LAUGHUN:ONl1[ECONVERGENCEOFTEXI;)ANDARTIFACTS 131therisksinvolved,wehaveanenormousaboutofmaterialthatshould,and
can,corroborateandelucidatetheworldlx:hindthebiblicaltext.
Oneexampleofthis isDever'streatmentofthe archaeologicaldata
vis-f.-vbthetextin 2 Kgs 23 inanarticleentitled,"TheSilenceoftheText;
AnArchaeologicalCommentaryof 2 Kings23."36Aftera briefbuthelpful
discussionofhismethodology,Deveruseswhatisknownfrom IronIIC
archaeologytoilluminateandcorroboratethepicrurcwegetfrom 2 Kgs
23 concerningthereformsaccreditedtoKingjosiahbytheDH.
SetllementpatternsandarchitecturaldevelopmentsduringtheIronII
areotherissuesthatcouldbeaddressedusingarchaeologicaldata.This
should include a discussion of the large urbancenters ofjerusalem,
Lachish,Ramat Rahel,Samaria,andMegiddo,withattentiontotheroyal
anddomesticarchitectureal thosesites,Addilionally, studenlscouldbe
introducedtothearchaeologyofseveralprovincialtowns,includingBeth-
shemesh,Gibeon,Tell BeitMirsim,andmanysmallvillagesthaIhavebeen
surveyedbyZviGaJ}7Finally,severalsettlementsintheNegevandjordan
Desert(e.g.,EinGedDcouldbeintroduced.
Israelitereligion,burialcustoms,3f1andsocioeconomicfactors^39 areother
areaswithmanyavenuesforexploration. Regarding religionin Israelite
cullllre,thearchaeologicalevidencenowavailablepointstoa popularreli-
gionamonglhepeopleofIsraelandjudahthatwasnotwhatthebiblical
writerswishedithadbeen.OnarchaeologyandreligionintheironII,stu-
dentsshould find theessaybyLarry Herronthis period("The IronII
Period:EmergingNations"),andchapter 6 inKingandStager'sLifeinBib-
licalIsraelparticularlyhelpful.^40 Herr'ssummaryoftheIronAge liB, C
periods isa helpful place for beginningstudentstostart 10 obtain an
overviewofthemajorissuesatstakeduringthislimeframe.Includedin
hisessayarelistsofknownarchaeologicalsitesfrom theseperiods.Addi-
tionally,regardingreligionintheIronII,specificitemsandsitesofinterest
include:(1)theTa'anachcultsland;41(2)themassebotfromTelOan;42(3)
theinscriptionsfromKuntillet<Ajr(klandKhirbetel-Qom;(4)clayfemale
36 WilliamG.Dev~r,"TheSilenceofthcText:AnArchaeologicalCommenwryof2 Kings
23,'inScnptllreandOtherArtifacts:EssaysalltheBible(lIldArchacolog)'inHOllorofPhilip
IKiNg(cd.M.D,Coogan,J.c.Exum,andL.E.S[agcr;Louisville:JohnKnox,1994),143-68.
37 ZviG:ll,1.QW(.'1"GalileedUrillgthefrollAge(Winona(":Ike,Ind.:Ei~nbr-Juns,1992).
38 SecKingandSt:lgcr,LifeillBiblicalfsrael,363-81.
39 Ap:lMicular.socioeconomicfactorofgreatintcrcstistheagriculruresurplusesindica-
tiveoftf".IdeevidencedatTeli\liqne/Ekronvis·a.vis theolivc-oilindustry
'\0Sc~alsoIheessaysbySo:.:OIlR.A.Starbul:kanllE!i(,;l!.x:lliLaRUl:L-a-l'ill::'illliJi::.vulullIt::.
41 SecKingandSlager.LifeinBibJicalfsrael,34(}--44.
42 SecAvmhamBiron,"SacredSpaces:OfStandingStones,HighPlacesandCultObicL1S
atDan,~BAR24/5(1998):38-45,70.