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

!AllOCCA-Pill'S:"THESEAIl.£YOUIl.Gons, 0 ISIl.AEL" 63

platformfrom the CanaanitestnHa ofMegiddo. Although somehave
suggestedthatitmighthavebeena platformfora siloora granary,the
factthatburnedanimalremainswerefoundonthesitesuggestthatit
was,intact,a largealtarlshrine.j4AlsofoundatMegiddowasasmaller
shrine containinga lovely assemblageofcultic items(stands, altars,
offeringvessels),35
Inscriptions.Writtenrecordsareperhapsthemostrareandvaluableof
findswhenitcomestoissuesofancientIsraelitereligion. Although,like
iconographicsymbolism,inscriptionsmaybeinterpretedin manyways,
whena newinscriptionisfound it tendstocapturetheimaginationof
scholarsforyears tocome.Threesuchexamplesofinscribedmaterials
includetheinscriptionsmentioningAsherahfoundatQhirbet(EIQomand
atKuntillet(AjrGd36andthesmallinscriptionfoundonanivorypomegran-
atebelievedtobetheonlyexistingrelicfromSolomon'stemplc,37

PllrA1.1.4:FAILINGTOTAKECOl\'TEXTINTO

ACCOUNTWITHREGAIl.l)TOREI.JGIQUSMEANING

Inourworldwecanrecognizethatanobjectoutofcontextchanges
meaning.AplasticstatueoftheVirginMalYonthedashboardofa taxicab
mighthavea verydifferentmeaningfromonedanglingfroma teenager's
earlobe.Wewouldexpectalargeconcreteversionofthesameimage,
tastefullydisplayedina backyardgarden,toreceiveperhapslessreverence
thana similarlysizedonepaintedandplacedona pedestalina cathedral.
Onewouldnotexpectanyreverenceatalltobeofferedtosuchaniconif
itweresituatedeitheronthefactoryfloorwiththousandsofothersorin
anoutdoorenclosuresurroundedbycementS1.Frdncises,lawnjockeys,
purplecows,andfrogssittinginloveseats.Similarly, differentlevelsof
sanctitypertaintoancienticonographicobjectsaswell.
Forexample,whentheBibledescribesthelargegoldencalfstatuesthat
weresupposedtostandinshrinesatDanandBethel,oneshouldnotcon-
fusethistypeofstate-levelreligiousiconographywiththesmallmetalbull
staRlesfoundthroughouttheregion.Thereisa differencebetweenpersonal
religion, which might involvesmall statuettes,amulets, orothericono-
graphicmaterialthatmightbekeptina home,andthoselargerexecutions

34 Kmhk.->ellM.Kenyon.Archa(!oIogyintheHolylillld(4thcd.:London:tk."Tln.1979),fig.41.

JSDavidUssiskin,"Mcgiddo:OEANE,3:466.

J6Andrel.eM<lire,"WhoorWhatWasY:lhwe1fsAsher:lh'StartlingNewInscriptionsfrom

TwoDifferentSites ReopentheDebate:lbouttheMeaningofAshcrah:BAR10/6(1984)

42-51.

37 NahmanAVigad,"TheInscribed Pomegranatefrom the'HouseoftheLord:"in

Ancientjen/salemR<'1!ealed(ed.H.Geva;Jerusalem:[ST:le[Explor:uionSociety,1994),128-37.