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

lNTRODucnON 3

Inthecaseofarchaeologyinparticular,thefactthatthescholar(from
outsideIsrael,Jordan,orPalestine)physicallyrelocatesforfieldworkona
regularbasis,oftenunderdemandingconditions,isanotherelementthaI
feedsintotheseparationofthearchaeologistfromthenonarchaeologist.
Thosewhodonotrelish thephysicalnatureofthework,thetravel,the
organizationaldemands,andsoonarebydefinitionlackinginthekindof
personalexperiencethatisprobablythemostdirectresourceonwhicha
teachercandrawintheclassroom.Withoutthehands-onexperience,the
biblicalscholarhastobecontentasan"armchair"archaeologist,whichin
itselfisnotnecessarilya badthing.Noteveryonecanbeanarchaeologist,
andgettingtrainingthroughpublicationsproducedbythespecialistsinthe
fieldisonetime-honoredmethodofpreparationfortheclassroom.
Perhapsthemostimportantfactorinthisregardisthat inthecaseof
ancientIsrael,theculturedevelopedintocommunitiesthatultimatelypro-
ducedwrittencanonsforvarioustraditions.Becauseofthis,muchofthe
literaryevidencefora coursesuchasHebrewBible/OldTest~lmentorNew
Testamentisalreadyconvenicmlyprepackagedintoonehandyvolume,
andthetcacherstepsintotheclassroomwitha ready-madetextualframe-
work.Thisframeworkprovidesa senseofa discretesubjectmalter,free
standing and ready for examination within received boundaries. The
Israelites,intheirtransformationaftertheexileandongoingdevelopment
intowhatwouldbecomean arrayofJewishandChristiancommunities.
produceda book-basedtradition.
Egyptianliterarycultureprovidesa usefulpointofcomparison.While
theEgyptiansproducedplemyofwrinenmaterialsofallkinds,atnopoint
inthehistoryofthecivilizationisthereevidencethatitwasselectively
reducedintoa"canon."Theresultisthatwhenoneteachesa courseon
Egyptianreligion,oneis forcedtodrawonamuchmorelooselyorganized
bOOyoftextualevidence,evidencethatisnotinherentlyprivilegedinthe
fieldcomparedtothe archaeology.Thenthereis the fact thatthelan-
guagesoftheEgyptiantextshaddiedandthecodewaSnotcrackedagain
untilthenineteenthcentury,whichmeantthatthemodernWesternexperi-
enceoftheancicntcivilizationuptothaIpointwasbynecessitymediated
throughphysicalremains,whichm~IYalsobeacontributingfactorinthe
rel~ltivelylesserroleoftextinEgyptologyas awhole.Whenteachinga
coursedefinedbya ··testament,"however,thestnJCtureistosomeextent
alreadyshapedbyandweightedtowardthetext,Theveryexistenceofa
canon,then, isa significH1t factor intheemphasison literatureatthe
expenseofarchaeologyinsuchcourses, notjustbecauseofanimplied
prestigeorauthorityofthecanon,butsimplybecauseofconvenience.
Relatedtothisissue,ofcourse,isthefactthat inbiblicalstudiesthe
teacherhastobeconsciousthat,whichevercanononeuses,it relatesto
curremlyaClivereligioustraditionsformanystudents.Thisfactmeansthat