The King David by Matthias Stomer (circa 1633-1639).
Musee des Beaux-Arts de Marseille
Given the dependence of Judaism, Christianity and even Islam on the Hebrew Bible, it is important to understand how the Bible depicts blood vengeance.
“Italian Coast Scene with Ruined Tower,” by 19th century American painter Thomas Cole.
National Gallery of Art
The ‘Shepherd of Hermas’ has been accused of being pedantic, even boring. In the first few centuries of Christianity, though, it was a hit.
Figuring out what to do with the ‘Song of Songs’ has preoccupied people reading the Bible for centuries.
'Song of Songs' illustrated by Florence Kingsford/Southern Methodist University/Wikimedia Commons
The famous biblical book alludes to God only once. Historically, though, most interpreters have argued the poem’s about love between the divine and his people.
‘Departure for Canaan,’ a detail of a 13th-century mosaic from the dome of Abraham in St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice.
De Agostini Photo Library/De Agostini via Getty Images
The Bible is full of stories about migrants. That doesn’t mean it has a simple takeaway message about them.
Samaritans celebrate Shavuot atop Mount Gerizim, near the West Bank.
Nidal Eshtayeh/Xinhua via Getty Images
Samaritans still live in Israel, where they are often caught between Israeli and Palestinian identities.
The Shrine of the Holy Nativity, Bethlehem, 1849.
David Roberts
Recent archaeological studies suggest that early Christians were identifying important sites as little as a century after the last of the gospels.
A fragment of scroll from the John Rylands Library, University of Manchester, under microspectral imagery.
The University of Manchester
What do you do when you find something amazing you didn’t expect, and there is no budget in your grant to investigate it?
Livioandronico2013 / Wikimedia Commons
We may imagine Jesus in long robes with baggy sleeves, but this is far from how he would have dressed.
Noah’s Ark – a biblical story of genocide.
Shutterstock
We still live in a violent world – and the Bible can help children understand it.