The Old Testament in Archaeology and History ed. by Jennie Ebeling et al.

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Old Testament in Archaeology and History ed. by Jennie Ebeling et al. Andrew R. Davis jennie ebeling, j. edward wright, mark elliott, and paul v. m. flesher (eds.), The Old Testament in Archaeology and History (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2017). Pp. xxxv + 650. $59.95. This volume introduces college students and the interested public to "ancient Israel's origins in such a way that students could understand the Israelites from all of the evidence, not just from a single collection of ancient writings. The study of ancient Israel should be multifaceted and not simply a study of the Bible" (p. xi). Accordingly, many of the essays, as the following list shows, focus on the history and archaeology of ancient Israel as they relate to the OT. Part 1 ("Archaeology, the Bible, and Epigraphy: Discovery, Techniques, and Development") includes "Introduction to the Geography and Archaeology of the Ancient Near East," by Gary P. Arbino; "Introduction to the Old Testament and Its Character as Historical Evidence," by Mark Elliott, with Paul V. M. Flesher; "The West's Rediscovery of the Holy Land," by Victor H. Matthews; "'Bible Lands Archaeology' and 'Biblical Archaeology' in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries," by Rachel Hallote; and "A Critique of Biblical Archaeology History and Interpretation," by William G. Dever. Part 2 ("Israel before Settling in the Land") includes "In the Beginning, Archaeologically Speaking: Archaeology to the Bronze Ages in Canaan," by K. L. Noll; "Archaeology and the Canaanites," by Jill Baker; "The Book of Genesis and Israel's Ancestral Traditions," by Mark Elliott and J. Edward Wright; and "Israel in and out of Egypt," by J. Edward Wright, Mark Elliott, and Paul V. M. Flesher. [End Page 160] Part 3 ("Israel Settles in the Land of Canaan") includes "Looking for the Israelites: The Archaeology of Iron Age I," by J. P. Dessel; "Looking for the Israelites: The Evidence of the Biblical Text," by Paul V. M. Flesher; and "The Philistines during the Period of the Judges," by Ann E. Killebrew. Part 4 ("The Kingdoms of the People Israel") includes "The United Monarchy: David between Saul and Solomon," by Baruch Halpern; "Israel: The Prosperous Northern Kingdom," by Randall W. Younker; "The Southern Kingdom of Judah: Surrounded by Enemies," by Aren M. Maeir; "Daily Life in Iron Age Israel and Judah," by Jennie Ebeling; "Israel and Judah under Assyria's Thumb," by J. Edward Wright and Mark Elliott; "The Religions of the People Israel and Their Neighbors," by Richard S. Hess. Finally, Part 5 ("Judah as a Province: From the Babylonians to the Persians") includes "Destruction and Exile: Israel and the Babylonian Empire," by Bob Becking; and "Persia and Yehud," by Charles David Isbell. Since it would be impossible to review every essay here, I will highlight certain essays that exemplify the strengths and occasional shortcomings of this collection. Its chief strength is the richness of its archaeological chapters. Readers will find in these chapters up-to-date information on the history, culture, and religion of Israel as it can be reconstructed with archaeology. Key topics, such as the settlement (Dessel), the Philistines (Killebrew), the kingdom of Judah (Maeir) daily life (Ebeling), religion (Hess), and exile (Becking), are discussed with frequent reference to archaeological evidence, and there are ample maps and figures along the way to help readers visualize the biblical world. I was especially struck by how much space is devoted to the archaeology of the Levant before the Iron Age. Although the essays by Noll and Baker make some connections to the Bible, they are most valuable for the way they situate biblical history against the backdrop of the region's long-term history (cf. p. 296). A related strength is the introductory section, which discusses at length topics that often receive only cursory attention (or none at all) in textbooks. The essays in section 1, which constitutes a quarter of the book, give a detailed account of Levantine geography (Arbino), the history of Western research in the Near East (Matthews), with special focus on "biblical archaeology" (Hallote, Dever), and also practical information about archaeological method (Arbino). Such contextualization will be helpful for students to gain a better appreciation of how biblical...