Christianity Today recently published a list of the top ten Biblical archaeology discoveries of 2015. It’s a fascinating list, and it’s encouraging to be reminded that even after centuries of archaeological work in the Middle East, we continue to learn new things about the lands and people of the Bible.

Some of the items on the list relate broadly to the history of ancient Israel and its neighbors, but a few of them have more specific connections to the Bible. I thought I would walk through the latter discoveries and share a few Bible passages to read that provide some extra context. So open up that Christianity Today article and let’s take a look at some relevant Bible passages!

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The Beit Shemesh Idol Head

The first item on Christianity Today‘s list is a small statue head depicting a fertility goddess, of a type commonly worshipped in ancient Judah. While the identity of this statue isn’t clear, it likely represents Asherah or a related fertility goddess.

Fertility goddesses were commonly worshiped throughout the ancient Middle East, and the Bible makes it clear that God’s people were constantly tempted to worship them; the Bible books of Kings and Chronicles depict regular national relapses to fertility goddess worship in Israel and Judah, puncutated by occasional reforms. As a quick search for Asherah in the Bible shows, it was a constant temptation for Israelites to worship Asherah (sometimes under different names or titles, like the Queen of Heaven) in an attempt to ensure a bountiful harvest and healthy children. A common type of shrine to Asherah was a sacred tree or pole, which is why you also find many references to “Asherah poles” in the Old Testament; the Bible often describes a king’s creation or destruction of Asherah poles as a way to succinctly measure his righteousness or corruption. You can find more Bible references about Asherah in Smith’s Bible Names Dictionary and Easton’s Bible Dictionary, both online at Bible Gateway.

An Iron Age expert notes of this statue head discovery that “Figurines of this kind, depicting naked women which symbolize fertility, were common in the homes of residents of the Kingdom of Judah from the eighth century BCE until the destruction of the Kingdom by the Babylonians in the days of Zedekiah (586 BCE).” That certainly fits with the picture we see in the Old Testament of fertility goddess worship as a widespread, difficult-to-eradicate practice.

The Site of Herod’s Palace

The infamous king Herod’s massive palace in Jerusalem was a dominating architectural feature in the city during the life of Jesus and the early years of the Christian church. Although its location is known, little of it remains today. It’s not described in any detail in the New Testament, but it’s not unreasonable to guess that major political events such as the trial of Jesus might have taken place there. The apostle Paul was detained in Herod’s palace under guard in Acts 23. The ancient historian Josephus provides us with a good description of Herod’s palace as it originally appeared in his work The Wars of the Jews (the relevant section is chapter 4, paragraph 4 on that page).

The Iron Age Gate at Gath

Archeaologists have unearthed an impressive city gate at Gath, a city controlled in Old Testament times by Israel’s long-time enemies the Philistines. As a fairly important city, Gath is mentioned many times in the Old Testament. However, its most famous resident was the giant Goliath, who was defeated by a sling-wielding David in the well-known story. Gath was also the scene of one of the stranger incidents of David’s life: David fled to Gath to escape persecution by King Saul, but once there, he pretended to be a madman in order to avoid being recognized and killed by the locals.

Hezekiah Seal Impression

This seal—discovered several years ago but only recently identified—references the Old Testament king Hezekiah, a sadly rare “good king” who led his people through a terrible siege. You can read a good overview of Hezekiah’s life and character here, and a blog post about the seal of Hezekiah discovery here.

Not every archaeological discovery concerning the ancient Middle East has a related Bible verse—most of them add to our historical understanding of the time period but don’t connect directly to the Bible. But whenever you read of a new discovery or an interesting excavation (particularly when you read of a Bible-era city being excavated), it’s always a good excuse to open up your Bible and see if there’s any biblical context to be uncovered!

Image credits: statue of Asherah by Deror avi, model of Herod’s palace photographed by Berthold Werner, 17th-century painting of Hezekiah by an unknown artist.