255:(1959). Bright did not believe that the stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph could be regarded as reliable history, or that it was possible to reconstruct the origins of Israel from the biblical text alone, but he did believe that the stories in Genesis reflected the physical reality of the 20th to 17th centuries BC, and that it was therefore possible to write a history of the origins of Israel by comparing the biblical accounts with what was known of the time from other sources.
311:, which saw the discipline as a scientific one allied to anthropology, rather than as a part of the corpus of the humanities linked to history and theology. Biblical archaeology, Dever said, remained "altogether too narrowly within a theological angle of vision," and should be abandoned and replaced with a regional Syro-Palestinian archaeology operating within a processual framework.
247:(1908–2001), had produced a consensus that biblical archaeology had provided physical evidence for the originating historical events behind the Old Testament narratives: in the words of Albright: "Discovery after discovery has established the accuracy of innumerable details of the Bible as a source of history." The consensus allowed the writing of authoritative textbooks such as
224:. The influential academic positions held by Albright and his followers, and their immense output—Albright alone authored over a thousand books and articles—made their work highly influential, especially in America, and especially among ordinary Christians who wished to believe that archaeology had "proved the Bible true". In fact the members of the school were not
319:
unwillingness of biblical scholars, both conservative and liberal, to reject the link between the Bible and archaeology. The result has been a blurring of the distinction between the theologically-based archaeology that interprets the archaeological record as "substantiating in general the theological message of a God who acts in history," and Dever's vision of
299:
reached a similar conclusion about the usefulness of tradition history: "A vague presupposition about the antiquity of the tradition based upon a consensus approval of such arguments should no longer be used as a warrant for proposing a history of the tradition related to early premonarchic times."
318:
framework: yet few describe themselves in these terms. The reasons for this attachment to the old nomenclature are complex, but are connected with the link between excavators (especially
American ones) and the denominational institutions and benefactors who employ and support them, and with the
286:
re-examined the record of biblical archaeology in relation to the
Patriarchal narratives in Genesis and concluded that "not only has archaeology not proven a single event of the Patriarchal narratives to be historical, it has not shown any of the traditions to be likely." and in 1975
140:"to promote research into the archaeology and history, manners and customs and culture, topography, geology and natural sciences of biblical Palestine and the Levant" in 1865. This was followed by the Deutscher Palästina-Verein (1877) and the École Biblique (1890). The
272:, did not support the conclusions the biblical archaeologists had drawn, with the result that central theories squaring the biblical narrative with archaeological finds, such as Albright's reconstruction of Abraham as an
263:
Albrightian theories were largely overturned in the second half of the 20th century, especially in regards to suppositions that
Albrightians made regarding the pre-monarchic era. Improved archaeological methods, notably
217:. Albright saw archaeology as a practical means to test these ideas. Biblical archaeology, for him, therefore embraced all lands and any finds that could "throw some light, directly or indirectly, on the Bible".
144:
was founded in 1900, and the
British School of Archaeology in 1919. The research these institutions sponsored, at least in these early days, was primarily geographic, and it was not until the 1890s that
193:
as the composite product of authors working between the 10th and 5th centuries BC, and raised the question of whether one could regard the books of the bible as a reliable source of information for
633:
Thomas L. Thompson, "The
Historicity of the Patriarchal Narratives: The Quest for the Historical Abraham", 1974, p.328, quoted in a review by Dennis Pardee, Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 1977
765:
Andrew G. Vaughn, review of
William G. Dever, "What Did the Biblical Writers Know and When Did They Know It?: What Archaeology Can Tell Us About the Reality of Ancient Israel" (2001), RBL 2003
45:
which concerns itself with the biblical world. In the academic setting it serves as an adjunct to biblical studies, providing the historical, cultural, and linguistic context to scripture.
161:
The dominant figure in 20th-century biblical archaeology, defining its scope and shaping the mid-century consensus on the relationship between archaeology, the Bible, and the
330:, despite supporting the historicity of the Bible, has also been critical of biblical archaeology as it was conceived in the first half of the 20th century: in his book
780:
336:, he dismisses Albright and Gordon as "little local (and very parochial)" representatives of the "long-deceased American Biblical Archaeology/theology school".
282:
763:
Specifically this was the view of
Albright's student, G. E. Wright, and his "Biblical Theology" school, which became popular in America in the 1950s. See
276:
donkey caravaneer, were rejected by the archaeological community. The challenge reached its climax with the publication of two important studies: In 1974
360:
24:
509:
181:
until 1968, and author of over a thousand books and articles, Albright drew biblical archaeology into the contemporary debates over the origins and
583:
332:
293:
391:
19:
This article is about biblical archaeology as an academic movement. For major excavations and artifacts relating to biblical archaeology, see
803:
653:
174:
141:
228:, and their main concern was to discriminate between those parts of the biblical story that were true and those that were embellishments.
220:
Albright and his followers believed that archaeology could and should be used to shed light on the biblical narrative, particularly the
162:
711:
680:
527:
457:
105:
598:
793:
128:, (1802, translated into English 1839) was immensely influential in the middle years of the 19th century. Shortly thereafter,
248:
825:
668:
320:
314:
Dever was broadly successful: most archaeologists working in the world of the Bible today do so within a processual or
315:
177:(ASOR), (now the W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research) through the 1920s and 1930s, editor of ASOR's
484:
472:
395:
137:
129:
182:
84:
28:
236:
120:
The foundations of biblical archaeology were laid in the 19th century with the work of antiquarians such as
61:
513:
308:
186:
72:, claimed to have found physical evidence for the historical events behind many Old Testament narratives.
576:
355:
379:
681:"Don C. Benjamin, "Stones & Stories: an introduction to archaeology & the Bible", 2008, p.16"
307:, criticized biblical archaeology for failing to take note of the revolution in archaeology known as
110:
100:
20:
712:"Don C. Benjamin, "Stones & Stories: an introduction to archaeology & the Bible", 2008, p.7"
422:
399:
350:
345:
225:
214:
166:
146:
49:
277:
799:
750:
649:
445:
Power And
Religion in Baroque Rome: Barberini Cultural Policies, P. J. A. N. Rietbergen, p.321
91:, teaching Hebrew antiquities from 1713. Although he never ventured beyond the borders of the
556:
323:
as an "independent, secular discipline ... pursued by cultural historians for its own sake."
718:
687:
669:
Joel Ng, "Introduction to
Biblical Archaeology", 2003 (revised 2004), at Edwardtbabinski.com
535:
304:
240:
65:
587:
461:
327:
288:
265:
244:
69:
27:. For the interpretation of biblical archaeology in relation to biblical historicity, see
454:
210:
198:
170:
80:
53:
819:
781:"The Future of Biblical Archaeology: Reassessing Methodologies and Assumptions", 2001
232:
221:
190:
57:
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173:
tradition (his parents served as
Methodist missionaries in Chile), Director of the
150:
96:
88:
510:"David Noel Freedman and Bruce E. Willoughby, "Biblical Archaeology", MSN Encarta"
231:
By the middle of the 20th century the work of Albright and his students, notably
776:
745:
741:
206:
121:
92:
42:
764:
746:"Three Debates About Bible and Archaeology: The 'Biblical Archaeology' Debate"
209:(1902–1968) suggested that the books of the Old Testament rested on a body of
136:(1841), which prompted a group of English clergymen and scholars to found the
213:
that reflected historical events, but could not themselves be regarded as
577:
Walter F. Kaiser, "What Good is Biblical Archaeology to Bible Readers?",
132:, known as the founder of modern Palestinology published the bestselling
488:
134:
Biblical Researches in Palestine, the Sinai, Petrae and Adjacent Regions
273:
269:
194:
185:. In the early decades of the 20th century much debate centered on the
632:
613:
149:
introduced the basic principles of scientific excavation, including
618:, Vol. 95, No. 2 (Apr. – Jun., 1975), review of John Bright's
380:
http://www.custodia.org/SBF-In-Memoriam-Father-Michele.html?lang=it
16:
School of archaeology which concerns itself with the biblical world
114:
485:"Palestine Exploration Fund website, Introduction to the PEF"
303:
At the same time a new generation of archaeologists, notably
56:
tradition. By the 1950s, Albright and his students, notably
532:, February 24, 2004, p. 42–47. From religion-online.org"
157:
William F. Albright and the biblical archaeology school
117:
and published by Willem Broedelet, Utrecht, in 1714.
169:(1891–1971). An American with roots in the American
48:
If the modern discipline had a founder, it would be
21:
Biblical archaeology § Excavations and surveys
197:'s period or earlier." European scholars such as
153:and ceramic typology to Palestinian archaeology.
283:The Historicity of the Patriarchal Narratives
106:Palaestina ex monumentis veteribus illustrata
8:
798:. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 469.
648:. Echo Point Books and Media. p. 309.
528:"J. Maxwell Miller, "History or Legend",
361:Schweich Lectures on Biblical Archaeology
25:List of artifacts in biblical archaeology
616:Journal of the American Oriental Society
124:, whose manual of biblical antiquities,
795:On the Reliability of the Old Testament
372:
333:On the Reliability of the Old Testament
99:and published the first modern work of
581:magazine, Winter 05/06, at gctuedu.com
392:"Library of Palestinology (in Hebrew)"
175:American Schools of Oriental Research
7:
142:American School of Oriental Research
109:, a detailed geographical survey of
575:, 1954 edition, p. 128, quoted in
14:
559:A Century of Biblical Archaeology
83:, professor of philosophy at the
646:Abraham in History and Tradition
295:Abraham in History and Tradition
52:, an American with roots in the
1:
792:Kitchen, K. A. (2006-06-09).
95:, he was also acclaimed as a
775:William G. Dever, quoted in
573:The Archaeology of Palestine
321:Syro-Palestinian archaeology
842:
455:Adriaan Reland (1676-1718)
396:Israel Exploration Society
259:Biblical archaeology today
138:Palestine Exploration Fund
76:18th to early 20th century
18:
644:Van Seters, John (1975).
163:history of ancient Israel
183:reliability of the Bible
85:University of Harderwijk
37:, occasionally known as
29:Historicity of the Bible
87:, was one of the early
423:"Biblical Archaeology"
398:. 1937. Archived from
187:documentary hypothesis
530:The Christian Century
356:Levantine archaeology
215:historically accurate
189:. This explained the
126:Biblische Archäologie
826:Biblical archaeology
326:Evangelical scholar
226:biblical literalists
101:biblical archaeology
41:, is the school of
35:Biblical archaeology
601:A History of Israel
351:Biblical minimalism
346:Biblical maximalism
167:William F. Albright
147:Sir Flinders Petrie
113:in 1696 written in
50:William F. Albright
586:2008-04-07 at the
538:on August 23, 2007
460:2008-04-13 at the
421:College, Wheaton.
278:Thomas L. Thompson
268:'s excavations at
805:978-0-8028-0396-2
655:978-1-62654-910-4
620:History of Israel
253:History of Israel
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754:83 (2002) pp.2–9
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305:William G. Dever
243:(1909–1974) and
241:G. Ernest Wright
205:(1883–1956) and
66:G. Ernest Wright
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402:on 4 April 2021
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328:Kenneth Kitchen
316:post-processual
289:John Van Seters
266:Kathleen Kenyon
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130:Edward Robinson
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622:(4th edition).
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557:Peter Moorey,
549:
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516:on 2009-10-29.
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473:Maps by Reland
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211:oral tradition
199:Hermann Gunkel
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81:Adriaan Reland
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239:(1902–1965),
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237:E. A. Speiser
235:(1900–1971),
234:
233:Nelson Glueck
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222:Old Testament
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201:(1862–1932),
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58:Nelson Glueck
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39:Palestinology
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514:the original
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430:. Retrieved
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400:the original
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245:Cyrus Gordon
230:
219:
203:Albrecht Alt
178:
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151:stratigraphy
133:
125:
119:
104:
97:cartographer
89:Orientalists
79:
70:Cyrus Gordon
47:
38:
34:
33:
777:Ziony Zevit
742:Ziony Zevit
249:John Bright
207:Martin Noth
171:Evangelical
122:Johann Jahn
93:Netherlands
54:Evangelical
43:archaeology
728:2018-11-06
697:2018-11-06
542:August 13,
495:2008-08-13
432:2022-10-26
406:4 February
367:References
111:Palestine
820:Category
584:Archived
561:, p.54ff
458:Archived
340:See also
179:Bulletin
751:Biblica
579:Contact
274:Amorite
270:Jericho
195:Solomon
802:
652:
165:, was
68:, and
722:(PDF)
715:(PDF)
691:(PDF)
684:(PDF)
115:Latin
800:ISBN
650:ISBN
544:2008
408:2011
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410:.
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