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

ONTHECONVERGENCEOFTEXTSANDARTIFACTS:

USING ARCHAEOLOGYTOTEACHTHEHEBREWBIBLE

johnC. HlAughlin

AverellUniversity

Il'ITRQDUcnON

The hislOry of archaeology in its relationship to biblical studies
stretchesbackintothenineteenthcenturyC.E.lFromtheverybeginning
thereemergedthenotionthatarchaeologicaldatacouldbedirectlyrelated
tostoriesintheBible.Thiswasespeciallytrueoftheexcavationsofimpos-
ingtellsidentifiedwithmajorbiblicalcities.Thediscoveriesatsitessuchas
Jericho,Megiddo,Shechem,Samaria,Jerusalem,Gczcr,andTellBeitMirsim
(thissite's identifkationwith ancient Debir is uncertain) were quickly
relatedtobiblicalevents.Forexample,thearchaeologicalevidenceofthe
violentdestructionofsomeLBAIlronI sitessuchasBethel andLachish
wasusedtosupportthebiblicalmodelofa militaryinvasionofCanaanby
nomadic Israelites swarming into the COlmtry from the Tr.msjordan,
(Garstang'sinterpretationsofhisdiscoveriesatJerichointhe1930smade
headlinenews.)Thenotionthatarchaeologicaldatacouldcorroborate,if
notOluright~prove"thetfilthof,thebiblicalstorieswasprevalentinmany
circles, includingacademic,duringthefirst sevendecadesorsoofthe
twentiethcentury.In Americathisviewwasencouraged,wittinglyornot,
bythelateWilliamF,Albright0891-1971)andsomeofhisstudents(par-
ticularlyJohn Bright and G. Ernest Wright). This perceptionof how
archaeologicaldiscoveriesrelatetotheBibleisstillpopularinconservative
circlesandstillmakesitsvoiceheardinvariousways,includingprograms
ontheDiscoveryChannel.
InrecentyearstheoptimismofAlbrightandothersconcerningthe
roleIhatarchaeologycanand/orshouldplayinbiblicalstudieshasallbut

I Foraconvenielllsummaryofthishi~lOry,seeI'ett:rR.S.Moorcy,A Century(ifBiblical

Arcbl/(.'Ology(louisvillc:WestminsterJohnKnox,1991).

115