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

68 llE'JWEENTEXTANDARTIFACf

numberofbooksdedicatedtoa broadlyconceivedvisionofbiblicalhis-
IOIY, which includes some archaeology? However, I will limit this
discussiontotexts that aremoreor lessdedicated 10 explicatingthe
archaeologyandculturehistoryofthesouthernLevant.Thedistinction
hereisanexplicitfocusonthearchaeologymtherthanthebiblicalhistory
ornarratives.Ofcourse,howoneunderstandsanddefinesbiblicalarchae-
ologyoranarchaeologicalhistoryofthesouthernLevant(modernIsrael,
Jordan,andthePalestinianAuthority)isdependentonwhenthevolume
waswritten.ThebiblicalworldanditsarchaeologicalhistoryofAlbright,
writinginthe 19405 or19505,iscertainlynotthebiblicalworldandits
archaeologyofthe1990s.
Withthese caveatsinmind,thenumberofhandbookscanbereduced
toa manageablehandfulofabouttwenty.Whileeachofthemsharemany
similarities,theyalsohavesomeimportantdifferences,especiallyinregard
totheirhistoriographicperspectives.Whenconsideredasagroup,these
handbookscanbebroadlyorganizedintotwoapproaches:the~biblical"or
"Albrightian"approach"andthe"secular"approach."3

ALBRIGHTANDTHEFIRSTGENERA"llONOFBlBl.lCAlARCHAEOLOGYHANDllOOKS

TheroolsofbiblicalarchaeologygobacktothemiddleofIhenine~

teenthcenturyancltheearlyexplorationsofPalestine(understoodasthe

"HolyLand")byEdwardHobinson,4Excavationbeganinearnestinthelate

nineteenthccnnlJ)'andgreallyaccelemtedbetween 1925 and1948,which

Mooreyreferstoas"theGoldenAge"ofbiblicalarchaeology.5Itiswith

theconclusionofthisperiodthatthefirst"modern"syntheticstudyofthe

archaeologyofthesouthernLevant~lppeared, TheArchaeologyojPales-

tine,byWilliamFoxwellAlbright.^6 Itshouldcomeasnosurprisethatthe

authorofthisworkwasAlbright,whoalmostsingle-handedlyfashioned

thedisciplineof"biblical archaeology,"Thisvolumewassomewhatofa

3 &-eibid.;;lndLeoPerduc,LawrenceE.Toombs,andGaryL.Johnson,eds..Archaeology

alldlJiblicaiIlIle'P,.etaIlOll:Ii.ssay:;illMemo,)'ofD.GkmllRose(Atl:tnta:JohnKnox,1987).

4 ForIWOexcellentoverviewsofthehistoryofbiblicalardmeology,seePhilipJ.King,

AmericanArchaeologyintbeMideast:A /-lis/myojt!JeAmericallScbool>ojOriel/W{Res(!arcb

(Philadelphia:AmericanSChoolsofOrientalResearch,1983);;tndP.R,S.Moorey,A Century

ojBiblicalArcbaoo{oxy(Cl1nbridge:l.ulIerworth,19(1).

5 Moorey,A CenturyofBibfiwfArchaoo/ogy,54-67.

6 WilliamF.Albright,tbeArcbaeologyofPalest/lie(reved.;london:Penguin,1954).II

wasoriginallypublishedin 1949 (J-1armondswonhMiddlescx:Penguin)andthenreprintedsix

timesbyIWOdifferentpublishers,lhelaslofwhichwasin1971.AlthoughAlbright'sisdearly

thefirstmodernallempt,1\thiskindofsludy,seeZevit,-ThreeDebatesaboulBibleand

Archaeology:forausdulreviewofearlybiblicalarchaeologyhandbookslhalpreee<.led

Albright's.