1224-1225 Lawson Younger: Aramean Astral Religion

These programs focus on a fascinating artifact, a bronze 8th century B.C. bowl, inscribed with celestial images that offer clues into Aramean astral religion, and hence some of the cult worship described in the Old Testament. Our guest is Lawson Younger, a professor of Old Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield IL.

1223 - Study Tour Plans for 2011

This is the program in which we announce our next Book & The Spade Holyland Study Tour. It will take place in February 2011, and include Egypt, Jordan and Israel.

We start where the Exodus starts, follow the route through the Sinai, jump ahead into Jordan, cross over to the Galilee and end up in Jerusalem. It's a comprehensive review of the Biblical landscape, with particular attention to the archaeological evidence for our Biblical roots.

We'll see some of the most breath-taking views that we can share with our Biblical forefathers: the pyramids of Egypt, the rose-red city of Petra, Moses' view of The Promised Land from Mt. Nebo, the Sea of Galilee, and the holy city of Jerusalem from the Mt. of Olives. And so much more. Details are online at www.radioscribe.com/itinrar4.htm.

1222 - How the Alphabet was born

The roots of the world's first alphabet seem to be located in the Sinai peninsula, at a place called Serabit al-Khadem. The Sinai is also the territory where our monotheistic religious roots were incubated. No direct links have been identified but the commonalities are intriguing.

On this program we review an article by professor Orly Goldwasser, an Israeli Egyptologist at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, who suggests that the role played by hieroglyphics in the development of the alphabet may have been more important than previously suspected. She also identifies the person who may be responsible for inventing the alphabet.