Black Biblical Interpretation and Near Eastern Archaeology

Abstract

Near Eastern archaeology is an essential part of biblical studies. Archaeological data can illuminate past lifeways, provide information regarding past religious and secular practices, and assist in textual exegesis and interpretation. These same data, however, can and have been misused and misunderstood. Thus, the study of archaeological data, like textual analysis, must be approached with proper methodology. This paper discusses Black biblical interpretation (with focus on the Hebrew Bible) and Near Eastern archaeology. The discussion will briefly explore how scholars have employed archaeological data to interpret persons of African descent in what is known as the biblical past, the use of archaeological data in exegesis and interpretation of the biblical text, and offer suggestions regarding how these approaches can be employed in future research. The corpus of scholarship will include work from Charles B. Copher, Cheikh Diop, W. E. B. Dubois, and others.