Prof. Martin Klingbeil as a keynote speaker at the conference in Brazil

"On the campus of the Universidad Adventista de São Paulo in Engenheiro Coelho, about two hours outside of São Paulo, Prof. Martin Klingbeil participated as one of three main speakers from October 20–24 in the 3^rd International Congress of Biblical Archaeology and Biblical Studies. Together with Prof. Yosef Garfinkel (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) and Prof. Oliver Glanz (Andrews University), and scholars from Brazil, a variety of archaeological, linguistic, and theological topics that relate to the text of the Old Testament were presented in plenary and break-out sessions. The audience of about 500 participants consisted of archaeologists, biblical scholars, and students from various academic institutions, both within and without the Seventh-day Adventist Church, including also representatives from the Brazilian government. Over four days, the audience had the opportunity to engage with results from recent archaeological excavations in Israel as well as cutting-edge research in the field of Biblical Studies, all under the captivating theme of 'Imperialism and Power in the Ancient Near East'.

As an additional highlight of the conference, the recently inaugurated Museum of Biblical Archaeology on the same campus opened its doors and extensive exhibits to the conference attendees and provided a visual and tangible backdrop to the conference papers and presentations. The museum with its adjacent Bible garden is the first of its kind in South America and houses a collection of close to 4000 original objects and replicas that tell the story of the Bible from about 3000 BC to 600 AD. It was an inspirational time of exchanging ideas, probing hypotheses, and networking with colleagues from all over the world."

Prof. Martin Klingbeil is Professor of Old Testament in the Faculty of Theology at the Friedensau Adventist University. He is also the director of the Institute of Archaeology.