Pre-Exilic Israel, the Hebrew Bible, and Archaeology: Integrating Text and Artefact

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Description

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.

Reviews

...Overall[the author]has produced an excellent primer for those interested in approaching the study of early Israel. [This book may] provide both an excellent entry point for those seeking to enter the debate as well as fuel for further research. -- Review of Biblical Literature
[Pre-Exilic Israel, the Hebrew Bible, and Archaeology] will be welcomed ... as a helpful and stimulating contribution to an important debate. -- J.R Bartlett, Dublin * Journal of Theological Studies *

Author Bio

Anthony J. Frendo is Professor in Near Eastern Archaeology and the Hebrew Bible, and Head of the Department of Oriental Studies, a member of the Department of Classics and Archaeology, and Co-Diretor of the Confucius Institute at the University of Malta.