Biblical Archaeology Review
Biblical Archaeology Review is a quarterly magazine sometimes referred to as BAR that seeks to connect the academic study of archaeology to a broad general audience seeking to understand the world of the Bible, the Near East, and the Middle East. Since its first issue in 1975, Biblical Archaeology Review has covered the latest discoveries and controversies in the archaeology of Israel, Turkey, Jordan and the surrounding regions as well as the newest scholarly insights into both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. The magazine is published by the nonsectarian and nonprofit Biblical Archaeology Society and editor Robert Cargill.
From its founding in 1975 until 2017, the editor in chief was Hershel Shanks. After Shanks' retirement at the end of 2017, Robert R. Cargill was selected to be the editor of the publication.
The society also published Bible Review and Archaeology Odyssey, which merged with Biblical Archaeology Review after 2005.Reception
According to biblical scholar Jim West, BAR is overly critical of the minimalist school of biblical scholarship, and he criticizes their sale of antiquities on their website. On the other hand, West also notes that BAR does a successful job of connecting the academic study of archaeology with a general audience noting that the contributors to their publications often include well-known and credible scholars in the fields they describe, such as David Ussishkin, Ronald Hendel, Kenneth Kitchen, and others, as well as providing great illustrations for the archaeological artifacts and sites they report on.
