A tiny discovery with a dramatic impact on Biblical studies

Chris Sinkinson  |  Features  |  defending our faith
Date posted:  1 Mar 2025
Share Add       
A tiny discovery with  a dramatic impact on  Biblical studies

Gabriel Barkay at Ketef Hinnom

One of the most interesting Israeli archaeologists you could meet is Gabriel Barkay. His archaeological career spans the history of modern Israel. As a Jew born in the Hungarian ghetto, he was within a week of being sent to a Nazi death camp.

Instead, he survived the war and emigrated to the fledgling state of Israel at the age of six. Growing up in Jerusalem with an enthusiasm for archaeology, Barkay’s knowledge of the history of the city is second to none. He became a specialist in ancient burial practices and discovered many of the Biblical period tombs around Jerusalem. Barkay carried out an archaeological survey of the famous ‘Garden Tomb’ (dating it to the eighth or seventh century BC).

Barkay has also excavated at Lachish, Megiddo and even in Iran. He is a very humorous and sharp-witted Israeli, with a good reputation across scholarship. I interview him in my own Sifting the Evidence film on YouTube. At that time we spoke together at the remarkable Temple Mount Sifting Project where important debris (dumped by the Muslim authorities who administer the Temple area) is being sorted and preserved.

Share
< Previous article| Features| Next article >
Read more articles on:   apologetics  /  archaeology
Read more articles by Chris Sinkinson >>
Comment
Comedy, free speech and warnings from the past

Comedy, free speech and warnings from the past

Hannah Arendt was a Jewish philosopher who grew up in Nazi Germany. Eventually she had to flee to France and, …

Features
AI shedding new light on  ancient texts

AI shedding new light on ancient texts

From 1947, the recovery of fragments of Biblical texts in the region of the Dead Sea became one of the …

Looking for a job?

Browse all our current job adverts

Search

Give a subscription

Our monthly newspaper is the perfect gift for those who love to think deeply

Give here