History & Geography

Abstract

History & Geography Victor H. Matthews, Christopher T. Begg, William J. Urbrock, Joseph E. Jensen, Eric F. Mason, Fred W. Guyette, Thomas Hieke, Andrew W. Dyck, Randy C. Payne, Joseph E. Jensen, Victor H. Matthews, and Paul R. Redditt 235. [Pella] Abdelkader Ababneh, "The Site of Pella in Jordan: A Case Study for Developing Interpretive Strategies in an Archaeological Heritage Attraction," NEA 81(2018) 100-107. A.'s study explores issues relating to site interpretation and the potential benefits of improved interpretative strategies. Based on an analysis of the literature and on an exploratory study at the site of Tabqat Fahl (ancient Pella), A. offers concrete recommendations for exploring the potential of the site and improving the interpretative media choices that might be used to communicate the site's themes to visitors. The aim is to preserve the site into the future and to revitalize it by enhancing the standard of information about the natural and cultural heritage value found there. [Adapted from published abstract—V.H.M.] 236. James K. Aitken, "Introduction: A City Perspective," The City in the Hebrew Bible, 3-16 [see #705]. A. provides an introduction to the overall topic of the above volume and summaries of the individual essays making it up. His presentation is organized under three main headings: [End Page 70] The City in Ancient Israel; The Ancient and Biblical City; and The City in the Hebrew Bible.—C.T.B. 237. [Bethel] Bradford A. Anderson, "Mapping Narrative Complexity: Textual Geography, Literary Studies, and the City in the Hebrew Bible," The City in the Hebrew Bible, 55-72 [see #705]. A. explores the city in the Hebrew Bible by reflecting on the fields of textual geography and literary studies. Specifically, his study asks how these fields might contribute to an understanding of place in the canonical biblical text, given the expansive nature of the canon and the fact that particular places can be found across the disparate texts and traditions of this collection. Bethel is used as a test case by A. for his reflections and as a helpful example, given its occurrences at various points throughout the canon. Indeed, next to Jerusalem, Bethel is mentioned more than any other place name in the Hebrew Bible, occurring in texts ranging from the ancestors, to the judges, to the early monarchical period, and even briefly re-emerging in the postexilic period. Against this background, A.'s discussion proceeds along three lines. First, he highlights several ways in which interpreters have tried to make sense of the biblical portrayal of Bethel. Second, his essay explores how geographers interested in textual geography, as well as contemporary literary critics, have read space and place in literature, particularly the city in modern fiction. Finally, A. returns to biblical Bethel in order to tease out ways in which findings from textual geography and literary studies might add another dimension to our understanding of the site and the wider notion of the city in the Hebrew Bible. Here A. suggests that these fields can broaden the discussion of the biblical city by reminding us of the narrative complexity that is inherent in the depiction of place within the biblical text itself, as well as the complexity of lived experience that such places represent. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 238. Rami Arav, "Bethsaida: The Capital City of the Kingdom of Geshur," Archaeology and History of Eighth-Century Judah, 79-98 [see #712]. In this essay, A. takes us through the history of Bethsaida, an important site in the lower Golan where he has led excavations for many years. Bethsaida began as an impressively planned capital of the kingdom of Geshur and ended in a dramatic conflagation at the hands of Assyrian soldiers. It is one of the best-preserved capital cities of the Iron Age, and as such, it offers a glimpse of urban life in the 8th-cent. Levant. The terraced layout of the mound—which is unique to this site—witnesses to expert city planning; by contrast, most towns emerged as natural outgrowths of earlier, smaller settlements. If A. is right in drawing comparisons between Bethsaida and the institutions of...