Biblical History and Israel’s Past: The Changing Study of the Bible and History

635 Pages·2011·4.17 MB·English

by  Megan Bishop Moore

The Changing Study of the Bible and History
Megan Bishop Moore and Brad E. Kelle

Abbreviations xv
i. Introduction i
1. The Study of the Bible and the Study of Israel's Past i
The Basic Outline of the Biblical Story of Israel's Past 2
2. The Beginnings of Modern Critical Study of the Bible and Israel's
Past 5
The Problem of Naming the Subject 6
The Documentary Hypothesis 8
Julius Wellhausen 10
3. The Study of Israel's Past in the Early to Mid-Twentieth Century io
Dates and Eras in the Ancient World 12
William F. Albright and the "Albrightians" 14
Canaan and Canaanites 15
Albrecht Alt and the "Altians" 17
4. The 1970s: New Paradigms 17
4.1. History and Biblical Scholarship in the 1970s 17
The Deuteronomistic History i8
4.2. Archaeology in the 1970s 21
Pottery and Stratigraphy 22
Map: Archaeological Sites 24
5. History in the i98os: New Assumptions Put into Practice 26
5.1. Comprehensive Histories in the i98os 26
5.2. Archaeological and Social-Scientific Studies of Ancient Israel in the
i98os and Beyond 28
Feminist Biblical Criticism 32
6. The Controversies of the 199os 33
Minimalists and Maximalists 34
7. The Present Day: Attention to Methodology, and Moving beyond
Minimalist and Maximalist Paradigms 37
8. The Aims and Format of This Book 39
9. Suggestions for Further Reading 42
2. The Patriarchs and Matriarchs 43
i. The Patriarchs and Matriarchs - the Beginning Point for Biblical
History? 43
2. The Changing Study of the Patriarchs, Matriarchs, and History 45
2.1. The Patriarchs, Matriarchs, and History at the Beginning of the
Twentieth Century 46
Early Jewish and Christian Views of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs 47
J. H. Hermann Gunkel 48
2.2. The Patriarchs, Matriarchs, and History in the Mid-Twentieth Century
49
Discoveries at Ebla, Mari, and Nuzi 52
The Role of Chronology in the Study of Israel's Past 54
2.3. The 1970s to the Present (Part i): Changing Paradigms 57
Anachronisms and Historical Study 6i
The Changing Views of Scholars in Their Own Words 62
2.4. The 1970s to the Present (Part 2): Responses and Challenges 63
Extrabiblical Literary Parallels as Evidence for Historical
Reconstruction 64
3. Interpretive Issues Past, Present, and Future 68
4. Conclusion 74
5. Questions for Discussion 75
6. Suggestions for Further Reading 76
3. Israel's Emergence 77
i. The Search for Israel's Beginnings 77
Egyptology 79
2. The Disappearance of the Egyptian Sojourn, Exodus, and
Wilderness Wanderings from Critical Histories of Israel 81
2.1. Difficulties in Locating the Egyptian Sojourn, Exodus, and Wilderness
Wanderings Chronologically 81
2.2. The Use of Biblical Texts as Evidence for the Egyptian Sojourn, Exodus,
and Wilderness Wanderings 83
Depth-Dimensional Sources 85
Introduction to Challenges to Common Assumptions about the
Relationship of a Text's Date to Its Reliability 86
2.3. Current Ideas about the Egyptian Period, Exodus, and Wanderings 88
Modern Historical Fiction and Historical Reconstructions of the
Exodus 9o
2.4. Summary and Conclusions 9i
The Egyptian Flavor of the Joseph and Exodus Stories (Gen. 39-
Exodus) 92
Plausibility and History Writing 94
3. Scholarship on Israel's Emergence in the Land from Mid to Late
Twentieth Century 96
Map: Physical Palestine 97
George Mendenhall (1916-), Norman Gottwald (1926-), and the
"Peasant Revolt" Theory of Israel's Origins 102
3.1. Social-Scientific Study of Israel's Past 102
3.2. Discussion of the Sources for Early Israel in the i98os and Beyond io6
3.2.1. Biblical Sources io6
3.2.2. Archaeological Sources io8
3.2.3. Extrabiblical Textual Sources log
The Amarna Letters 110
3.3. Reconstructions of Early Israel in the 198os and Beyond 110
3.4. Summary of Israel's Emergence in the Land in Historical
Scholarship from Mid to Late Twentieth Century 112
4. The Current Topics of Discussion about Israel's Emergence in the
Land 113
4.1. When Can We Start Talking about Israel? 113
The Chronology and Nomenclature of the Time of Israel's
Emergence 114
4.2. Where Did Israel Start? 114
4.3. From Where Did the Inhabitants of the New Iron Age Villages
Come? 117
4.4. What Explains the Settlement of the Highlands? 120
4.5. Who Were the Early Israelites? 123
4.6. What Explains the Formation of Israel as a Unified Entity? 125
4.6.1. Religion 126
4.6.2. War 128
4.6.3. Ethnicity 129
4.7. Conclusion 133
5. Interpretive Issues Past, Present, and Future 134
6. Conclusion 141
7. Questions for Discussion 142
8. Suggestions for Further Reading 143
4. The Monarchical Period (Part i): The Changing
Evaluation of Sources 145
i. A New Era and New Possibilities for Historical Study 145
2. Overview of the Changing Study of the Monarchical Period 149
3. Evaluations of Sources for the Monarchical Period Before the Late