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

64 lJE']WEENTEXTANDARllFACT

ofthesameimageryonemightexpecttofinelina stateshrine.Thus,not

everyroomthatcontainsa stafuetteisa shrine.

HowTOAVQJDPIWAt.t4;ASSUMEANCIENTSocII:."YWAS

AsCOMPl.EXAsOUROWN

Notalliconographypresentinamodernhomeistied(0thereligious

behaviorofthehome'sresidents.I haveinmylivingrooma statueofthe

"DancingShiva" I acquiredona vacationtoIndia.Possessionofthatobject

doesnotmakemea Hindu.Similarly,iconogmphycancrossthelineout

ofreligioussymbolismandintotheinertworldofdecorativemotifs.Inthe

RomanPeriod,forinstance,oillampsweremassproduced,andmanyof

themhadmythologicalscenesonIhem.^38 Possessionofsucha lampdoes

nOlproveth~lItheownerknewthemythinquestionorreveredthechar-

actersdepicted.Theymaysimplyhavefoundthedesignbeautiful.

CONCLUSIONS

Theancientworldhadthepotenlialtobejustascomplexasourown
withregardtohumantastesandsensibilities,aswellashumanlendencies
either{Oconformtoorrebelagainstbehavioralorreligiousnorms.When
teachinglhebiblicaltextoneisconfrontedwitha myriadofchoicesasto
howlheinformationcontainedinthetextmightbepresentedtostudents.
Whatbiblicalarc.:haeologyofferstotheteachingofancientIsraelitereligion
isanopportunitytoaugmentthematerialsrudentsreadandthelectures
srudentshearwithvisual materialtheycanseeandpossiblyevenactual
;:\l1ifacts they can touch. Making such graphic and tactile connections
betweenthestudent,thelext,andtheancien!worldcangreatlyenhancea
student'sexperienceofthematerialandincreasethepossibilitythatthe
informalioncommunicatedwillberetained.
ParticularlywithregardtoIsrael'sreligiollslife,theuscofartifacts<md
visualinformationcanmakerealanaspectofancientIsraelitelifethathas
beenexpandedupon,enshrined,andothelwiseabstmctedbythedescen-
dent religionstowhich it gavebirth.Toreturnasoftenaspossible to
primarydataistorestoretheoriginalfaceofIsrael'sreligion,seenalltoo
oftentodaythroughlhevariedlensesofJudaism,Christianity,andIslam.
Eventhoughitisa difficultmediumtomaster,archaeologicaldatacanpro-
videforIsraelitereligiona largeamOllntofsuchprimarydata.Theuseof
thisdata, however,mllst beginwitha dedicationofIcuingtheartifacts

3flRen~te R01>enth,llandReneeSivan,AllclelllLampsilltbeScbkx'SSil/gerColleclion
(Qt-'dem8;)el1lsalcm:HebrcwUnivcrsity,InstituteofArch'lcolo~y.1978).19-57.