In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “pioneering israeli archaeologist who shared the national passion for the archaeology of israel that also attrac”. Today it says “pioneering israeli historian”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-02. In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “pioneering israeli archaeologist who shared the national passion for the archaeology of israel that also attrac”. Today it says “pioneering israeli historian”.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2015 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2015
Benjamin Mazar in 1936, at Bet Shearim Benjamin Mazar ( ; born Binyamin Zeev Maisler, June 28, 1906 – September 9, 1995) was a pioneering Israeli historian, recognized as the "dean" of biblical archaeologists .1 He shared the national passion for the archaeology of Israel that also attracts considerable international interest due to the region's biblical links. He is known for his excavations at the most significant biblical site in Israel: south and south west of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. In 1932 he conducted the first archaeological excavation under Jewish auspices in Israel at Beit She'arim (the largest catacombs ever found in Israel) and in 1948 was the first archaeologist to receive a permit granted by the new State of Israel ( Tell Qasile , 1948). Mazar was trained as an Assyriologist and was an expert on biblical history, authoring more than 100 publications on the subject. He developed the field of historical geography of Israel. Between 1951 and 1977, Mazar served as Professor of Biblical History and Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem . In 1952 he became Rector of the University and later its president for eight years commencing in 1953. He founded the Hebrew University's new campus at Givat Ram and Hadasah Medical School and Hospital at Ein Karem and led the academic development of the university into one of the leading Universities of the World (see Academic Ranking of World Universities ). He was regarded by his students as an inspiring teacher and academic leader and many of these students are now considered leading historians and archaeologists in Israel today.
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 664920838.
The opening as it stood in 2005
Benjamin Mazar ( June 28 , 1906 - September 9 , 1995 ) was a pioneering Israeli archaeologist who shared the national passion for the archaeology of Israel that also attracts considerable international interest due to the region's Biblical links.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 17045394.
The opening as it stood in 2010
Benjamin Mazar ( ) (Binyamin Zeev Maisler) (June 28, 1906 - September 9, 1995) was a pioneering Israeli historian and archaeologist who shared the national passion for the archaeology of Israel that also attracts considerable international interest due to the region's biblical links.He is known for his excavations at the most significant biblical site in Israel: south and south west of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.Mazar was trained as an Assyriologist and was an expert on biblical history.He developed the field of historical geography of Israel.He is the author and editor of more than 100 books and articles about the Bible, biblical history and archaeology.Between 1951 and 1977, Mazar served as Professor of Biblical History and Archaeology of Palestine at the new campus of the Hebrew University in West Jerusalem.In 1952 he became Rector of the University and later its president for eight years commencing in 1953.He led the establishment of the new campus at Givat Ram and the academic development of the university into one of the leading Universities of the world (see Academic Ranking of World Universities ).He was regarded by his students as an inspiring teacher and academic leader and many are considered leading historians and archaeologists in Israel today.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 365173002.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Benjamin Mazar ( ; born Binyamin Zeev Maisler, June 28, 1906 – September 9, 1995) was a pioneering Israeli historian, recognized as the "dean" of biblical archaeologists . He shared the national passion for the archaeology of Israel that also attracts considerable international interest due to the region's biblical links. He is known for his excavations at the most significant biblical site in Israel: south and south west of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. In 1932 he conducted the first archaeological excavation under Jewish auspices in Israel at Beit She'arim (the largest catacombs ever found in Israel) and in 1948 was the first archaeologist to receive a permit granted by the new State of Israel ( Tell Qasile , 1948). Mazar was trained as an Assyriologist and was an expert on biblical history, authoring more than 100 publications on the subject. He developed the field of historical geography of Israel. Between 1951 and 1977, Mazar served as Professor of Biblical History and Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem . In 1952 he became Rector of the University and later its president for eight years commencing in 1953. He founded the Hebrew University's new campus at Givat Ram and Hadassah Medical School and Hospital at Ein Karem and led the academic development of the university into one of the leading Universities of the World (see Academic Ranking of World Universities ). He was regarded by his students as an inspiring teacher and academic leader and many of these students are now considered leading historians and archaeologists in Israel today.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 963257700.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Israeli historian and biblical archaeologist (1906-1995) Benjamin Mazar ( ; born Binyamin Zeev Maisler, June 28, 1906 – September 9, 1995) was a pioneering Israeli historian, recognized as the "dean" of biblical archaeologists . He shared the national passion for the archaeology of Israel that also attracts considerable international interest due to the region's biblical links. He is known for his excavations at the most significant biblical site in Israel: south and south west of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. In 1932 he conducted the first archaeological excavation under Jewish auspices in Israel at Beit She'arim (the largest catacombs ever found in Israel) and in 1948 was the first archaeologist to receive a permit granted by the new State of Israel ( Tell Qasile , 1948). Mazar was trained as an Assyriologist and was an expert on biblical history, authoring more than 100 publications on the subject. He developed the field of historical geography of Israel. Between 1951 and 1977, Mazar served as Professor of Biblical History and Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem . In 1952 he became Rector of the university and later its president for eight years commencing in 1953. He founded the Hebrew University's new campus at Givat Ram and Hadassah Medical School and Hospital at Ein Karem and led the academic development of the university into one of the leading Universities of the World (see Academic Ranking of World Universities ). He was regarded by his students as an inspiring teacher and academic leader and many of these students are now considered leading historians and archaeologists in Israel today.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1153296260.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Israeli historian and biblical archaeologist (1906-1995) Benjamin Mazar ( Hebrew : בנימין מזר ; born Binyamin Zeev Maisler, June 28, 1906 – September 9, 1995) was a pioneering Israeli historian , recognized as the "dean" of biblical archaeologists . He shared the national passion for the archaeology of Israel that also attracts considerable international interest due to the region's biblical links. He is known for his excavations at the most significant biblical site in Israel: south and south west of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. In 1932 he conducted the first archaeological excavation under Jewish auspices in Israel at Beit She'arim (the largest catacombs ever found in Israel) and in 1948 was the first archaeologist to receive a permit granted by the new State of Israel ( Tell Qasile , 1948). Mazar was trained as an Assyriologist and was an expert on biblical history, authoring more than 100 publications on the subject. He developed the field of historical geography of Israel. Between 1951 and 1977, Mazar served as Professor of Biblical History and Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem . In 1952 he became Rector of the university and later its president for eight years commencing in 1953. He founded the Hebrew University's new campus at Givat Ram and Hadassah Medical School and Hospital at Ein Karem and led the academic development of the university into one of the leading Universities of the World (see Academic Ranking of World Universities ). He was regarded by his students as an inspiring teacher and academic leader and many of these students are now considered leading historians and archaeologists in Israel today.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1286553086. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “pioneering israeli archaeologist who shared the national passion for the archaeology of israel that also attrac”. Today it says “pioneering israeli historian”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined between 2005 and 2025.
Then
pioneering israeli archaeologist who shared the national passion for the archaeology of israel that also attrac
Now
pioneering israeli historian
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.