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

14 BElWEENlDITANDARllFACf

G. Ernest Wright.^6 "Biblical archaeology"asadvocatedby Albright and
Wrightwasa subficldofbiblicalsllldiesintheUnitedStalesthatrcached
itsgreatestintelleClUalimpaciintheearlytomid-twentiethcentury.The
roleofarchaeologyinbiblicalresearchasdellnedbyAlbrightwas"thesys-
tematicanalysisorsynthesisofanyph<lseofbiblicalscholarshipwhichcan
beclarifiedbyarchaeologicaldiscovery."?WrightfurtherrefinedAlbright's
definitionofbiblicalarchaeologyas

a special~annchair"varietyofgener..l[archaeology.nlCbiblic;llarchaeol-

ogistmayormaynOIbeanexcavatorhimself,buthestudiesthediscov-

eriesoftheexcavationsinordertogleanfromthemeveryfactthatthrows

a direct,indirL"C1orevendiffuscdlightupontheBible. Hiscentmland

absorbinginterestistheunderstandingandexpositionoftheScriptures.~8

TheAlbrightianSchool'senthusiasticembraceofbiblicalarchaeology
wasdueinnosmallmeasuretobotha personalandprofessionalreaction
againsthighercriticism,especiallyWellhausen'sDocumental)'Hypothesis
and Gunkel's form criticism.^9 For Albrightand many ofhis followers,
archaeologywasa scientificallybaseddisciplinethatcould providean
independentandneutralstandardbywhichtoverifythehistoricityofthe
biblicaltextsandtoconfronthighercriticism'sskepticismregardinga literal
readingoftheI3ibleashislol)'.l0Theseconflictinghistoricalapproachesto

6 G.ErnestWrightcanbeconsideredthetrue:lrchite<:tof"biblicalarchaeology"inits
Americancontext.!-Iei5definedbyhiscriticalPrQtest:lntperspectivetobiblit<llandtheolog-
icalstudiescombinedwith:1stronginterestinthepotentialofh,lrdandsocialsciencesto
conclusivelyresolvehistoricallybasedbiblicalqueStions.Ikserved,ISa mentOrtotwogen-
el'",lIionsofarchaeologists,mdbiblicalstudents,manyofwhomarestillactiveinacademic
institutionstod:lY.Numerou.~articlesha\'ebccnwrittenaboutWrightandhiscontributionto
biblicllarch'll..-ology.Sec,e.g.,WiJli"ffiG.Dever,"J3ibliedlTheologyandBiblit<llArch,lt-ology:
AnAppreciationofG.ErnestWright:NTR 73 (1980):l-tS;PhilipJ.King,"TheInfluenceof
G.ErnestWrightontheArchaeologyofP'llcstinc."inArchaeologyandBiblicalImerprettl/ion:
BsaysinMemoryofD.GI(!1mRose(cd.l.G.Perdue,I..E.Toombs,andG.L.Johnson;
Atlanta:JohnKnox,1987),1S-30.
7 WilliamF.Albright,"Thelmp:lctofArchaeologyonBiblicalRese<lrch-I966,"inNew
DirectionsillIJiblicalArchaeology(cd.D,N.Freedm:mandJ.c.Greenfield:GardenCity.
N.Y.:Doubleday,1971),"
8 G.ErnestWright,BiblicalArcha£.'olo8Y(rev.cd.;Philadelphia:Westminster,19(2),t7.
9 Fora discussionofthesignificanceofarchaeologyinAlbright'sconceptionofa histor-
icallybasedapproachtobiblicalstudiesasan:lllSWCrto\'('ellhauscn's"highercriticism,"sec,
e.g.,Moorey,A CenturyofBibUcalArchaeology,S4-84
10 Foraninsightful;mdaffectionateevaluationofAlbright.seePeterMachinist."William
FoxwellAlbright:TheM:mandHisWork:inTbeStudyofIbeAllciell/NearEastinthe
Twenty-FirslCellfllry:nJeW'j{/iamFoxwdlAlbrigblCentel/IlialConference«('d.J,S.Cooper
andGlennM.Schwartz;WinonaLake,Ind.:Eisenbmuns,1996),385-403,esp.394-400.S<.-e
alsoLong."MythicTrope"lmdidem.1~/(ll/lil/8alldR('alJiTlgAlbright,esp.111-48.