The Archaeology of Biblical Israel University of Washington Course: NEAR E 311/511 Instructor: Stephanie Selover Term: Winter 2018 Office Hours: Wednesdays, 1-3pm Room: SAV 156 Office: Denny M220E Time: TTh 3:30-5:20pm Email: [email protected]
Course Description:
This course is a survey of the archaeology of ancient Israel, also called the southern Levant. The course will cover archaeological, Biblical, and other contemporaneous textual sources to explore this topic, from the Middle Bronze Age (Age of the Patriarchs) to the end of the Babylonian Exile (ca. 2000-300 BCE). The course will also explore the current state of the archaeology of the Bible, and consider the various viewpoints in this discipline. We begin with the history of archaeology in the region, and an exploration of the various schools of thought in Biblical archaeology. The remainder of the course is a chronological study what is known from archaeology about the various cultures and peoples of the southern Levant, from the Middle Bronze Age until the return of the Israelites from the Babylonian exile during the Persian Empire. This portion of the class will cover the known information of the cultures of the various peoples, including subjects such as religion, architecture, food ways, ceramic styles, decorative arts and subsistence patterns. We will study the archaeological material from these time periods to fuel discusses the various issues in understanding the Bible as historical text. The class will have both an undergrad and graduate student component. All students are responsible for all readings, a weekly online discussion of class themes and readings, one in-class map quiz, an in-class midterm, final, and paper. The graduate students are responsible for additional weekly readings and a longer final paper.
Course Objectives: By the end of this course, students are expected to learn:
• An introductory understanding of the practices of archaeology in general and in the southern Levant in particular
• A knowledge of the recent archaeological developments in the modern countries of Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria
1 • A knowledge of the various cultures and cultural practices of Iron Age southern Levant
• The various considerations necessary in the comparison of textual evidence to archaeological evidence
• How to critically read archaeological publications
• How to critically understand various archaeological schools of thought
Course Format: Class will meet twice a week. Each class is expected to be a discussion rather than a straight lecture by the instructor, so students are responsible for all readings before the start of class and are expected to actively contribute. At times, the class will be split into smaller groups to further discuss the themes of the class and then each group will present their collected ideas. Each week, every student is required to consider and thoughtfully answer one of three given discussion questions based on the weekly readings and lectures on the discussion board on the class website. This forum will allow students to contemplate the themes of the class and perhaps to think of new questions of their own. There are no wrong answers, but students are asked to give thought to their responses. Students may bring in their own experiences as they pertain to the subject. Feel free to be creative. Answers are to be submitted to the instructor by 10pm each Wednesday. Late answers submitted before the start of class will be given half credit. No credit will be given to submissions after class. Each student is responsible for all assigned readings before the start of class and must be prepared to discuss them. The discussion section of the course will utilize both a voluntary method of question and answers, as well as a Socratic one, where the instructor may choose who will answer the question. In the second week of the quarter, on January 11, a short map and geography quiz will be given at the start of class. Understanding the geography of the ancient and modern Levant is of great importance in order to understand the various cultures and peoples covered in this course. Undergrads are required to write a final paper, 5-7 pages in length, on the topic of the student’s choice that relates to the topics covered in class. Graduate student are responsible for a 10-15 page paper, on the topic of the student’s choice that relates to the topics covered in class. All topics must be cleared by the instructor. The final version of the papers will be due by 10pm on Monday of Finals Week, March 12. Topics for the paper will be due to the instructor by the start of Week 6, February 6. Students are recommended to make an appointment with the instructor to go over their topic before then.
2 A midterm will be administered in-class at the start of Week 6, on February 6, covering all material from the first five weeks of the course. A final exam will be administered on the last day of class, March 8th, in SAV 156, covering material from the entire course, with an emphasis on the final five weeks of the course.
Prerequisites: This course is open to all students interested in archaeology, Biblical scholarship or the ancient Near East. No prior knowledge of these areas is necessary.
Required Reading and Attendance: The readings from this course come from a variety of journals and book chapters. All readings except from the required textbook listed below will be made available in .pdf form on the class website. The textbook book is for sale at the campus bookstore. Readings from the course textbook will not be found on the course Canvas website. The assigned readings are to be completed by each student before the start of the class. Staying on top of the readings will maximize a student’s learning experience and prepare them for discussions. It also allows the students to ask relevant questions during class. Copies of the required textbook are also available at Odegaard Undergraduate Library on reserve. Readings are subject to change as determined by the instructor, with at least one week's notice. All assigned readings are to be completed by each student before the start of each class. Staying on top of the readings will maximize a student’s learning experience and prepare them for in-class discussions. It also allows students to ask relevant questions during class. The material covered in the readings will not repeat exactly the material covered in class, so both readings and good class attendance are a must for getting the most out of the course. Please arrive on time for class. It is rude and disrespectful to both your fellow students as well as to the instructor to arrive after the start of class, interrupting lecture or discussion. Everyone here is an adult, please be responsible for your own time management.
Required Textbooks:
• Finkelstein, I. and A. Mazar The Quest for the Historical Israel: Debating Archaeology and the History of Early Israel (Society for Biblical Literature, 2007)
3 Optional Additional Books of Interest:
• Ben-Tor, A. (ed). The Archaeology of Ancient Israel (Yale University Press, New Haven, 1992) • Carr, David M. and Colleen M. Conway An Introduction to the Bible: Sacred Texts and Imperial Contexts of the Hebrew Bible (Wiley Blackwell, 2010) • Currid, John D. Ancient Egypt and the Old Testament. (Baker Books, 1997) • Finkelstein, Israel and Neil Asher Silberman. The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology’s New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of its Sacred Texts (Shimon and Schuster, 2002) • Freund, Richard A. Digging through the Bible. Modern Archaeology and the Ancient Bible (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2009) • Keel, Othmar and Christoph Uehlinger. Gods, Goddesses and Images of God in Ancient Israel (Fortress Press, 1996) • Killebrew, Ann E. Biblical Peoples and Ethnicity. An Archaeological Study of Egyptians, Canaanites, Philistines, and Early Israel, 1300-1100 B.C.E. (Society of Biblical Literature, 2005) • King, Philip J. and Lawrence E. Stager. Life in Biblical Israel. (Westminster John Knox Press, 2001) • Kugel, James How to Read the Bible: A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now (Free Press, 2008) • Levy, Thomas E. The Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land. (Facts on File, 1995) • Mazar, Amihai. Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, 10,000-586 B.C.E. (Doubleday, 1990) • Miller, J. M. and J.H. Hayes A History of Ancient Israel and Judah (Westminster John Knox Press, 2nd edition, 2006) • Sasson, Jack M. (ed.). Civilizations of the Ancient Near East. 2 vols. (Hendrickson Publishers, 2000) • Silberman, Neil A. and Israel Finkelstein. The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology’s New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts (Touchstone, 2002) • Steiner, Margreet, and Ann E. Killebrew The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant (Oxford University Press, 2014)
Respect and Expectations
This course will cover a number of topics that may be of a difficult nature, as the study of religion and its origins is often a contentious one that can cause strong emotions. It is essential to the success of this course for students and the instructor to be open and respectful of each one another. Disagreements may arise, and discussion is both welcome and encouraged; however, disrespect will not be tolerated.
4 Grading Policy
• Class Discussion Participation (10%)
• Weekly Reading Questions (15%)
• Map Quiz- January 11 (10%)
• Midterm- February 6 (15%)
• Final- March 15 (20%)
• Research Paper- March 9 (30%) Grade Scale: You can always track your grades throughout the quarter on the online grade book on Canvas. I encourage you to do so to gauge your progress in class. Please contact us as soon as possible if you suspect any errors.
Letter Number Percentage Letter Number Percentage Letter Number Percentage
A+ 4.0 >95% B- 2.8 83% C- 1.6 71%
A 3.9 94% B- 2.7 82% C- 1.5 70%
A- 3.8 93% B- 2.6 81% D+ 1.4 69%
A- 3.7 92% B- 2.5 80% D+ 1.3 68%
A- 3.6 91% C+ 2.4 79% D+ 1.2 67%
A- 3.5 90% C+ 2.3 78% D 1.1 66%
B+ 3.4 89% C+ 2.2 77% D 1.0 65%
B+ 3.3 88% C 2.1 76% D 0.9 64%
B+ 3.2 87% C 2.0 75% D- 0.8 63%
B 3.1 86% C 1.9 74% D- 0.7 60-62%
B 3.0 85% C- 1.8 73% E 0.0 <62 %
B 2.9 84% C- 1.7 72%
5 Technology in Class: The use of laptops in class is allowed for note taking and for referencing class readings. Surfing the web, checking emails, checking Facebook, online shopping, etc. is prohibited. Such activity is disruptive to the individual, the instructor, and to the remainder of the class. However, I would highly encourage students to take notes in class by hand, as numerous studies have shown handwritten notes to be far more useful for students than typed notes. If I do find a student using a laptop for any purpose other than note taking, the privilege of using the laptop in class will be revoked after one warning. Please turn off your cellphones before coming to class; the use of cellphones is prohibited for any reason.
Extra-Credit: A small number of extra credit assignments may be made available throughout the quarter, to be announced by the instructor. Please do not inquire about any additional extra credit than what is made available to the entire class.
Disability Resources for Students: If you need any type of accommodation, please contact the Office of Disability Resources for Students (http://www.washington.edu/students/drs). We are happy to work with Disability Resources to provide appropriate accommodation.
Make-Up Policies: Make-ups for the midterm, presentations or final paper will not be permitted except in the case of documented emergencies or medical reasons. No make-up exams will be allowed for the midterm or final unless for dire situations, (kidnapped by aliens, leg caught in a bear trap at the time of midterm, etc.), with proper documentation. Please be on time to class, and if for any reason you must leave early, please leave quietly and do not disrupt the other students on your way out. No talking during class, except during discussion periods. However, always feel free to ask the instructor a question at any point during class. If you have a question, chances are five other students have a similar question, please speak up.
Academic Honesty: Students are expected to treat their fellow classmates and instructors with honesty and respect throughout the course. All exam answers and online posts must reflect original
6 work. No form of cheating will be tolerated. The following link has information on academic honesty, plagiarism, and consequences: http://www.washington.edu/uaa/gateway/advising/help/academichonesty.php
Student are expect to adhere to the University of Washington Code of Student Conduct which can be found at the following link: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=478-120
The University of Washington is committed to fostering an environment where the free exchange of ideas is an integral part of the academic learning environment. Disruption of classroom discussions can prohibit other students from fully engaging and participating. Any student causing disruption may be asked to leave any class session, and, depending on the severity and frequency of that behavior, an incident report may be filled with Community Standards and Student Conduct. As a condition of enrollment, all students assume responsibility to observe standards of conduct that will contribute to the pursuit of academic goals and to the welfare of the academic community. For more detailed information on these standards, please visit: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=478-120.
7 Course Outline:
Week 1- Introduction to the Course Themes January 4: Introduction to the Course; The Geographic and Political Background Required Readings:
Davies, P.R. Memories of Ancient Israel: An Introduction to Biblical History- Ancient and Modern (Westminster John Knox Press, 2008): Chapter 4: “Archaeology: Use and Abuse” pages 58-84 Additional Readings: Levy, Thomas E. The Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land. (Facts on File: 1995): Chapter 4, The Changing Landscape, pages 40-58
Mazar, A. Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, Volume I: 10,000-586 B.C.E., (Anchor Bible, 1992): Chapter 1, Introduction, pages 1-32
Week 2- History and Background January 9: History of Archaeology in the Southern Levant Required Readings: Finkelstein and Mazar, “Part I: Archaeology and the Quest for Historical Israel in the Hebrew Bible” pages 5-33 Additional Readings: Levy, Thomas E. The Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land. (Facts on File: 1995): Chapter 2: Power, Politics and the Past: The Social Construction of Antiquity in the Holy Land, pages 9-23
8 January 11: The Bible, History, and Archaeology: The Bible as Text? Map Quiz at the Start of Class Required Readings: Carr, D.M. An Introduction to the Old Testament: Sacred texts and Imperial Contexts of the Hebrew Bible, (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010): Chapter 1, Studying the Bible in Its Ancient Context(s), pages 15-32 Finkelstein, Israel and Silberman, Neil Asher The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology’s New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts (Touchstone, 2001), Introduction: Archaeology and the Bible, pages 4-24 Additional Readings: Kugel, James How to Read the Bible: A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now (Free Press, 2008): Chapter 1: The Rise of Modern Biblical Scholarship, pages 1-46
Week 3- The Middle Bronze Age: Problems of the Patriarchs and the Exodus
January 16: Amorites, Canaanites and Hyksos in the Middle Bronze Age Required Readings: Killebrew, Ann E. Biblical Peoples and Ethnicity. An Archaeological Study of Egyptians, Canaanites, Philistines, and Early Israel, 1300-1100 B.C.E. (Society of Biblical Literature: 2005): Peoples and Ethnicity in the Biblical World, pages 1-20 Levy, Thomas E. The Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land. (Facts on File: 1995): Chapter 18: The Dawn of Internationalism- The Middle Bronze Age, pages 297-319 Additional Readings: Mazar, A. Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, Volume I: 10,000-586 B.C.E., (Anchor Bible, 1992): Chapter 6: Mighty Canaanite City-States, The Middle Bronze II Period (ca. 2000-1550 BCE), pages 174-227
January 18: Egypt and the Exodus Required Readings: Finkelstein and Mazar, Part II: Using Archaeology to Assess the Bible’s Traditions about ‘The Earliest Times’ pages 35-66
9 Additional Readings: Silberman, Neil A. and Israel Finkelstein. The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology’s New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts (Touchstone, 2002): Did the Exodus Happen?, pages 48-71
Week 4- The Late Bronze Age: The Conquest of Canaan?
January 23: The Late Bronze Age Context: Time of Empires Required Readings: Dever, William, Beyond the Texts: An Archaeological Portrait of Ancient Israel and Judah (SBL Press. Atlanta, 2017), Chapter 2 “Prelude: The Physical and Cultural Setting at the End of the Bronze Age” pages 71-117 only Additional Readings: Ben-Tor, A. (ed). The Archaeology of Ancient Israel (Yale University Press, New Haven, 1992), Chapter 7, “The Late Bronze Age,” pages 211-257 Killebrew, Ann E. Biblical Peoples and Ethnicity. An Archaeological Study of Egyptians, Canaanites, Philistines, and Early Israel, 1300-1100 B.C.E. (Society of Biblical Literature: 2005): The Age of Internationalism: The Eastern Mediterranean, pages 21-50 Sherratt, E.S., 2014 The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant, Steiner, M. and A.E. Killebrew, eds. (Oxford University Press), Chapter 33 “Introduction to the Levant during the Late Bronze Age”
January 25: The Early Israelites: Theories on the Emergence of Israel Required Readings: Miller, J. M. and J.H. Hayes A History of Ancient Israel and Judah (Westminster John Knox Press, 2nd edition, 2006), Chapter 3, “The Biblical Evidence” pages 61-83 Finkelstein and Mazar, Part III: The Historical Origins of Collective Israel, pages 67-84 Additional Readings: Silberman, Neil A. and Israel Finkelstein. The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology’s New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts (Touchstone, 2002): Chapter 4, Who Were the Israelites?, pages 97-122
10 Week 5: Early Israelite Culture January 30: Early Israelite Religion: God, Gods and Cults
Required Readings: Mazar, Amihai, Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, 10,000-586 B.C.E. (Doubleday, 1990): Israelite Cult: Temples, Altars and Artifacts” pages 492-506
Miller, J. M. and J.H. Hayes A History of Ancient Israel and Judah (Westminster John Knox Press, 2nd edition, 2006), “Religion and Cult” and “Defining Early Israel,” pages 100-118 Additional Readings: Dever, William. The Lives of Ordinary People in Ancient Israel (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2012), “Chapter 8, Religion and Cult” pages 249-293
February 1: Cities and Architecture Required Readings: Dever, William. The Lives of Ordinary People in Ancient Israel (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2012), “Chapter 6: Towns, Villages and Everyday Life” pages 142- 205.
Additional Readings: Mazar 1992, Chapter 11 “General Aspects of the Israelite Material Culture,” pages 463- 491
Week 6: Israel and the United Monarchy
February 6: In-Class Midterm Paper Topics Due by the Start of Class
February 8: The United Monarchy: the 10th Century Argument Required Readings: Finkelstein and Mazar, Part 4: The Tenth Century: The New Litmus Test for the Bible’s Historical Relevance, pages 99-140
11 Additional Readings: Freund, Richard A. Digging through the Bible. Modern Archaeology and the Ancient Bible (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers: 2009): Chapter 2: Searching for Kings David and Solomon and the Ancient City of Jerusalem
Week 7: The Divided Monarchy February 13: The 8th Century BCE and Extra-Biblical Evidence Required Readings: Finkelstein and Mazar, Part 5: On More Secure Ground? The Kingdom’s of Israel and Judah in the Iron II Period, pages 141-180 Additional Readings: Miller, J. M. and J.H. Hayes A History of Ancient Israel and Judah (Westminster John Knox Press, 2nd edition, 2006), Chapter 8: Separate Kingdoms, pages 221-258 Silberman, Neil A. and Israel Finkelstein. The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology’s New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts (New York, 2002): Chapter 7, Israel’s Forgotten Kingdom (884-842 BCE), pages 169-195
February 15: Comparisons of Culture: Israel in the Near Eastern World Required Readings: Davies, P.R. Memories of Ancient Israel: An Introduction to Biblical History- Ancient and Modern (Westminster John Knox Press, 2008): Chapter 6: Cultural Memory, pages 105-123 Dever, William. The Lives of Ordinary People in Ancient Israel (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2012), Chapter 9: Israel’s Neighbors, pages 294-319
Additional Readings: Geller, M.J., Civilizations of the Ancient Near East. Vol.1 (Hendrickson Publishers: 2000, Sasson, Jack M. ed.), The Influence of Ancient Mesopotamia on Hellenistic Judaism, pages 43-55.
12 Week 8: The Age of Judah February 20: The Destruction of Israel and the Rise of Judah
Required Readings: Miller, J. M. and J.H. Hayes A History of Ancient Israel and Judah (Westminster John Knox Press, 2nd edition, 2006), Chapter 10, “The Era of Assyrian Domination: The End of the Kingdom of Israel” pages 314-339 Additional Readings: Carr, David M. and Colleen M. Conway An Introduction to the Bible: Sacred Texts and Imperial Contexts of the Hebrew Bible (Wiley Blackwell, 2010): Chapter 4, Narrative and Prophecy Amidst the Rise and Fall of the Northern Kingdom, pages 85-118 Silberman, Neil A. and Israel Finkelstein. The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology’s New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts (New York, 2002): Chapter 10, Between War and Survival, pages 251-274
February 22: The Story of Lachish Required Readings: Ussishkin, D. 1980 “The Battle at Lachish, Israel” Archaeology Vol. 33:1, pages 56-59 Ussishkin, D. 1990 “The Assyrian Attack on Lachish: The Archaeological Evidence from the Southwest Corner of the Site” Tel Aviv 17:1; pages 53-86 Additional Readings: Katz, H. and Faust, A. 2012 “The Assyrian Destruction Layer at Tel ‘Eton” Israel Exploration Journal, Vol. 62:1, pages 22-53. Ussishkin, D. 1980b “The ‘Lachish Reliefs” and the City of Lachish” Israel Exploration Journal Vol 30.3/4, pages 174-195 Ussishkin, D. 2009 “On the So-Called Aramaean ‘Siege Trench’ in Tell es-Safi, Ancient Gath”
13 Week 9: The Exile and Its Aftermath February 27: The Destruction of Judah and the Archaeology of Jerusalem
Required Readings: Silberman, Neil A. and Israel Finkelstein. The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology’s New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts (New York, 2002): Chapter 12, Exile and Return, pages 296-314 Additional Readings: Hardinm J.W., 2014 The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant, Steiner, M. and A.E. Killebrew, eds. (Oxford University Press), Chapter 49, Judah During the Iron Age II Period
March February 29: The Babylonian Exile and the Hebrews under the Persian Empire Required Readings: Lehmann, G., 2014 The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant, Steiner, M. and A.E. Killebrew, eds. (Oxford University Press), Chapter 55, The Levant During the Persian Period Additional Readings: Carr, David M. and Colleen M. Conway An Introduction to the Bible: Sacred Texts and Imperial Contexts of the Hebrew Bible (Wiley Blackwell, 2010): Chapter 10, The Pentateuch and the Exile, pages 187-206 Levy, Thomas E. The Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land. (Facts on File: 1995), Between Persia and Greece: Trade, Administration and Warfare in the Persian and Hellenistic Periods, pages 432-445
Miller, J. M. and J.H. Hayes A History of Ancient Israel and Judah (Westminster John Knox Press, 2nd edition, 2006), Chapter 14, “The Era of the Persian Empire,” pages 437- 476
14 Week 10: Biblical Archaeology in the Modern Context
February 29: A Final Discussion on “Historical” and Modern Israel Required Readings: Find and read a recent article on Biblical archaeology and bring it to class to discuss.
March 8: In-Class Final
Final paper due by 10pm on March 12. Please submit the essay on the course Canvas site
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