8 IW1Wl'f,\n:>..,.Aj';J)AR11FAcr~bibliC'.I1archaeology~textbooksavailablewithin theshiftinginlellectu;t
currentsthalhavedominatedmeinterpretationofarchaeologicalevidence
vis-a-vistheBible.Alongtheway,Desselprovidesaninformativeoverview
ofthosetextbooksthat IlebrewBibleteachersmightconsiderassupple-
menl')totheircourses,exposingtheintellectualbiasesandscopeofe'.lch.
ScottR.A.Starbuck'ses.<;ay,-WhyDeclarethe11lingsForbidden?Class·
roomInlcgmtionofAncien(NearEasternArcha<.--ologywithDiblicalStudies
innleologicalContexl,~isaexemplarycontribution 10 thediscussionof
archaeologyanditsrelationtotheological issues.Writingpallicularlyfor
scholarswho leachinth<.'Ological seminariesorchUTch-reiated colleges,
Starbuck beginsby consideringthe epistemological ethosthat is often
implicitinthebiblicalstudiesclassroomintheologicalcontexts.Hethen
offersa p,llticulartheologicillhermeneutic("theChalcedonianhermeneu-
tic~)with a testcase that usesthematerial remainsofKuntillet (Ajnkl
(HOrvillTeiman)inordertoshow<Ipositiverelationshipbetweentheology
andarchaeology.
OfparticularpmcticaluscforinslnlctorsinlIebrewBibleisJohnC.1-1.
Laughlin's~OnTheConvergenceofTextsandArtifacts:UsingArchaeology
toTeachIhe HebrewBible.~ In Ihisessay Laughlin demonstraleshow
arch.aeologyc.mbeusedbothposilivelyandnegativelyinbiblicalstudies
whenleachingIhe"conquesl~ofCanaanaccording 10 Numbers,Joshua,
andJudges,thedevelopment of3n -lsr'.Iclite-state,~tndthenature of
"Israelite~religion. Dr'.Iwingonhismanyyearsofsuccessfulleachingin
undergraduatesettings,Laughlinpackshisessaywilhpraelic.!1adviceand
relevantresourcesforleaching.
OneanalogousessayfortheearlyRomanperiod providesanintro-
duction 10 teachingtoolsandlextsandexplicaledsyllabi.In'"Archaeology
inNewTestamentCourses,"MiltonC.Morelandprovidesa critiqueoffacile
usesofmaterialculturethatfunclion,consciouslyornot,toconcretizethe
historicityofeventsnarratedintheNewTestamenlforstudents.Sugges-
tionsformoresophistiGltedincorpor.nionofarchaeologicaldataintoNew
Testamentteachingpermita richerunderslandingofsocialandeconomic
considerationsduring the periodoftheJesus movementand obviate
relianceonarchaeology asa visual aidthat might be lIsed to enforce
uncriticallybiblical claims.Theessaypresentssevcr.Jl pointsofcont'lCl
betweenarchaeologyandintroductiontoNewTestamenlcourses 10 illus-
trate howarchaeology can beused both 10 explain Ihe textsand to
encoumgecritk-althinkingintheclassroom.
Otherchapterswillbeespeciallyusefulforunderstandingthecultural
environmentofSecondTempleperiodSyro-Paleslinethroughsourcesfrom
within and outside (he biblictl canon. In "Teaching Second Temple
JudaisminLighlofArchaeology,"EricM.Meyersdemonstratesnotonly
thecenmllimportanceofPersianandHellenisticarchaeologic.ilmaterials