Biblical Archaeology

Overview

Biblical archaeology studies the history and culture of the periods in which the Old Testament and the New Testament were written, drawing on sites and artifacts from the ancient Near East, including Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq. Archaeology is the discipline that seeks to reconstruct the past by excavating the objects and traces left behind by earlier peoples.

Background

The field emerged in the nineteenth century as interest in the Holy Land grew in the West and exploration of the Near East intensified. In 1838 the American scholar Edward Robinson surveyed Palestine and worked to identify the modern locations of biblical place names. In 1865 the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) was founded in Britain.

Development

• 1846: Austen Henry Layard discovered the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III at Nimrud, a city of Assyria. The monument depicts the tribute of Jehu, king of Israel.
• 1868: The inscription of Mesha, king of Moab (the Mesha Stele), was discovered. Its contents relate to the events of 2 Kings 3.
• 1880: The Siloam Inscription was discovered in Hezekiah's Tunnel in Jerusalem.
• 1890: In his excavation of Tell el-Hesi, Flinders Petrie introduced a method of dating based on stratigraphy and pottery styles. The Merneptah Stele, which he discovered in 1896, is known as the oldest extrabiblical record to mention the name "Israel."
• 1920s–1930s: William F. Albright refined the system of pottery chronology. He held that the archaeological evidence broadly supports the biblical record, and he has been called "the father of biblical archaeology."
• 1947: The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.
• 1950s: Kathleen Kenyon excavated Jericho. She concluded that no large city existed there at the date commonly assigned to the conquest of Canaan, and debate over the interpretation of this chronology has continued.
• 1979: Silver scrolls were discovered at Ketef Hinnom in Jerusalem. They bear the text of the priestly blessing found in Numbers 6:22–27.
• 1993: The Tel Dan Stele was discovered. Many scholars read one phrase in the inscription as "the House of David."

Results and Influence

Excavation has contributed to the understanding of the geography, languages, and customs of the biblical period, as well as the history of the surrounding empires. Since the 1970s many scholars have held that archaeology should be separated from the task of proving the contents of the Bible, and they began to use names such as "Syro-Palestinian archaeology" and "Levantine archaeology." In the Korean church, biblical archaeology is frequently presented through pilgrimages to the Holy Land, preaching, and Bible study materials, and seminaries also offer courses in the subject.

Assessment

Conservative evangelicals regard many archaeological findings as supporting the historicity of the biblical record, and some use them as apologetic evidence for biblical inerrancy. Critical scholars hold that archaeology should be treated as a discipline independent of the Bible. They point to discrepancies between the archaeological evidence and the biblical text on questions such as the dating of the Exodus and the conquest of Canaan and the size of the kingdom of David and Solomon. In the 1990s a debate arose between proponents of the "minimalist" position, which regards the historical narratives of the Old Testament as later compositions, and its opponents. Scholars of various positions generally agree on several points: archaeological evidence is fragmentary, so conclusions may vary depending on interpretation; and archaeology cannot in itself prove or disprove the content of faith, such as the resurrection.