REL 260: "Archeology and Biblical Interpretation"

REL 260 : "Archeology and Biblical Interpretation"

Course Description
How does one use archeology and historical data to interpret the Hebrew Bible? This course is designed to answer that question. The course will provide an orientation to the methods and resources of the scientific study of archeology in the lands of the Bible as well as present and overview of the archeological data from the pre-exilic period (the Late Bronze III Age through the Irono IICAge). Methodological discussion will be combined with slidelectures and the focused study of a diverse selection of texts from the Hebrew Bible. Areas C and G. Spring semester, even years (J-Term occasionally).


Syllabus
Religion 260 "Archaeology and Biblical Interpretation"
Dr. Andy Vaughn
MWF 2:30 - 3:30, SSC 107

[ Professor | Objectives and Outline of Course | Schedule | Textbooks | Evaluation | Grading Guidelines ]
[ Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec]


Professor: Dr. Andy Vaughn
office: Old Main 105C
office telephone: x7475
home telephone: 625-2797 (before 8pm)
email: avaughn@gustavus.edu
office hours: MWF 9:00-10:00am; W 1:30-2:30pm; & by appointment



Area C and G Fulfillment:
Area C is defined as "Meaning and Value, the Use of Language, and the Historical Process." As stated in the course description, the course utilizes the historical process to evaluate the "use of language" in selected sacred texts found in the Bible. Through this process of evaluation, the "meaning and value" of these biblical texts is examined.

The course fulfills an Area G requirement by treating a foreign culture. Further, the course requires that the student recognize the importance culture plays in shaping a society.

The course also seeks to introduce and or develop the students' ability to use computerized technology for teaching and for making presentations. This is a supplementary goal to the focus of the class, but it is also considered an important component of the students' general education that does not fall under one of the specific area designations.


Objectives:
The primary goal of the course is to provide the student with a solid foundation in the content and theory of biblical archaeology so that the student will have a greater ability to understand and interpret the Hebrew Bible. With this primary goal in mind, the course will enable the student to accomplish the following objectives:

Gain a basic understanding of archaeological methods and theory.
Gain an understanding for the proper use of archaeology in interpreting biblical texts.
Gain general competence in how to utilize computers and digital technology in leading class discussions and making presentations.
Gain an awareness of the basic archaeological resources available for biblical research as well as experience and expertise in utilizing these resources.
Gain a basic knowledge of the material culture of the biblical lands from the end of the Late Bronze Age through the Iron IIC Age (roughly 1200 BCE to 586 BCE).
Gain experience and expertise in utilizing archaeological research to interpret the Hebrew Bible.


Brief Outline of the Course:
The course will begin with a focused study of archaeological method and theory in order to provide a foundation for the utilization of archaeological data in biblical research. We will also briefly examine the geography of Israel to help us in our endeaver to relate archaeological and historical texts. Next, we will examine the relevant archaeological data pertaining to Old Testament from the following periods: the occupation of the land (Late Bronze III to Iron Ia), the rise of the Israelite monarchy (Iron IIa), the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel (Iron IIb), the kingdom of Judah during the reigns of Hezekiah and Josiah (Iron IIb and IIIa), and the fall of the kingdom of Judah (Iron IIIc). By using this approach, the course will present an overview of the crucial archaeological data pertaining to the pre-exilic period, while, providing the student with opportunities to integrate these data into biblical interpretation.


Group Presentations:
Throughout the semester, we will have group presentations that will facilitate all-class workshops. The first round of group presentation will be only 15 minutes long. The second round of presentations will be for 30 minutes each. Students are expected to work together with the professor and the Information Technology staff to utilize the computerized and audio-visual equipment that is available in our classroom. This requirement will be "optional" for the first presentation however since they start on the second day.
There are at least three reasons for this requirement to use computers and other audio-visual aids: a) their use will make the class more enjoyable for everyone and thus facilitate learning; b) the professor feels that general competence in these areas of technology is an important part of your general education (even for people primarily interested in the humanities), and this competence will be valuable in whatever career you may choose in the future; and c) it's fun!

Final Projects and Responses to the Final Projects

Projects: The class will culminate with final projects (either individual or groups of 2 or 3 students). These projects will be presented during the last two weeks of the semester, and the respective groups will be responsible for assigning a reasonable amount of reading for each day (the professor will work with the groups on suggested readings for the entire class). These projects are intended to provide the students with the opportunity to utilize the knowledge and skills aquired in this course as they examine an issue that is currently under debate in biblical archaeology. Each group will be expect to utilize the computer and AV equipment in the classroom, and the presentations are encouraged to be creative; however, the bulk of the grade will be based on content and not creativity. Whether the final projects are done individually or in a group, each student will turn in a paper that addresses the critical issue of the project. The papers will not be written as a group, but rather each student will submit his or her own paper that develops a focused topic treated in the group presentation. The papers are due on the day that the registrar assign for the final exam for this class at 4:30pm on that day. Tardiness is not acceptable.
Reponses: Each student will keep a notebook of responses to the final projects. The responses must be typed and be presented in the following format? 1) what is the issue that is debated? 2) what are the arguments presented for each side (in this section you should summarize the presentations as well as the assigned readings? 3) What are the strength and weaknesses of each side and what are the presuppositions? 4) How do you resolve the debate at this present time? The responses are due the day after the presentations. The goal here is to develop each student's ability to recognize and analalyze presuppositional arguments that can be tested with further research.



Required Textbooks:

Bible (NRSV or other standard translation). Harper-Collins Study Bible recommended.
Ben-Tor, Amnon. The Archaeology of Ancient Israel. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992.
Lance, H. Darrell. The Old Testament and the Archaeologist. Guides to Biblical Scholarship, Old Testament Series. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1989.

Anticipated Method of Evaluation:

Short Group Presentations & Participation	10%
First Test	20%
Second Test	25%
Final Group / Individual Presentation	10%
Responses to Final Presentations	10%
Final Paper	25%

ANTICIPATED SCHEDULE OF TOPICS, READINGS, AND EXAMS

Section One: Introduction and Definition of Biblical Archaeology

Sep 05 (W): Introduction of Class

Introduce Syllabus
"A Case Study on The Use of Archaeology in Biblical Interpretation"
- slide presentation by professor (link)
- read 2 Chronicles 29-32

07 (F) "What is Biblical Archaeology?"

slide presentation by professor (link)
- Ben-Tor, AI, 7-9
- Lance, OTATA, 1-11
- J. M. Miller, "OT History and Archaeology," Biblical Archaeologist 50 (1987) 55-63 (on reserve in library)

Section Two: Geography and the History of Research

10 (M): Group Presentations (#1) on geography

Group 1: The Jezreel Valley (link)
- John Cook, Erin Holloway
Group 2: The Samarian Hill Country (link)
- Andrew Dahl, Susan Schumacher
Group 3: The Negeb and the Judean Wilderness
- Jay DeLaRosby, Melissa Wulf

12 (W): Group Presentations (#1, cont.) & introduction to historical geography

Group 4: The Shephelah (link)
- Ann Fossum, Nathaniel Ziemer
Group 5: The Coastal Plain and the Sharon Plain (link)
- Hunter Jenzen, Samuel Henschen
The Economy of the Levant
- slide presentation by professor
- read pp. 11-21 in Macmillan Bible Atlas before class (this will also help with your presentations)
Assignment for everyone: listen to tape by Anson Rainey on the geography of Israel (tape to be made available when Media Services can make the conversion, so this assignment may need to be moved)

Section Three: Archaeological Field Methodology and Terminology

14 (F): "Archaeological Stratigraphy, Terminology, and Chronology"

Slide presentation by professor (link)
read Lance, OTATA, 12-37, before class

17 (M): "Typological Dating and Chronology-- An Overview of Typology"

Slide presentation by professor (link)
read Lance, OTATA, 37-46, before class
carefully read the introduction and conclusion and skim the rest of Y. Aharoni and R. Amiran, "A New Scheme for the Sub-Division of the Iron Age in Palestine," IEJ 8 (1958) 171-184. note: this is a technical article, so I'm not asking you to digest it all before class. We will go over the important features during class and then you can reread parts of the article. Please also note that "skim" does not mean "ignore"! Please also note that you will have a chance to reread the article later in the syllabus.

19 (W): "Historical or Archaeological Chronological Periods?"

professor will present a lecture on a brief history of the ancient Near East with special emphasis on the events that had bearing on Israel during the Iron I, II, and III periods (link)
read carefully Y. Aharoni and R. Amiran, "A New Scheme for the Sub-Division of the Iron Age in Palestine," IEJ 8 (1958) 171-184. This will be your second time through this article, so you can read it more carefully. Don't get bogged down if you can't understand the pottery plates, etc. Try to look for the main points about the pottery.
Barkay, "terminology and chronology" in his chapter in Ben-Tor, AI, 304-305. As you read these two pages, ask how the criteria of material culture and history are used for naming the chronological periods that we are studing.
question for thought: as you prepare for class, think about how archaeological periods are divided. That is, how do we determine the beginning of the Iron Age as opposed to the Late Bronze Age? Is the determination purely scientific? If not, then what are the criteria?

21 (F) "Historical Geography: A Case Study"

read before class: A. F. Rainey, "Historical Geography-- The Link Between Historical and Archaeological Interpretation," Biblical Archaeologist 45 (1982) 217-223 (on reserve in library)
read before class: articles on the identification of Lachish (on reserve in the library)
read before class: article on the identification of Megiddo (to be distributed)

24 (M) Workshop "Dating Levels II and III at Lachish and the Concept of Absolute Chronology"

read before class: Yohanan Aharoni and Miriam Aharoni, "The Stratification of Judahite Sites in the 8th and 7th Centuries BCE," BASOR 224 (1976) 73-90; note: this is a technical article, so please skim it before class. We will go over the important feature during class and then you can reread parts of the article. Please also note that "skim" does not mean "ignore"!
read before class: David Ussishkin, "The Destruction of Lachish by Sennacherib and the Dating of teh Royal Judean Storage Jars," Tel Aviv 4 (1977) 28-60. Focus esp. on pages 28-36, 50-54.
read before class: David Ussishkin, "Excavations at Tel Lachish-- 1973-1977, Preliminary Report; E. The Assyrian Siege Ramp," Tel Aviv 5 (1978) 67-73.
a brief summary of the stratigraphic and archaeological arguments is found in A. G. Vaughn, Theology, History, and Archaeology in the Chronicler's Account of Hezekiah, SBL / ASOR Biblical Studies and Archaeology 4 (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1999), pp. 82-85. The professor will distribute a photocopy of these pages before class. This summary should probably be read first as it will orient you to the key issues being discussed today
complete the study guide to be handed out in class

26 (W) "The Proper Use of Arch. in Biblical Research: Negative and Positive Uses"

slide presentation by professor (link from J-Term, 2000) (link from Fall Semester, 2001)
Lance, OTATA, 61-66
J. A. Sauer, "Syro-Palestinian Archaeology, History, and Biblical Studies," Biblical Archaeologist 45 (1982) 201-209 (on reserve in library)
read article by Roland de Vaux, "On the Right and Wrong Uses of Archaeology" (to be put on reserve in library)
read review article by William Dever in Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 2001. To be placed on reserve in library.

28 (F) First Exam over sections 1-3 (20% of course grade)

study guide for the First Test

Section Four: Archaeology of the Israelite Occupation (LB III through Iron IA)

Oct 01 (M): Overview of the Late Bronze Age

read, R. Gonen, "The Late Bronze Age," in AI, 211-216
professor will present a slide lecture (link)

03 (W): no class meeting (Nobel Conference)

05 (F): "Biblical Account of the Israelite Occupation: Identifying the Problem" (link)

read Joshua 1-12, Judges 1, and 1 Kings 4
write at least 1 paragraph describing the differences that you see in Joshua's account of the occupation of the land and the account found in Judges

08 (M): The Period of the Israelite Occupation-- transition from LBIII - Iron IA

A. Mazar, "The Iron Age I," in AI, 258-262; 281-301
slide presentation by professor (link)

10 (W): An Archaeological Overview of the Israelite Occupation

read before class: Lawrence E. Stager, "Forging an Identity: The Emergence of Ancient Israel," in The Oxford History of the Biblical World, ed. by Michael D. Coogan (Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), pp. 90-131. Photocopies handed out during class.

12 (F): Group Presentations #2: Group A: Review the theories for the "Conquest," "Settlement," and "Revolt" models

review material presented in the Callaway / Miller articles in Shanks, ed., Ancient Israel. (everyone should read this assignment)
supplement the information in our textbook with a broader explanation and critique
additional bibliography is available from the professor and by consulting The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East and in the New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, and in the Anchor Bible Dictionary.

15 (M): Group Presentations #2: Group B: Occupation as a Cyclical Phenomenon

present a critical assessment of how Finkelstein's "Cyclical Theory" is either useful or not useful for interpreting the biblical account of the Israelite occupation of the land.
lead a discussion on the material
Finkelstein's articles will be available from the professor (I have distributed one photocopy; in addition, the article is found in the library in the article: Israel Finkelstein, "The Emergence of Israel: A Phase in thr Cyclic History of Canaan in the Third and Second Millenia BCE," in From Nomadism to Monarchy, ed. by Finkelstein and Na'aman (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society; Washington: Bibical Archaeology Review, 1994), pp. 150-178.
A summary of Finkelstein's theory is found in the following chapter in the library: Israel Finkelstein, "The Great Transformation: The 'Conquest' of the Highlands Frontiers and the Rise of the Territorial States," in The Archaeology of the Society in The Holy Land, ed. by Thomas Levy (New York: Facts on File, 1995), pp. 349-367.

17 (W) Group Presentations #3: Group C: Pastorlists, Nomads, or Something Else?:

present a critical assessment of whether the early settlers of what later becomes identified as Israel are pastorlists, nomads or something else.
identify which sites are debated as "early Israelite" and lead a discussion on why they should or should not be considered "Israelite"
a preliminary bibliography will be available from the professor (you should also look for further information in the The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East (see esp. the entry on the "Israelites" by Volkmar Fritz (pp. 192-197)and in the New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, and in the Anchor Bible Dictionary).

19 (F) No Class meeting: Fall Break

22 (M) No Class meeting: Fall Break

24 (W) Iron Age I-- Discussion of "So What-- what really happened?"

write a one- to two-page position paper answering the question for the day
other readings to be assigned
the professor will lead a class discussion on the topic

Section Five: Archaeology of the Philistines (Iron I)

26 (F): "The Philistines: The Biblical Evidence"

read Judges 13-16
other readings to be assigned

29 (M): "Settlement of the Sea Peoples in Canaan"

read A. Mazar, "The Iron Age I," in AI, 262-281
professor will present a slide lecture (link)

31 (W): "Dating the Philistine Layers with pottery"

Read article by Israel Finkelstein, "Philistine Chronology: High, Low, or Middle," in Mediterranean Peoples in Transition Thirteenth to Early Tenth Centuries BCE—In Honor of Trude Dothan, ed. by S. Gitin, A. Mazar, and E. Stern (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1998), pp. 140-147. (to be handed out in class)
Read article by Trude Dothan, "Initial Philistine Settlement: From Migration to Coexistence," in Mediterranean Peoples in Transition Thirteenth to Early Tenth Centuries BCE—In Honor of Trude Dothan, ed. by S. Gitin, A. Mazar, and E. Stern (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1998), pp. 148-161. (to be handed out in class)
Read responses by various people: "Discussion," in Mediterranean Peoples in Transition Thirteenth to Early Tenth Centuries BCE—In Honor of Trude Dothan, ed. by S. Gitin, A. Mazar, and E. Stern (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1998), pp. 184-186. (to be handed out in class)
Professor will lead a class dicussion on these articles. We will focus on Finkelstein's article and talk about how we should read scholarly articles with a critical eye for presuppositions and for conclusions based on arguments that have not been thoroughly proven. We will then move on to talk about the alternative views to Finkelstein and assess those arguments using the same method.

Section Six: Archaeology of the United Monarchy (Iron Age IIa)

Nov 02 (F): "The Origination of Kingship: The Biblical Evidence"

read Jud 6 and 9
read 1 Samuel 3, 8-10, 31
read 2 Samuel 2, 6-7
read 1 Kings 3-9
The professor will lead a discussion on these passages and give a lecture on how the origination of kingship in Israel is different from the other nations surrounding Israel. This biblical evidence will frame the questions that we will bring to the archaeological data.
Since we had part of the class taken up with class evaluations, here is a link for some key notes on the origination of kingship in Israel. The key for our discussion of archaeology is to think about the following issues:
- Does the biblical text indicate that Israelite society looks different during the reign of Saul and David? For this question think about our study of the biblical texts treating the Philistines and the interaction of the Philistines with the Israelites and Judeans.
- If Israelite society is portrayed differently in Saul and David's reign, would we expect this to show up archaeologically?
- From a factual or historical reading of the biblical texts, does there seem to be a large difference with the way in which Saul comes to power and the way David comes to power? Since the Bible portrays Saul as being more corrupt than David, what might we look for archaeologically to account for this? Would we expect David and Solomon's cities to show signs of prosperity because they are portrayed as good kings by the Deuteronomistic historian?

05 (M): Iron Age IIa: "The Period of the United Monarchy"

Barkay, "The Iron Age II-III" in AI, 302-327 (caution: Barkay and A. Mazar use different dates for the Iron Age IIb, so pay attention to the definitions for the Iron Age IIa and IIb).

07 (W): Iron Age IIa: "The Solomonic Age-- An Archaeological Problem"

read Lance, OTATA, 67-93
Look at Gezer, Megiddo, and Hazor articles in E. Stern, ed., The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land (in the reference section in the library). Look specifically at the sections of these articles on the United Monarchy and the gateways and casemate walls.
other readings to be assigned

09 (F): "Problems with the United Monarchy: A Low Chronology"

selected readings by Israel Finkelstein and David Ussishkin to be assigned

12 (M): "Problems with the United Monarchy: A Middle Chronology"

selected readings by A. Mazar and others to be assigned

14 (W): Test over Sections 4-6 (25% of course grade)

16 (F): Work on final projects in library

19 (M): Work on final projects in library

21 (W): Individual conferences with professor

schedule 30 min. conferences with professor during day to go over your proposal for a final project/ paper
a thesis statement and annotated bibliography due at this time
it is preferred that the student also have a tentative paper outline, but this is not required
as this is the day before Thanksgiving, preference for early conference times will be given to those who have to travel a long distance

22 (Th): Thanksgiving Day

23(F): No class: Thanksgiving Break

Section Seven: Archaeology of the Divided Monarchy (Iron IIb to IIIa)

26 (M): Iron Age IIb-- the issue of the Ninth century

readings to be assigned

28 (W): The Divided Monarchy-- An Archaeological Overview

readings to be assigned

30 (F): The Divided Monarchy-- the biblical evidence

readings to be assigned

Dec 03 (M) The Archaeology of Jerusalem-- Mimimalist/ Maximalist Debate

readings to be assigned

05 (W): Final projects

07 (F): Final projects

10 (M): Final projects

12 (W): Wrap-up or make-up day