Raphael's Isaiah. Photo: Scala/Art Resource, New York, NY.

He is one of the most fascinating men in the Hebrew Bible—and also one of the most mysterious. His writings are cited more than any other Hebrew text in the New Testament and continue to be among the most influential to Christians everywhere, even in modern society.

He is represented more numerously among the Dead Sea Scrolls than all the other prophetic texts combined.

But who was Isaiah? Modern [...]

Jerash (aka Gerasa, Gerash or Gerasha) is the capital and the largest city of the Jerash Governorate in Jordan, but in ancient times it was one of the wealthiest and most cosmopolitan cities in the ancient Near East. Settled by humans as early as the Neolithic period (c. 7500-5500 BCE) and founded as a Hellenistic city in the 2nd century BCE, Jerash is today noted for its fine Roman and Byzantine... [...]

Rembrandt, Apostle Paul

When most people think about the Apostle Paul, they ponder his letters and their place in an evolving new religion.

But today, thanks to archaeologists, there's more to study when it comes to Paul. How much do you know about the thousands of miles he traveled west of Palestine? What can we learn from archaeology about the cities he visited? What prompted him to linger in Corinth and Ephesus? Why did he choose [...]

The 167 stained glass windows of Chartres Cathedral, built 1190-1220 CE, are the most complete group surviving anywhere from the Middle Ages. Several windows date to the mid-12th century CE while over 150 survive from the early 13th century CE. There are religious scenes to tell the faithful the key stories of the Bible as well as countless depictions of saints, kings, queens, nobles, knights... [...]

The production and trade of fish sauce in the ancient world was a significant and widespread industry, stretching from Britain to the Black Sea. Roman fish sauce, known as garum, was one of the most popular and commonly used ingredients in the Roman pantry. Some historians have even argued that fish sauce, common throughout Southeast Asia today, was introduced to the continental subregion via the Silk... [...]