I’m going to be hosting a giveaway each month this year. They will start on a Monday at 10 am EST and end the following Friday at 10 am. Winner will be announced the next Monday at 10 am. This month I’m giving away an paperback set of the “Journey to Canaan” trilogy: In the Shadow of Sinai, By the …
Was There a Full Moon That Night?
Writing historical fiction is usually research intensive. Sometimes every sentence needs to be researched. Comments that in contemporary fiction would be commonplace need to be meticulously fact-checked. Something like, “He considered her opinion as he bit into the juicy peach,” means you have to make sure there were peaches in that time, in that season, in that place. Maybe peach …
By the Waters of Kadesh in Kindle
By the Waters of Kadesh is now in Kindle! In celebration, I’ve uploaded the first three chapters on my website. Read without risk! Kadesh is the sequel to In the Shadow of Sinai, but you don’t have to have read Sinai to enjoy Kadesh. It starts just after the Israelites have escaped Egypt and spent the first year of …
Anger or Hubris? You Decide
In Numbers 20, Moses is commanded by God to speak to the rock and bring forth water for the thirsty people of Israel at he end of their forty years of wandering. But he doesn’t speak to it, he strikes it. And for that offense, both he and Aaron are barred from entering the Promised Land with their people. There …
What Would the Captain Do?
An excerpt from chapter 2 of By the Waters of Kadesh, due next month: Kamose slid his dagger down the length of the willow branch a final time, removing the last of the twigs and knots, making it as smooth as possible. He ran his fingers down the branch, then took an end in each hand and flexed it. …
As the Mountains Surround Jerusalem…
Although it is one of the oldest cities in the world, Jerusalem was not particularly significant to the Jewish people until the time of David. When the spies visited Canaan, it would have been just another city sitting on the Way of the Patriarchs. During the time of Joshua, the king of Jerusalem actually forged an alliance with four …
For as Much Money as it is Worth
Then Abraham rose [and] said, “I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.” (Genesis 23:3-4) The Cave of Machpelah, located in the old city of Hebron, is the world’s most ancient Jewish site and the second holiest place for the Jewish people. The cave and …
“Walled up to Heaven”
When the spies visited Hebron, they found a city “walled up to heaven.” (Deut 1:28) They found out why—the city was inhabited by the Anakim. It’s complicated to explain the Anakim, and there are several theories still very much in play, but here is what I have learned as best as I understand it. (It’s helpful to know the –im …
The Original Tract Housing
When archeologists excavated Arad, they found many stone dwellings in what seemed to be a residential area. Streets and alleys ran between the blocks of houses that were of differing sizes (500 to 1500 square feet), but they were nearly identical: a walled courtyard, a long living room and a small or kitchen. The rectangular living room was open to …
Arad—Not Your Average City on a Hill
In Numbers 13, Moses sends spies to check out the Promised Land. The Scriptures do not tell us which cities the scouts visited, but we can guess they took they most common route through Canaan, and visited the biggest cities along that route. The first city the spies are likely to have reached is Arad. Arad was a prosperous and …
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