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

154 BETWEENTEXTANDARTIFAcr

discoveryhasalsoled(0theilluminationofkeybiblicaltextsofthepost-

exilicera.to

Thepurchaseofa paslexiliccacheofbullaeandtheirpublicationby

NahmanAvigadisthekindofarchaeologicalcorpusofartifactsthathas

enabled us [Q fill in the so-called governor gap from Zerubbabel to

Nehemiahandallowedustoreconstructtheseriesofcivilauthoritiesor

governorsCpeJpa)inYehudllandtoclarifytheroleofShelomith,'amaof

Elnatan(ca. 510-49013.C.E.).12Supplementedby thejar-handleseatings

foundatRamal RahelandTellen-Nasbeh,wearenowabletolinkup

directlywiththegovernorshipofNehemiahbyaddingtwoJudeangover-

nors, YehoezerandAhzaLl 3 All ofthese governorsserved against the

backdropoftheGreco-Persianwars,Elnatan'sfinalyearofhistermcoin-

cidingwithDariusI'sgreatestdefeatatMarathon.

KennethHoglundhasexaminedPersianimperialpoliciesandtheforts

thatwerebuiltaspanoftheinfrastructureconnectedwiththeextensive

roadsthatthePersiansconstructedinthefifthcentury!J.e.E.,astudythat

hasenabledstudentsbettertocomprehendthefull importofthechanges

thatPersiansbroughttotheirruleintheancientNearEast.^14 Tothiswe

shouldalsoaddthata networkofroyal granaries in Palestine,together

withtheforts thatwereconstructed,wasintroducedalongthecoastto

controltheportcities.ISItistoosimplistictoconcludethatPersianindirect

rulewa~tutallybenign,butthefact(hatLheyallowedconqueredpeoples

andformernationstoexertakindofquasi-autonomy,albeitwithoutthe

normaltrappingssuchaswitha king,enabledlocalculturestogrowand

flourishinnewandunexpectedways.PerhapsthisiswhytheHebrew

BiblegreetsCyrus'skingshipwithmessianicexpect<ltion(IS;:l44:28;45:1).

It isdifficult toimagineunderstanding thelatesixthorfifth centuries

10 111eElephantinecorpusisespeciallyrelevanltounderslandingtheorg:l.Oizationof
SamariaandJudahduringNehemiah'sgovernorship(LeslerI..Grabbe,1beft>rr;ulIIlindGreek
Peri0d5[vol.IofJudllismfromC)!rt1StoJ-/lIdri(lII;Minneapolis:Fonress,1<)92[,54-55,131-36).
t INahmanAVigad, Bl/l/aelindsealsfromIIPost-.exilicJudeanArchive(Qedem4;
Jerusalem:HebrewUniversity,InstituleofArchaeology.1976).
t2EricM.Meyers,"TheShelomilhsealandtheJudeanRestoration:SomeAddilional
Considerations,~Erlsr 18 (985),33-38.AssumingShelomithoflheElnalanbullacanbeiden-
tifiedwiththedaughterofZeruboobelin IChr3:19,lhegovernorEln:uan,bymarryinga
descendantoftheDavidhouse,wouldhavestrengthenedhisposilionina timewhencivil
authoritywasgivingwaytoincreasingpriestlypower.
13 Mar;JoanWinnLeith,"lsrJelamongtheNations:ThePersian?eriod,~inTheOxford
HistoryoftheBiblicaltWorld(ed.M.D.Coogan:NewYork,OxfordUniversityPress.1997).
394,402-3.
14 KennethHoglund,AclJaemellidImperialAdmil/WraliollinSyrill-Paleslilwa"dthe
MissiOlISofEzraandNehemillh(SOLOS25;Athmta:ScholarsPress,1992).
15 DavidF.Graf,"PalestineinthePersianthrOU.'lhtheHomanPeriod."OEANE4:224.