• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

THE FAMILY IN LIFE AND IN DEATH: THE FAMILY IN ANCIENT ISRAEL Sociological and Archaeological Perspectives edited by Patricia Dutcher-Walls ·" CONTENTS Abbreviations vii Contributors ix Preface xi Copyright© 2009 by Patricia Dutcher-Walls All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or THE CLARITY OF DOUBLE VISION: transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying, SEEING THE FAMILY IN SOCIOLOGICAL recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher, T & T Clark AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE International. Patricia Dutcher-Wails 1 T & T Clark International, 80 Maiden Lane, New York, NY I 0038 THE DETERMINATION OF SOCIAL IDENTITY T & T Clark International, The Tower Building, II York Road, London SE I 7NX IN THE STORY OF RUTH Victor H. Matthews 16 T & T Clark International is a Continuum imprint. LYING AND DECEIT IN FAMILIES: Visit the T & T Clark blog at www.tandtclarkblog.com THE DUPING OF ISAAC AND TAMAR Heather A. McKay 28 AVERAGE FAMILIES? HOUSE SIZE VARIABILITY IN THE SOUTHERN LEVANTINE IRON AGE A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. Bruce Routledge 42 ISBN-13: 978-0567027573 ISBN-I 0: 0567027570 "HOME ECONOMICS 1407" AND THE ISRAELITE FAMILY AND THEIR NEIGHBORS: 0910 10987654321 AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL!ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATION John S. Holladay, Jr. 61 EXODUS 12 IN LIGHT OF ANCESTRAL CULT PRACTICES Naomi Steinberg 89 DEATH, KINSHIP, AND COMMUNITY: AFTERLIFE AND THE iOn IDEAL IN ISRAEL Stephen L. Cook 106 ~p· UniversitiHsblbliothek VI The Family in Life and in Death FROM WOMB TO TOMB: THE ISRAELITE FAMILY IN DEATH AS IN LIFE E. Bloch-Smith 122 Index of Biblical References 132 ABBREVIATIONS Index of Authors 135 AASOR Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research AB Anchor Bible ABD Anchor Bible Dictionary. Edited by D. N. Freedman. 6 vols. New. York, 1992 ADAJ Annual ofthe Department ofAntiquities ofJordan AJA American Journal ofArchaeology AOAT Alter Orient und Altes Testament BA Biblical Archaeologist BAR Biblical Archaeology Review BASOR Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research BN Biblische Notizen BTB Biblical Theology Bulletin BZAW Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fUr die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly HSM Harvard Semitic Monographs HUCA Hebrew Union College Annual iEJ israel Exploration Journal JBL Journal ofBiblical Literature JQR Jewish Quarterly Review JSOTSup Journal for the Study of the Old Testament: Supplement Series · KAi Kanaanaische und aramaische inschriften. H. Donner and W. Rolli g. 2d ed. Wiesbaden, 1966-69 KTU Die keilalphabetischen Texte aus Ugarit. Edited by M. Dietrich, 0. Loretz, and J. Sanmartin. AOAT 24/1. Neukirchen-VIuyn, 1976. 2d enlarged ed. of KTU: The Cuneiform Alphabetic Texts from Ugarit, Ras ibn Hani, and Other Places. Edited by M.Dietrich, 0. Loretz, and J. Sanmartin. MUnster, 1995 NAB New American Bible NEA Near Eastern Archaeology NRSV New Revised Standard Version OBT Overtures to Biblical Theology OTL Old Testament Library PEQ Palestine Exploration Quarterly RHR Revue de l'histoire des religions SBLABS Society of Biblical Literature Archaeology and Biblical Studies Vlll The Family in L(fe and in Death SBLSP Society of Biblical Literature Seminar Papers SWBA Social World of Biblical Antiquity VT Vetus Testamentum ZAW Zeitschrift fiir die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft ZDPV Zeitschrfft des deutschen Paliistina-Vereins CONTRIBUTORS Elizabeth Bloch-Smith is Adjunct Professor at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Penn., USA. Stephen L. Cook is the Catherine N. McBurney Professor of Old Testa­ ment Language and Literature at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Va., USA. Patricia Dutcher-Walls is Professor of Hebrew Bible and Dean of Students at Vancouver School of Theology in Vancouver, BC, Canada. John Scott Holladay, Jr., is Professor Emeritus in Near and Middle Civilization, at the University of Toronto in Toronto, ON, Canada. Victor H. Matthews is Professor ofReligious Studies and Associate Dean of the College of Humanities and Public Affairs at Missouri State University in Springfield, Mont., USA. Heather A. McKay was until recently Professor in Education at Edge Hill University in Lancashire, England. Bruce Routledge is Senior Lecturer in Archaeology in the School of Archaeology Classics and Egyptology at the University of Liverpool in Liverpool, England. Naomi Steinberg is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at DePaul University in Chicago, Ills., USA. PREFACE The studies collected in this volume all first saw the light of day at various sessions of the Social Sciences and the Interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures Section ofthe Society of Biblical Literature. In both 2005 and 2006, this Section sponsored an invited session on the family in ancient Israel in conjunction with the American Schools of Oriental Research. Each panel consisted of two biblical scholars with a specialty in sociological methods and two archaeologists. Seven of the studies included here derive from those sessions, although each piece has been updated and edited as each author saw fit for publication in this volume. The eighth study, my own "The Clarity of Double Vision," was pre­ sented at a 2007 session of the same SBL Section. The invited sessions were conceived as a way of fostering cross­ disciplinary dialogue and synergy. The original call for papers was phrased as follows: "Towards the goal of promoting dialogue between archaeological and sociological perspectives in looking at various topics related to ancient Israel, the focus selected for this year's session is 'The Family in Ancient Israel.' The session will include two papers grounded in social science methodologies and two based on archaeological research." Within the broad scope given by the session title, the present­ ers were given latitude to approach the topic as they wished. lt is perhaps an indication of the research interests of these two disciplines that the papers presented fell into three broad categories: social relationships within the family, construction and types ofhouses used by families, and the dynamics of social practices related to death and ancestors. The presentations and the resulting discussion at the sessions showed how both sociology and archaeology have significant contributions to make to an understanding of a social structure such as the family and how these disciplines inform each other. It is hoped that the dialogue and synergy will be evident in the essays appearing in the present volume. My thanks go to each of the authors, who worked not only on their initial presentations, but who also undertook the significant task of preparing their studies for publication. Special thanks go to Claudia Camp, co-editor of the Library ofHebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies, xu The Family in Life and in Death for the initial suggestion of turning the SBL presentations into a book. I also thank Burke Gerstenschlager and his colleagues at T &T Clark International/Continuum for their help in the publishing process, as well as Duncan Burns for his efficient and sharp-eyed editing work. Also, I offer my deep appreciation to my assistant, Margaret Miller, for her THE CLARITY OF DOUBLE VISION: dedicated work with the many details of the manuscript that she handled SEEING THE FAMILY IN SOCIOLOGICAL with diligence and competenc~. AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE Patricia Dutcher-Walls August, 2008 Patricia Dutcher-Walls That the family, in all its various forms, is a basic social institution around which much else in society is structured seems to be a tautology. That it, further, should be a significant topic in the historical reconstruc­ tions of past societies seems likewise unquestionable. And yet, fifty years ago, if one were a student of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament reading an introductory text or history, one would have looked in vain for much understanding or information about the family in ancient Israel. Today, that situation is changed in many ways and, while a number of reasons may be advanced for those changes, the use of archaeological and sociological methodologies plays a large part. My hope in this essay is to describe some of the history of research on the family in ancient Israel, with an eye to highlighting how the combination of archaeology and sociology has played a part. In tracing a fifty-year history of research on the family in ancient Israel, I have two simultaneous agendas in mind. First, I propose to review relevant literature on the family in order briefly to summarize the current state of knowledge about the family and the questions yet to be fully explored. Secondly, I will track how the methodologies of archae­ ology and sociology aided in research on the family with a goal of analyzing the heuristic value of the various sources, methods, and assumptions that underlie that research. In order to start with a broad scope, I note that research on the family is grounded in the wider fields of anthropology, archaeology, and social history that provide definitions of the terms that are sociologically and archaeologically sensitive as well as wider in scope than the ancient period we are studying. Anderson provides the following definitions: The family is a group of kin-related people (including fictive kin) who may or may not reside together and whose primary function is to repro­ duce its members biologically. A household is a person or a group of 2 The Family in Life and in Death DUTCHER-WALLS The Clarity ofDouble Vision 3 people who live together in one or more structures, who carry out daily Testament World, 4 and a Jewish illustrated Bible companion, Under­ activities necessary for the maintenance and social reproduction of the standing the Bible through History and Archaeology by Orlinsky,5 both group within a specific space associated with the residence, and who use a cultural history approach to give detail on topics such as family interact with other households. 1 structure, domestic architecture, inheritance, elders, and burial practices.

Load more

  74

Copy Link