archaeology of the book), epigraphy (the study of inscriptions), and numismatics (the study of currency, with especial interest in the writing and imagery found on ancient coins). ABOUT THE AUTHOR THIS ARTICLE ILLUSTRATES THE DEPTH OF OUR RESEARCH.For more info visit: shepherds.edu •Anchored in a Vibrant Local Church •Expository Preaching •Dispensationalist •Church Planting Network •Israel Initiative •7 Master’s Degrees •Doctor of Ministry Degree •Synchronous Distance Learning A Seminary for the Local Church, in the Local Church 16The following is an interview with Nathanial Jackson, a 2021 graduate of the Master of Arts in Biblical Literature and Languages. Nathanial and his wife, Faith (MABS graduate in 2024), live in Girard, PA. They attend Fairview Bible Church in Fairview, PA, which is pastored by Christopher Preston (MDiv graduate in 2016). Nathanial has been on three archaeological digs and is interested in pursuing further work in that field. What initially drew you to archaeology? It goes back to my childhood when I grew up as an Air Force kid. We were stationed in England for four years, surrounded by history. During that time, a particularly transformative experience happened when a Celtic burial ground was found while a crew was ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Nathanial Jackson by Dr. Tim Miller, Vice President of Academics, Dean of Faculty 17excavating a parking lot. As my family witnessed a man, his wife, and their horse buried together, it shifted my perspective from merely reading about history to truly experiencing it. Additionally, my early interest in apologetics from an evidentialist standpoint fueled my desire to seek tangible evidence of my faith. How did STS prepare you for archaeology? I took an Introduction to Archaeology course and audited a Hebrews in Egypt course. Perhaps more significantly, though, was meeting Dr. Bookman. When I came down to preview STS, I was set on attending a different seminary. I met with the STS professors and they asked if I had any particular interests. When I said archaeology, Dr. Bookman perked up, saying “I’ve got your whole life plan.” Ever since then, Dr. Bookman and I have continued to collaborate on the program forward. Tell us about the archaeological digs you participated in and how you got involved. My first two digs were at Khirbet el-Maqatir in 2014 and 2016 with the Associates for Biblical Research (ABR). The aim was to excavate and potentially identify the city of Ai from the book of Joshua. Later, I joined Dr. Titus Kennedy and Joel Kramer on a dig near Et–Tell, where we discovered what appeared to be an altar. Some believed this might be the site of Beth–Aven, which is often mentioned in connection with Bethel and Ai. Any additional significant discoveries during these digs? In 2014 at el-Maqatir, we found a Hyksos era scarab seal, indicating Egyptian commerce in the area. We also uncovered a tower in the city, which was likely built by Jewish inhabitants as a defensive structure against the Samaritans. What was daily life like during these excavations? It was intense but rewarding. We’d wake up very early, having to be on the bus by 5 AM. Once at the site, we would spend around eight hours digging, often in very hot temperatures (sometimes 105 degrees). After excavating, we’d wash and analyze the pottery we uncovered. The directors would then reveal more about the findings of the previous day. Sometimes lectures in the evening provided further insights. The digs typically lasted one to two weeks. How has participating in these excavations impacted you? 18In a time when doubting the reliability of the Bible is commonplace, Where God Came Down: The Archaeological Evidence offers compelling evidence that the Bible is trustworthy. Layer by layer, the Bible and archaeology agree! Emphasizing the profound correlations between archaeology and Scripture, Where God Came Down examines ten Biblical sites, revealing how divine interactions with simple people thousands of years ago shaped ordinary, unimportant places into holy sites, still revered today. For more information or to order Dr. Kramer’s book, go to expeditionbible.com. It shifted my perspective from evidentialism to presuppositionalism in apologetics. Observing how different archaeologists interpret the same evidence based on their presuppositions was eye-opening. I now understand that you can throw all the evidence you want at someone, but their heart is going to direct how they view the evidence. Ultimately, you’re not going to persuade anyone into belief; that is a work of the Holy Spirit. A second way I was impacted concerned seeing the Bible world in real life. Archaeology helps give a clearer picture of what we’re reading in biblical text and brings us closer to viewing that as reality--like experiencing history, as opposed to just reading about it. Any advice for students interested in archaeology? Absolutely! Don’t let age or lack of experience deter you. Most skills are learned in the field, and volunteers range from high schoolers to retirees. Patience and outgoingness are crucial traits, both for the excavation process and building relationships within the field. Nathanial plans to pursue a PhD in archaeology, with hopes of teaching and sharing his passion for uncovering history. 19Next >