Archaeology and the Religion of Israel by William F. Albright

Abstract

BOOK REVIEWS Archaeology and the Religion of Israel. By WILLIAM F. ALBRIGHT. Baltimore : Johns Hopkins Press, 1942. Pp. 238, with index. $2.25. This companion volume to From the Stone Age to Christianity presents to the reading public the 1941 Ayer Lectures of the Colgate-Rochester Divinity School. The author purposes " to follow the evolution of the human mind in the Near East ... nothing less than the ultimate reconstruction , as far as possible, of the route which our cultural ancestors traversed in order to reach Judaeo-Christian heights of spiritual insight and ethical monotheism " (p. 4) . Any insistence upon the many excellent features of· this book would be superfluous, for here as always the author maintains his high standards of work. It would be difficult to find elsewhere such a competent, thorough, and palatable preseniation of archaeological data connected with the Scriptures . The bibliography is exhaustive and the index all that it should be. The first chapter, dealing with the Near Eastern mind, is followed by a valuable account of the various archaeological and epigraphical discoverie5 at Ras Shamra, Mari, Accad, Gezer, Lachish, Egypt, Boghazkoy, etc.; these form the background for the subsequent discussion of Old Testament religion, which alone is dealt with in_ this book. Next comes a study of the religion of the Canaanites, with its many and mysterious gods, Baals, and the goddesses Astarte, Anath, and Asherah; the chapter then conclude$ with some indications of the mythological developments and religious practices of these neighbors of the Israelites. The remaining two chapters deal with the religion of the Israelites such as it was at the time of the conquest, as it was during the brilliant period of organization under David and through the commercially splendid reign of Solomon up to the end of the dual monarchy. The temple which was a powerful unifying force in the nation receives a rather detailed description in a section which provides much information concerning the function of the Sea and of the twfu pillars Jachin and Boaz, etc. In conclusion, the author holds that the substantial historicity of the Old Testament tradition has been generally confirmed by archaeology. Judaeo-Christianity stands out as a phenomenon of the historical order, and the Israelite faith was " much closer to Christianity and rabbinic Judaism, than to the basically prelogical religions of the ancient Near East " (p. 177) . The traditional position has always been that the faith of Israel was of a superior ethical content and deeper spiritual insight than the religions of the surrounding nations; similarly traditional is the position that there was a doctrinal development in Judaism, culminating in the revelation made by Christ, in Whom the old religion is fuiJilled. Much of the great value of this book lies in the fact that these positions BOOK REVIEWS 279 are confirmed by the latest developments of research. As in his previous volume, the author holds that " monotheism formed an essential part of Mosaic religion from the beginning," but it did not become explicit " until after the dawn of the logical age about the sixth century B. C." (p. 177). He likewise declares that the prophets of Israel were reformers and preachers of penance, not religio~1s innovators. In these opinions regarding monotheism and the role of the prophets, Mr. Albright differs sharply from most of the non-Catholic Biblical scholars, who arbitrarily hold that monotheism was the result of prophetical activity and therefore quite late in Israelite history. The astonishing mass of details and facts contained in this book is informed by a rational spirit which while it may at times approach the Faith, nevertheless inevitably leads to conclusions which are opposed to those of the Faith, and consequently cannot be rational. In other words, Mr. Albright 's explanations are not always commensurate with the Faith, a fact which does not obligate him to accept the Faith, but should at least indicate that his scientific study is not carried out in its light. This is important for the readers, and for the author too, for this book deals much with religion, revelation, and primitive theology. From a purely natural .or rational point of view, theology would only be the result of a rational evolution...