Between Text and Artifact: Integrating Archaeology in Biblical Studies Teaching (Archaeology and Biblical Studies)

108 BE1WEENn:xrANDAR11FACr

biblicalstudiesclassroomas"indissolubleindifferentiation,"hencewholly
distinctanclseparate.Inotherwords,whenarchaeologicalandtheological
epistemologiesstandincannier, it isaconfirmationthattheyhavebeen
allowedthe uniqueintegrityoftheirperspective.Atthesametime,stu-
dentsshouldbeableto experience the"inseparableunity" ofthetwo
disciplinesaseachisusedtoexplicatetheancienthislOricalworldofbibli~
cal times, Note that according to this hermeneutical paradigm, both
disciplines<Ireintcgmtedinasmuchastheyexplicatetheancienthistorical
context.Theydo 1101 explicateeachother.
The fact that thedisciplinesofbiblical theologyand ancient Near
Easternarchaeologyareintegratedintheprocessofexplicatingtheancient
historicalcontextaffirmsthethirdaspectoftheChalcedonianhermeneu~
tic: indestmctibleorder. Archaeologistssettheirsightson thehistorical
andcultUldlreconstructionofa givensite.Thebiblicaltheologian'saimis
different.Thebiblicaltheologianattemptstoexplicatethemeaningofa
text thatistemperedandgroundedina particularhistoricalandcultural
matrix.Fore,lch,thedrivetowardanaccurateexplicationoftheancient
historicalcontextisofextremeimportance, However,thedisciplineof
biblicaltheologygoesbeyondtheHmiLSofandentNearEasternarchaeol-
ogy, Biblicaltheologyseeks 10 exegetemeaningthatultimately,though
rootedwithin,transcendstheparticularityoftheoriginalhistoricalcon-
text. "[Archaeology] does, however, have ils limits," reminds Dever.
"[A]rchaeologyilluminates,butcannotconfirm; it bringsunderstanding,
butnotnecessarilybelief."l,)

ATESTCASE:KU1\'TILLET<AJROD(HORVATTElMAt'll)

Althoughitwaspublishedin1978,theepigraphicandnonepigraphic
remainsfoundat Kuntillet<AjrOdcontinuetoexcite,boggle,anddistress
biblicalstudiesstudentsintheologicalcontexts.Itis a particularlyinterest-
ingarchaeologicalsitefora testcaseoftheChalcedonianhermeneutic,
sinceitsdinarendereachofthefouroutcomes,
ExcavationsatKuntillet<AjrOd, approximatelyfiftykilometerssouth
ofKadesh-barnea,revealedtwobuildings,wells,severalplasterinscrip-
tions, inscribed stone bowls, and inscribed pithoi. Located atop a
prominentlyrisingmoundinthenortheastSinaiDesert.thelargerofthe
twobuildingscontainsa smallcourtyardanda largebenchroOIll.Onthe
basisofp<lleographyaswellasaninternalanalysisoftheinscriptions,P.
KyleMcCarterJr. datestherealiatothebeginningoftheeighthcentury

I')WilliamG.Dever,"BiblicalArch<leolo~y:OfAN1;'1:31H-19