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We Three Kings of Orient are, Bearing gifts we traverse afar. . . . Who were these gift-bearing kings, these Wise Men of the East? What has their mission meant to Christians across the ages? The Wise Men—not yet called kings—make only a single appearance in Holy Scripture. St. Matthew’s Gospel (Mt 2:1-12) tells of their arrival in Jerusalem shortly after the birth of Jesus. In ancient texts of Scripture the Wise Men are Magoi in Greek and Magi in Latin. The singular form, Magos/Magus, is the source of our English word “magician” but had multiple meanings in Biblical times....

Today's feature is director King Vidor's final film "Solomon and Sheba". It's not the most accurate Biblical epic made but it does make a great vehicle for the gorgeous Gina Lollobrigida(of whom I am a big fan) back in her prime. Interestingly enough, Solomon was originally played by Tyrone Power but he died during filming and Yul Brynner replaced him. Supposedly, Power's footage appears in some scenes though I do not know which one. As with all Hollywood Bible pics, enjoy but read the book also-1 Kings 10:1-13 and 2 Chronicles 9:1-12

Clues to the origins of the Queen of Sheba legend are written in the DNA of some Africans, according to scientists.Genetic research suggests Ethiopians mixed with Egyptian, Israeli or Syrian populations about 3,000 years ago. This is the time the queen, mentioned in great religious works, is said to have ruled the kingdom of Sheba. The research, published in The American Journal of Human Genetics, also sheds light on human migration out of Africa 60,000 years ago.According to fossil evidence, human history goes back longer in Ethiopia than anywhere else in the world. But little has been known until now...

Tucked away in Ans directorate of Dhamar governorate, a local stumbled across an ancient crypt within a known archaeological area, while digging a well for drinking water. According to preliminary examinations, the crypt extends anywhere between 150 and 180 meters in length and reaches over 9 meters in height. Police in Dhamar governorate confirmed that the name of the local who stumbled across this magnificent find is Anwar Abdu-Rabbuh al-Kooli. Upon finding the crypt buried in the ground, al-Kooli reported the site to the local authorities. The police then secured the site to prevent any further tampering or access to...

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptologists think they have identified with certainty the mummy of Hatshepsut, the most famous queen to rule ancient Egypt, found in a humble tomb in the Valley of the Kings, an archaeologist said on Monday. Egypt's chief archaeologist, Zahi Hawass, will hold a news conference in Cairo on Wednesday. The Discovery Channel said he would announce what it called the most important find in the Valley of the Kings since the discovery of King Tutankhamun. The archaeologist, who asked not to be named, said the candidate for identification as the mummy of Hatshepsut was one of two...

It turns out the oldest seafaring ships ever found actually work An archaeologist who examined remnants of the oldest-known seafaring ships has now put ancient Egyptian technology to the test. She teamed up with a naval architect, modern shipwrights and an on-site Egyptian archaeologist to build a replica 3,800-year-old ship for a Red Sea trial run this past December. The voyage was meant to retrace an ancient voyage that the female pharaoh Hatsheput sponsored to a place which ancient Egyptians called God's land, or Punt. Ship planks and oar blades discovered in 2006 at the caves of Wadi Gawasis provided...

...Boston University archeologist Kathryn Bard and her colleagues are uncovering the oldest remnants of seagoing ships and other relics linked to exotic trade with a mysterious Red Sea realm called Punt... the team led by Bard and an Italian archeologist, Rodolfo Fattovich, started uncovering maritime storerooms in 2004, putting hard timber and rugged rigging to the notion of pharaonic deepwater prowess. In the most recent discovery, on Dec. 29, they located the eighth in a series of lost chambers at Wadi Gawasis after shoveling through cubic meters of rock rubble and wind-blown sand... The reconnaissance of the room and its...

Southern Arabia is 1,200 miles south of Israel. Naturally, skepticism about the reality of trade between South Arabia and Israel in ancient times seems justified. Yet the Bible documents this trade quite extensively -- most famously in the supposed affair between King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. And the land of Sheba is referred to two dozen times in the Hebrew Bible. Without addressing the historicity of the personal relations between Solomon and the queen of this South Arabian kingdom (or queendom?), I think it can be shown that the international trade between Judah and southern Arabia very probably...

Members of the tiny Jewish community in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, say they have not received their monthly food rations or any government financial assistance for the past three months. Rabbi Yahya Yusuf, leader of the 65-member community, told IRIN the Jews had been “suffering terribly” of late; many had been finding it very difficult to even feed their children. “We have sold everything we possess to buy food for our families. We even sold our women’s gold rings. We have run out of money,” he said. Yusuf said that two weeks ago they had staged a protest outside government headquarters...

In what is being interpreted in Israel as a declaration of ownership, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) has built a road and set up a military position in the Shaba Farms/ Mount Dov area for the first time since Israel's withdrawal from that part of Lebanon in 2000. Israeli defense officials confirmed the move, which was first reported in the Lebanese media, but would not comment on its significance. According to the reports, the LAF paved a road into the Bastara Farm, which is on the Lebanese side of the Blue Line international border and lies just 300 meters away...

Ancient bronze coffin discovered in Ibb province [14 January 2008] Ancient bronze coffin discovered in Ibb province SANA'A, Jan. 14 (Saba) - The excavation operations at al-Asibia area of Ibb province have revealed a stone grave and bronze coffin in a marble-walled room dating back to the Sheba era. The discoveries were found out last Wednesday at Jabal Esam eastern of Raidan Fort which is considered as an extension to Dhafar city the capital of Sheba and Dhu Raidan Ancient Kingdom, director general of the antiques office at Ibb province Khalid al-Ansi was quoted as saying. The characteristics of the...

In northern Ethiopia, in the once-great city of Axum, final preparations are under way for the return of one of Africa's most remarkable archaeological treasures. The Axum obelisk, a 1,700-year-old stone monolith, measuring 24-metres (78 feet) high and weighing 180 tons, is returning home after more than six decades adorning a square in the Italian capital, Rome. It was looted by Italy's fascist dictator Benito Mussolini in 1937 during Italy's brief occupation of Ethiopia and has been a bone of contention between the two countries ever since. The Ethiopian authorities accused Italy of foot-dragging over the issue, while Rome blamed...