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

KIl.l.ElIREW:IIE'IWEENHEAVENANDEARTH 15

thebiblicaltextsduringthefirsthalfofthetwentiethcenturywereattimes
similartothedebates,oftenhighlypolemicalinnature,betweenthe"min-
imalists"and"maximalists"oftoday, 11
Theperiod betweenthetwoworldwarsIhroughthe mid-twentieth
centuryisconsideredtorepresentthe"goldenage"ofbiblicalarchaeology
andAlbright'shistoricallybasedvisionofbiblicalstudies.Fifty-sevenstu-
dentscompletedtheirdoctoralstudiesunderthetutelageofAlbright,who
heldtheW. W.SpenceChairinSemitic LanguagesattheJohnHopkins
Universityfrom1929-58.During(heseyears,thegraduatesludiescurricu-
luminOrientalSeminarincludedAkkadian,Egyptian,Ugaritic,Elhiopic,
advancedHebrew,andseminarsinthebiblicaltexts.Severalpart-timepro-
fessorstaughtcomparativeSemiticgrammar,Hebrewgrammar,Arabic,and
Judaica. AssummarizedbyVan Beek inhisshortbiographyofAlbright,
thegraduateprogram's"corecurriculumindoctrinatedstudentsinallfields
ofstudy,andengendereda respectforthecontribution ofeachfield; a
philologianunderstoodtheimportanceofarchaeology,andanarchaeolo-
gist understood (he basic stmctureand relationships oflanguages."12
Graduatestudentsparticipatedinfourthree-yearcourses: Hebrewgram-
mar, comparativeSemitic grammar, ancient Near Eastern history, and
archaeologyoftheancientNearEast(includingEgypt,Mesopotamia,and
theLevanl).Biblicalarchaeologywasstudiedatthegraduatelevelaspart
ofanacademicallyorientedprogr~l.lndesignedtoproducetheologi~lllsand
scholars.WriHenexaminationsweregivenuponcompletionoftheentire
courseofstudy,followedbythedissertation,wherea specializationwas
pursued,13Albright's"universalist" approachtotheBibleandtheancient
NearEastingeneralanditslaterimpactoneducationalcurriculainthe
UnitedStatescannOtbeunderestimatedand,aswewilldiscussbelow,is
stillevidenttoday,
NoneofAlbright'sbooksGlIlbeconsidereda "textbook"perscofbib-
licalarchaeology.Albright'SpublicationsreOecthismorephilosophicaland
historical integrationofarchaeology intolargerbiblicalthemes. [n The
ArchaeologyofPalestineandthe13ible,14hedivideshistreatmentofthe

IIFora recentsurveyandsummaryofthe(h,:b;ue,thei%uesinvolved,anJrelevantbih-

liogmphy,seeWilliamG.Dever,\Vb(/{DidtbeBiblical1f1ri(crsKllowalld1l"1)ellDidThe)'

KilO//!If?",'batArcbaeoloRYCallTeflU~alxJlltfbeRe{/Ii~rofAIICiell(Israel(GrandRapids;

Eerdmans,200]).

12 GusW.VanBeek,"WillialllFoxwellAlbright:ASlumBiogr;lphy:inVanl.k.-ck,"I1)e

Scholarshipof\l;Il/IfamFoxwellAlbll'ght,1;.

I}V;tnl.k.-ck,·WtJIt;lllll'oxwellAlbrtght,'"14-1~;fora descriptIonofAlbrtglll;ISprofes-

sor,secRunning;II1JFreedman,Willi:!mFoxwellAlbright,194-220.

14 WilliamFoxwellAlbright, tbeArc!JaeofogJ'ofPalestille(/lui(heBible(NewYork:

Revell.1932).