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

BETWEENHEAVENAND EARTH:EDUCATIONAL

PERSPEClWESONTHEAI(CHAEOLOGY AND

MATERIALCULTUREOFTHEBIBLE

AI/IIE.Killebrew

ThePCnllsy/lJ(lniaStaleUniversity

Asa fieldarchaeologistandacademicwhoseresearchisfocusedon
second<Indfirslmillennia1l.C.E.CanaanandIsrael,oneofmygreatestchal-
lengesasaneducatorhasbeentheintegrationofarchaeologyandBible
intoourunderstandingofboththepaslandcontemporaryworlds.Most
scholarshavetraditionallyconsideredarchaeologyas asubdisciplineof
biblicalstudies,usuallycloselyalignedwithamorehistoricalapproachto
thestudyandanalysisofthebiblicaltexIs.Frommyarchaeologicalper-
spective,Iseetherelationshipsomewhatdifferently:thatthearchaeology
01 biblicallandsisanautonomousdiscipline(albeitan interrelateddisci-
pline)withspheresofinterestthatoverlapwiththevarioussubfieldsof
biblicalstudiesandotherdisciplinessuchashistory,anthropology,theol-
ogy,NearEastern studies, religious studies,and modern Middle East
studies,TheBibleandrelatedtextsconstituteonlyoneofmanytheessen-
tialsin ourarchaeological material-culturctool kit that wcuse inour
rcconstructionofthepastanditssignificancetoustoday.
Muchofthedifficultyinsuccessfullyintegratingthefieldsofarchaeol-
ogyandbiblicalstudiesliesinthenatureoftheevidence.Archaeologyis
thestudyofhumanity'Spastanditsinterpre~ltionhasedona stratifiedbut
incompleteandcomplexmaterial-culturerecord.TheBibleisalsoamulti-
layered historical, literary,political, theological, andspiritual document
comprisedof"stmlificd~textsthatwerecomposedduringdifferentpericxls
oftime.Upuntilthejustsevemldecadesago,theconnectionbetweenarti-
factandtextseemedfairlystr<lightforward.Archaeologywasanadditional
tooltobeutilizedinthel1lustrationandhistoricalreconstructionofthebib-
lical world.]However,duringthepastthirtyplusyears, therelationship

] Fora summaryof]hchislOric:l1llpproach 10 theBible.sec.C.lo("J. /llaxwcJlMiller,

"Reading(heBiblelIislOriC:llly:ThelIislori:w'sAppro:lch."in7'0l-:'-lCIJItsOU'I/Meal/illgAll

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