The Hebrew Bible on several occasions describes altars as having “horns”—generally understood to be rectangular protrusions on the four corners of the altar’s surface. In the ruins of the ancient city of Shiloh, where the Bible states the Tabernacle was located for some time prior to the construction of the First Temple, archaeologists have recently discovered what seems to be the corner of a biblical-era altar, complete with horn. Maayan Jaffe-Hoffman writes:

The find, said Scott Stripling, director of excavations at Shiloh, is consistent with what he expected to find in the fields of the ancient city. . . . The group also discovered a koba’at, a goblet or ritual chalice, which could be linked to religious use.

A most exciting find at the end of summer 2018 . . . was a ceramic pomegranate. “The pomegranate is a sacred motif,” [Stripling] said. “The only sites in Israel where we have found pomegranates like this one have been Levitical sites.” The pomegranate measures between two-and-a-half and three inches and has hooks by which it could be hung. . . . Stripling said a similar pomegranate was found nearly 100 years earlier by another excavation team. The Bible describes pomegranates hanging from the bottom of the robe of the High Priest, who served in Shiloh for more than three centuries.

On Sunday, the Tehran-backed Houthi guerrillas, who have managed to control much of Yemen, attacked an American warship and three British commercial vessels in the Red Sea. This comes on the heels of a series of maritime attacks on targets loosely connected to Israel and the U.S., documented in the article below by Mark Dubowitz and Richard Goldberg. They explain that Washington must respond far more forcefully than it has been:

President Biden refuses to add the Houthis back to the official U.S. terror list—a status he revoked shortly after taking office. And [Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei keeps driving toward a weapon of mass destruction with the UN’s nuclear watchdog warning that Iran is increasing its production of high-enriched uranium while stonewalling inspectors.

Refreezing all cash made available to Iran over the last few months and cracking down on Iranian oil shipments to China are the easy first steps. Senators can force Biden’s hand on both counts by voting on two bills that passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support.

Next comes the reestablishment of U.S. military deterrence. America must defend itself and regional allies against any attempt by Iran to retaliate—a reassurance Riyadh and Abu Dhabi [also] need, given the potential for Tehran to break its de-escalation pact with the Gulf Arab states. By striking Iranian and Houthi targets, Biden would advance the cause of Middle East peace.  . . . Tehran will keep attacking Americans and U.S. allies unless and until he flashes American steel.