Ten Important Archaeological Discoveries in 2008 Related to the Bible

The following is simply copied and pasted from Dr. Claude Mariottin's post of the same name. Given my general lack of knowlege of developments in the archaeological world, I really appreciate this helpful summary, along with links.

Ten Important Archaeological Discoveries in 2008 Related to the Bible
Several announcements were in 2008 about important archaeological discoveries that are directly or indirectly related to the Bible. It would be impossible to name all of them. What follows are ten archaeological discoveries announced in 2008 that are related to the Bible. They are not listed in order of discovery nor in order of importance to biblical studies. Rather, they are listed according to the dates of my posts describing each discovery.

1. The Kuttamuwa Stele

2. Earliest Known Hebrew Text In Proto-Canaanite Script (and here)

3. The Water Tunnel in Jerusalem

4. The Sarcophagus of the High Priest

5. The Phallic Figurines Found in Israel

6. The Walls of Jerusalem

7. Pagan Temple Found in Israel

8. The Bulla Belonging to Gedalyahu ben Pashhur

9. New Inscriptions Mentioning Seti I and Ramses II

10. A Rare Half-Shekel Coin Found in Jerusalem

Other archaeological discoveries that are also related to biblical studies:

1. Archaeological Discoveries from the First Temple Period

2. The Canaanite Warrior

3. The "Third Day" and Gabriel's Revelation

4. The Discover of King Seti I' Cartouche

5. The Assyrian Administrative Center

Claude Mariottini

Professor of Old Testament

Northern Baptist Seminary

P.S. Our professor has also posted a very helpful typology of archaeologists, depending on their degree of minimalism or maximilism.

Minimalism-Maximalism: a typology of scholars

Dr. Claude Mariottini has posted a helpful classifcation of scholars in this field according to their degree of minimalism or maximilism. If I ever get round to reading on this subject this system may prove a helpful orientating point. So, thank you Dr. CM for making the effort!

The Ultra-Conservative Approach

Kitchen, K. A., On the Reliability of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans,
2003.

Hoffmeier, J. K., and Millard, A., eds., The Future of Biblical Archaeology. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2004.

The Conservative Approach

Aharoni, Y., The Land of the Bible: A Historical Geography. Trans. A. F. Rainey. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1979.

Mazar, B., The Early Biblical Period: Historical Studies. Jerusalem: The Israel Exploration Society, 1986.

Mazar, B., ed., The Patriarchs. Volume II of The World History of the Jewish People. Jerusalem: Masada Press, 1971.

Mazar, B., ed., The Judges. Volume III of The World History of the Jewish People. Jerusalem: Masada Press, 1971.

Malamat, A., ed., The Age of the Monarchies. Volume IV of The World History of the Jewish People. Jerusalem: Masada Press, 1979.

Malamat, A., History of Biblical Israel: Major Problems and Minor Issues. Leiden: Brill, 2001.

Rainey, E. and Notley, R. S., The Sacred Bridge: Carta’s Atlas of the Biblical World. Jerusalem: Carta, 2006.

Dever, W. G., What Did the Biblical Writers Know and When Did They Know It?: What Archaeology and the Bible Can Tell Us about Ancient Israel. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2001.

Shanks, H. ed., Ancient Israel: From Abraham to the Roman Destruction of the Temple. 2nd rev. ed. Washington: Biblical Archaeology Society; 1999.

The Moderate-Critical Approach

Ahlström, G., The History of Ancient Palestine from the Palaeolithic Period to Alexander's Conquest. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament. Supplement 146. Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1993.

Finkelstein, I., and Silberman, N. A., The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology’s New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts. New York Free Press, 2001.

Liverani, M., Israel’s History and the History of Israel. London: Equinox, 2005.

Miller, J. M., and Hayes, J. H., A History of Ancient Israel and Judah. Second revised edition. Louisville., Ky.: Westminster John Knox, 2006.

Na’aman, N. Ancient Israel’s History and Historiography. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2006.

The Revisionist Approach

Davies, P. R., In Search of “Ancient Israel.” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament. Supplement 148. Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1992.

Garbini, G., Myth and History in the Bible. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament. Supplement 362. London: Sheffield Academic, 2003.

Lemche, N. P., The Israelites in History and Tradition. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998.

Thompson, T. L., The Bible in History: How Writers Create a Past. London: J.Cape, 1999.

Update: Jin Yang Kim of Old Testament Story has a helpful outline of theories concerning the emergence of Israel.

Colloquim on linguistic dating of the Hebrew Bible.

There is a fascinating colloquim going on at the moment on the Biblical Studies List concerning linguistic dating of the Hebrew Bible. It's main interlocuters are Ian Young, Robert Rezetko and Martin Ehrensvärd, authors of the forthcoming Linguistic Dating of Biblical Texts. Volume 1: An Introduction to Approaches and Problems and Volume 2: A Survey of Scholarship, a New Synthesis and a Comprehensive Bibliography. BibleWorld. London: Equinox Publishing, 2008. You can find a description of the books, their contents, and several pre-publication reviews here.

Their point is that relating so-called Early Biblical Hebrew with so-called Late Biblical Hebrew in terms of chronology does not do justice to the evidence, involves circular reasoning and thus pervants that nature of linguistic diversity in the Hebrew Bible. If you join the list, you not only get to take part in the discussion but also have access to a summary of their main arguments.

Here's a summary of their proposal:

We suggest that following through the logic of this chronological approach to BH actually leads inevitably to the conclusion that all the biblical texts were composed in the postexilic period, which is exactly the opposite of what its proponents have claimed. Now, this may in fact be a conclusion which is congenial to some. But others will not find this agreeable, so we will offer a way out of this conclusion by arguing that the presuppositions of the chronological approach are undermined by the evidence. On the contrary we will argue that the best model for comprehending the evidence is that ‘Early’ BH and ‘Late’ BH, so-called, represent co-existing styles of Hebrew throughout the biblical period. Then we will deal with the objection that Persian loanwords are an irrefutable proof that the chronological approach is correct. Finally we will step back and ask some hard questions about the presuppositions involved in the dating—by linguistic or other means—of the books of the Hebrew Bible.

Photos of Assyrian Wall Reliefs in the British Museum

I recently visited the wonderful British Museum, while back visiting family this Easter. My wife graciously allowed me three full hours, which I spent looking at only one thing: the amazing collection of Assyrian wall reliefs. You can look at a selection of these wall reliefs along with commentary on their website. They are divided according to the following subsections: Assyrian Culture and the Balawat Gates, Nimrud, Nineveh, Lion Hunts (probably the most exquisite in terms of artistic accomplishment), The Siege of Lachish (reported in the Bible), Khorsabad and Assyrian Life (which was closed for refurbishment. Grrr!).

In case these images don't satisfy you, I took a fair number myself. Thanks to Google's Picasa Web Albums I can make these publicly available. So have a peek here. Feel free to leave any knowledgeable commentary, as I can no longer remember what came from where.

Other related sources:

• A video clip concerning the removal of these reliefs in exchange for China's terracota army (temporary, of course!)
• Ancient Near Eastern Photographs
• Egypt Pictures (thanks to Dr. Claude Mariotinni)
• Photo gallery of Ancient Egypt (thanks again, CM)