About the Author

William G. Dever, PhD, is chairman of the Department of Near Eastern Studies at the University of Arizona. An archaeologist in the Near East for nearly 30 years, he is a world-renowned expert in biblical archaeology. Joe D. Seger, ThD, is Middle Eastern Archaeologist and professor of religion and anthropology at Mississippi State University, where he is director of the Cobb Institute of Archaeology. Over the past 25 years he has participated in extensive excavations in the Holy Land and has published widely in the field. James F. Strange, PhD, chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of South Florida, reviewed material relating to the archaeology of the New Testament. Kenneth Holum, PhD, professor of history at the University of Maryland, is director of the Combined Caesarea Expeditions. Widely published in the field, he consulted on text and pictures dealing with the Herodian era. James C. VanderKam, PhD, is professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame. A specialist in Hebrew Scriptures, he reviewed the section dealing with the Dead Sea Scrolls