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Pre-Exilic Israel, the Hebrew Bible, and Archaeology

Author: Anthony J. Frendo

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2013-03-21

Total Pages: 133

ISBN-13: 0567191893

The nature of historical and archaeological research is such that biblical and archaeological evidence should both be taken into account so that we can attain a more reliable reconstruction of ancient Israel. Nowadays we are faced with numerous reconstructions which are very often diametrically opposed to each other owing to the different assumptions of scholars. An examination of certain issues of epistemology in the current climate of postmodernism, shows that the latter is self-defeating when it claims that we cannot attain any true knowledge about the past. Illustrations are taken from the history of pre-exilic Israel; however, the indissoluble unity of text and artefact is made clearer and more concrete through a detailed case study about the location of the house of Rahab as depicted in Joshua 2: 15, irrespective of whether this text is historical or not. Text and artefact should work hand in hand even when narratives turn out to be fictional, since thus there emerges a clearer picture of the external world which the author would have had in mind.

In Search of Pre-Exilic Israel

Author: Oxford Old Testament Seminar

Publisher: A&C Black

Published: 2004-12-20

Total Pages: 449

ISBN-13: 0567082067

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In recent years there has been a tendency among certain scholars to claim that little can be known about pre-exilic Israel, because the Old Testament was only compiled in the post-exilic period (for example Philip Davies, Thomas Thompson, Neils Peter Lemche). One scholar (Lemche) has even claimed that the Old Testament is a Hellenistic work. The purpose of this book is to argue that this is an extreme and untenable position and that, though much of the Old Testament was indeed edited in the exilic or post-exilic period, many of the underlying sources used go back to the pre-exilic period. When critically analyzed these sources can shed much light on the pre-exilic period. This important work is the product of a team of seventeen international scholars, no fewer than five of whom are Fellows of the British Academy. None of the chapters has previously been published.

The Archaeology of Israel

Author: Neil Asher Silberman

Publisher: A&C Black

Published: 1997-03-01

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 0567220591

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This challenging volume offers a timely and extensive overview of the current state of archaeology in Israel. Contributed by leading scholars, the essays focus on current problems and cutting-edge issues, ranging from reviews of ongoing excavations to new analytical approaches. Of interest not only to archaeologists, but to social historians as well, the topics include archaeology and social history, archaeology and ethnicity, as well as the overarching issue of how texts and archaeological knowledge are to be combined in the reconstruction of ancient Israel.

The Fabric of History

Author: Diana Vikander Edelman

Publisher: A&C Black

Published: 1991-01-01

Total Pages: 153

ISBN-13: 1850753245

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Six scholars explore the nature of history and historical reconstruction and the place of history within biblical studies. The uncritical use of both text and artifact that continues to dominate histories of Israel and Judah testifies to the need for a wider grassroots awareness of the basic issues involved in doing history as a biblical scholar. A growing number of scholars are questioning the theoretical underpinnings of the main 'schools' of research and are calling for an approach that makes a more critical evaluation of both textual and artifactual material before using it in historical reconstruction. These essays were first presented at the annual SBL/ASOR meeting in 1989 in a symposium entitled 'The Role of History and Archaeology in Biblical Studies'.

The Lives of Ordinary People in Ancient Israel

Author: William G. Dever

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

Published: 2012-04-20

Total Pages: 447

ISBN-13: 0802867014

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"In this book William Dever addresses the question that must guide every good historian of ancient Israel: What was life really like in those days? Writing as an expert archaeologist who is also a secular humanist, Dever relies on archaeological data, over and above the Hebrew Bible, for primary source material. He focuses on the lives of ordinary people in the eighth century B.C.E. - not kings, priests, or prophets - people who left behind rich troves of archaeological information but who are practically invisible in "typical" histories of ancient Israel."--Résumé de l'éditeur.

The Quest for the Historical Israel

Author: Israel Finkelstein

Publisher: Society of Biblical Lit

Published: 2007-10-24

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 1589832779

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An engaging series of essays, originally given at the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism. The aim of the colloquium was to make available the results of recent archaeological work to a wider interested public, and specifically to bring science to bear on the early history of the Jewish people.

Sacred Time, Sacred Place

Author: Barry M. Gittlen

Publisher: Penn State Press

Published: 2002-06-23

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 1575065274

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Thirteen essays from an ASOR symposium on the relationship among archaeology, text and our understanding of ancient Israelite religion. Contributors include: J. Z. Smith, W. G. Dever, Z. Zevit, K. van der Toorn, J. M. Sasson, E. Bloch-Smith, S. Gitin, B. A. Levine, W. T. Pitard, T. J. Lewis, and B. M. Gittlen.

What Did the Biblical Writers Know and When Did They Know It?

Author: William G. Dever

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

Published: 2001-05-10

Total Pages: 332

ISBN-13: 9780802821263

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For centuries the Hebrew Bible has been the fountainhead of the Judeo-Christian tradition. Today, however, the entire biblical tradition, including its historical veracity, is being challenged. Leading this assault is a group of scholars described as the "minimalist" or "revisionist" school of biblical studies, which charges that the Hebrew Bible is largely pious fiction, that its writers and editors invented "ancient Israel" as a piece of late Jewish propaganda in the Hellenistic era. In this fascinating book noted Syro-Palestinian archaeologist William G. Dever attacks the minimalist position head-on, showing how modern archaeology brilliantly illuminates both life in ancient Palestine and the sacred scriptures as we have them today. Assembling a wealth of archaeological evidence, Dever builds the clearest, most complete picture yet of the real Israel that existed during the Iron Age of ancient Palestine (1200 600 B.C.). Dever's exceptional reconstruction of this key period points up the minimalists' abuse of archaeology and reveals the weakness of their revisionist histories. Dever shows that ancient Israel, far from being an "invention," is a reality to be discovered. Equally important, his recovery of a reliable core history of ancient Israel provides a firm foundation from which to appreciate the aesthetic value and lofty moral aspirations of the Hebrew Bible.

The Bible Unearthed

Author: Israel Finkelstein

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2002-03-06

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 0743223381

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In this groundbreaking work that sets apart fact and legend, authors Finkelstein and Silberman use significant archeological discoveries to provide historical information about biblical Israel and its neighbors. In this iconoclastic and provocative work, leading scholars Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman draw on recent archaeological research to present a dramatically revised portrait of ancient Israel and its neighbors. They argue that crucial evidence (or a telling lack of evidence) at digs in Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon suggests that many of the most famous stories in the Bible—the wanderings of the patriarchs, the Exodus from Egypt, Joshua’s conquest of Canaan, and David and Solomon’s vast empire—reflect the world of the later authors rather than actual historical facts. Challenging the fundamentalist readings of the scriptures and marshaling the latest archaeological evidence to support its new vision of ancient Israel, The Bible Unearthed offers a fascinating and controversial perspective on when and why the Bible was written and why it possesses such great spiritual and emotional power today.

Ancient Israel

Author: Lester L. Grabbe

Publisher: A&C Black

Published: 2007-01-01

Total Pages: 327

ISBN-13: 056703254X

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A number of 'histories of Israel' have been written over the past few decades yet the basic methodological questions are not always addressed: how do we write such a history and how can we know anything about the history of Israel? The purpose of this study is to provide a collection and analysis of the materials necessary for writing such a history.