Bible and Spade

Bible and Spade is a quarterly publication associated with Associates for Biblical Research, an inerrantist Christian apologetics organization based in Akron, Pennsylvania. Its editorial mission is to examine archaeology, ancient history, and biblical texts in ways intended to support the historical reliability of the Old and New Testaments. The publication is therefore best understood as a specialist religious and archaeological periodical rather than as a conventional commercial consumer brand. The magazine concentrates on biblical archaeology and the historical setting of the Bible. Its subject matter includes archaeological excavations, ancient settlements, pottery, chronology, biblical geography, the history of ancient Israel, and debates over the identification of sites mentioned in Scripture. It also publishes material on broader Christian apologetics, including arguments concerning the relationship between scientific evidence, evangelical theology, and biblical interpretation. Devotional and explicitly religious content may accompany the archaeological and historical material. Bible and Spade’s editorial identity is shaped by a commitment to biblical inerrancy and a literalist reading of Genesis and other biblical narratives. The organization states that the events, people, places, genealogies, and chronology in Genesis 1–11 should be treated as factual history rather than mythology or allegory. It likewise presents the patriarchal narratives and the chronological information of the Old and New Testaments as historically reliable. This position places the publication outside the mainstream consensus in several areas of biblical chronology and ancient Near Eastern history, particularly where archaeological or radiocarbon evidence is interpreted differently by most academic specialists. Bryant G. Wood is identified as the publication’s editor in chief. Wood is a biblical archaeologist trained in mechanical engineering, biblical history, and Syro-Palestinian archaeology, and is known for arguments concerning the historical setting of the biblical conquest narratives. His work on Jericho has been featured prominently in the publication. Wood has argued that the destruction of Jericho’s City IV can be dated to approximately 1400 BCE, a position associated with a biblical-literalist chronology. Mainstream archaeological interpretations generally date the destruction earlier, around the end of the Middle Bronze Age, and radiocarbon findings have been cited in support of that earlier chronology. The magazine has also carried reporting and interpretation related to Khirbet el-Maqatir, a site that Wood and colleagues proposed as a possible location for the biblical Ai. Their interpretation drew on a Late Bronze I fortress, evidence of destruction by fire, and local topographical features that they considered compatible with the account in Joshua. The identification has not achieved broad scholarly acceptance, and the wider historical reality of an Israelite conquest of Canaan remains disputed, with many scholars rejecting the conquest narratives as straightforward historical accounts. Bible and Spade’s output includes recurring articles, excavation reports, archaeological interpretation, historical apologetics, and responses to competing chronologies. Examples associated with the publication include articles on Jericho, the search for Joshua’s Ai, the Philistines’ arrival in Canaan, and excavation seasons at Khirbet el-Maqatir. The publication’s audience is likely to include evangelical Christians, biblical archaeology enthusiasts, creationists, and readers seeking confessional defenses of biblical historicity. Its positioning is therefore defined less by mass-market reach than by a distinct theological and apologetic editorial perspective.

Bible and Spade is published by Associates for Biblical Research, a Christian apologetics organization that presents archaeology and biblical research as evidence for the reliability of Scripture. The available reference material does not establish the magazine’s founding year, original founder, launch format, circulation, or ownership structure beyond its association with Associates for Biblical Research. It identifies the publication as a quarterly magazine headquartered in Akron, Pennsylvania, and names Bryant G. Wood as editor in chief. The publication’s editorial program combines biblical archaeology with explicitly confessional interpretation. Its articles address ancient sites, artifacts, pottery, chronology, historical geography, and biblical narratives, while also engaging broader questions about Christian belief and the relationship between science and evangelical theology. The publication’s stated theological commitments include biblical inerrancy and a literal historical reading of Genesis 1–11. It also treats the patriarchal narratives and biblical chronology as historically accurate. These commitments distinguish Bible and Spade from secular archaeological journals and from biblical-studies publications that approach biblical narratives primarily as literary, theological, or culturally conditioned texts. A recurring theme in the publication is the effort to reconcile archaeological evidence with a traditional biblical chronology. Bryant Wood’s work on Jericho is a prominent example. Earlier excavations had identified a destruction layer at the site, but later research by Kathleen Kenyon placed the relevant destruction around 1550 BCE and found no substantial settlement corresponding to the conventional literalist date near 1400 BCE. Wood argued that pottery evidence supported a later date and connected the destruction to the conquest account in Joshua. His interpretation was challenged by archaeologists including Piotr Bienkowski and William G. Dever. Radiocarbon analysis of short-lived materials from the destruction layer was also reported as supporting the earlier chronology. Wood nevertheless maintained his interpretation and used Bible and Spade to present responses to the radiocarbon and archaeological objections. Another important subject was Khirbet el-Maqatir. Wood directed excavations at the site and, with colleagues, proposed that it might represent the biblical Ai. The argument drew on a small Late Bronze I fortress destroyed by fire, a gate, and a nearby wadi that the excavators believed could correspond to details in the book of Joshua. The site had evidence from multiple periods, including Early and Middle Bronze Age, Late Bronze I, Iron Age I, late Hellenistic or early Roman, and Byzantine occupation. Bible and Spade published reports from several excavation seasons, including articles on work conducted in 2009–2010 and on an infant jar burial. The proposed identification remains tentative and has not become the prevailing scholarly view. The publication’s historical significance lies primarily in its role as a platform for evangelical and creationist interpretations of biblical archaeology. It documents a sustained attempt to use archaeological fieldwork and material evidence in support of biblical historicity, while also illustrating the conflict between confessional chronology and the conclusions favored by most academic archaeologists. Its readership and influence are not quantified in the available material, and no reliable information is provided here about subscription numbers, revenue, distribution scale, or current publication frequency beyond the description of the magazine as quarterly.

• 2012

  Report on an infant jar burial

  [1]Bryant G. Wooden.wikipedia.org

  Bible and Spade published a report concerning an infant jar burial found at Khirbet el-Maqatir.

• 2011

  Report on the 2009–2010 Ai excavations

  [1]Bryant G. Wooden.wikipedia.org

  The magazine published Wood’s account of excavation seasons at Khirbet el-Maqatir.

• 2000

  Khirbet el-Maqatir excavation reporting

  [1]Bryant G. Wooden.wikipedia.org

  Wood published reports on the 1995–1998 and 1999 excavation seasons at Khirbet el-Maqatir in connection with the proposed identification of the site as biblical Ai.

• 1999

  Publication of “The Walls of Jericho”

  [1]Bryant G. Wooden.wikipedia.org

  Bible and Spade published Wood’s article revisiting archaeological evidence for the walls and destruction of Jericho.

• 1990

  Jericho chronology became a major publication theme

  [1]Bryant G. Wooden.wikipedia.org

  Bryant Wood’s arguments about dating the destruction of Jericho, later discussed in Bible and Spade, became a prominent example of the publication’s effort to defend a biblical-literalist chronology against mainstream archaeological interpretations.

A confessional Christian biblical-archaeology publication that uses archaeological research, ancient history, and apologetics to argue for the historical reliability of the Bible, with a stated commitment to biblical inerrancy and creationist interpretations.

• Periodical

  Bible and Spade quarterly magazine

  The core offering is a quarterly magazine covering biblical archaeology, ancient history, excavation reports, biblical chronology, apologetics, and selected devotional topics. Its editorial approach is explicitly Christian and inerrantist, seeking to interpret archaeological evidence in support of the historical reliability of the Bible.

• Archaeological research publication · 2000

  Khirbet el-Maqatir excavation reports

  A recurring body of articles reports excavation seasons and finds from Khirbet el-Maqatir. The reports present the site’s architecture, pottery, burials, and destruction evidence and explain why Wood and his associates considered the location a possible candidate for biblical Ai, while the identification remains disputed.

• Biblical archaeology feature · 1999

  Jericho archaeology articles

  Bible and Spade has published articles defending a later, approximately 1400 BCE date for the destruction of Jericho. These articles emphasize pottery and biblical chronology and respond to the earlier dating favored by Kathleen Kenyon, radiocarbon studies, and most mainstream archaeologists.

• 2000

  Publication of multi-season Khirbet el-Maqatir reportingOther

  Background

  Wood and associates were investigating Khirbet el-Maqatir as a possible location for the biblical Ai after questions had been raised about the traditional site at et-Tell.

  Action taken

  Bible and Spade published reports on multiple excavation seasons and presented the evidence supporting a tentative identification with Ai.

  Aftermath

  The identification remained a minority interpretation and did not gain broad acceptance among archaeologists.

  Source

• 1999

  Continued defense of a literalist Jericho chronologyStrategy

  Background

  Archaeological and radiocarbon evidence had been widely interpreted as dating Jericho’s relevant destruction earlier than the approximately 1400 BCE date associated with a literalist reading of the biblical conquest narrative.

  Action taken

  Through Bible and Spade, Bryant Wood continued to argue that pottery evidence supported the later date and disputed the conclusions drawn from radiocarbon evidence.

  Aftermath

  The position remained controversial and outside the prevailing archaeological consensus, but it became a defining example of the publication’s apologetic editorial stance.

  • Mainstream biblical archaeologists — The mainstream archaeological position generally retained the earlier dating associated with Kathleen Kenyon and subsequent radiocarbon analysis.

  Source

1. 1Bryant G. Wooden.wikipedia.org
2. 2Bible and Spade publication pagebiblearchaeology.org