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

136 BI;IWEENTEXTANDART1FACr

InwhatfollowsIwillproposean integrationofarchaeologicaldata
intoNewTestamentcoursesthatwillleadtomoreinterdisciplinaryrecon-
structionsofthescningofearliestChristianiryinPalestine.Whenitcomes
todevelopinga settingforthehistoricalJesusandhisfirstcommunitiesof
followers,it isnowpossibletointroducesignificantmaterialfromrecent
archaeologicalexcavations,whilestillpursuinga criticalassessmentofthe
narrativesoftheGospels.Asanexampleofwhatmighthappenwhenwe
integratearchaeologyandNewTestamentstudies,Iwillexaminemethods
andsecond~lrysourcesthatC<l1lbeusedtodevelopa socioeconomicseI-
lingintheGalileeatthetimeofJeslis.

ARCHAEOLOGYANDNEWTESTAMENTCOURSES:TIlEKEYISSUES

Whenanempling 10 inlegmtearchaeologyintocoursesontheNew
Testament,aninterestinquestionsrelatedtothelargercultumlcontextof
earliestChristianityismoreimportantthansimplytryingtofind"directevi-
dellCe"ofa historicalJesusorhisearlyfollowers.AsJonathan Heedhas
illustrated,referencestothePilateinscriptionthatwasfoundatCaesarea
Maritimain 1962 orinterestina sitementionedintheGospels,suchasthe
potentialsiteofthehouseofPeterortheplacewherea miracleissaidto
haveoccurred,maybeintriguingtomodernChristians,butitminimizesor
even detracts from the real contribution that modern archaeology can
makeinI\cwTeSlamentstudies.3Usingarchaeologyasa wayto"prove"
thevemcityofNewTestamentstoriescanquicklylead 10 a "show·and-tell"
approachIhatvaluesadefenseoftheliterdrymaterialoverattempls 10 crit-
ically examine theoriginsofChristianity. As Sean Freyneaptlystates,
"mentionofarchaeologytogelherwithJesusconjuresupimagesofthe
emptytomb,Peter'shouseandtheCapernaumsynagogue,topicsbestleft
topiouspilgrims."4Thus,ratherthanthinkingofrelevantarchaeological
dataintermsofhowthematerialmightprovetheexistenceofcharaclers
mentionedin the NewTestament,this essayencouragesmoredelailed
analysisofthreekeysocioeconomicandcullumlissuesthatrecentarchae-
ologicalexcavationsinGalileehaveclarified.
Thefirst issueconsideredinIhisessayistherelationshipbetweenthe
urbanandruralcontextsinGalileeandtheresultingimpactonJesusand
hisfirstfollowers.WhatpossibleeffectsdidtheHerodianbuildingprojects
ofthecities ofSepphoris andTiberias haveon Christian origins? The

j Jomu.han L. Reed,ArchaeologyfwdtheGalileanjeslIs:ARI'-t!xamillatiolloftbe

t:videllce(H:lrrisburg,P<I.:TrinityPressInternatioll31,2000),18-

4 SeanV.Freyne,• ArchaeologyandtheI listoricaljCl;llS."inArchueologv(/JUllJiblicuf

Illterpretution(cd,j.R.13:mlel1:l.ondon:Routledgc,19(7),118.