Archaeology seems to have become an active partner in the attempt to prove the historical truth of the Bible. Biblical archaeologists have gone to the field in search of Noah's ark or the walls of Jericho, as if the finding of these artifacts would make the events of scripture somehow more true or real.Thomas Thompson is one of the most vocal contemporary critics of biblical archaeology. His simple but powerful thesis is that archaeology cannot be used in the service of the Bible. Focusing on the patriarchal narratives-the stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob-he demonstrates that archaeological research simply cannot historically substantiate these stories. Going further, Thompson says that archaeological materials should never be dated or evaluated on the basis of written texts. Looking to the patriarchal narratives in Genesis, he concludes that these stories are neither historical nor were they intended to be historical. Instead, these narratives are written as expressions of Israel's relationship to God. Thomas L. Thompson is Professor of Old Testament, University of Copenhagen. His books include The Mythic Past and The Early History of the Israelite People.

The beginning of the Middle Bronze Age (MB IIA) in Canaan (ca. 1950-1740 B.C.E.) set the stage for many of the cultural, political, and economic institutions that shaped the ancient Near East. Particular theoretical models for the analysis of complex societies are used in this study to examine textual, pictorial, and archaeological evidence relating to the nature and organization of MB IIA Canaan. The written and pictorial evidence pertaining to Egyptian-Canaanite contact indicates a fluid relationship that changed over time in response to changing social, political, and economic developments in both cultures. As a result, Egyptian policy toward Canaan was multifaceted, including approaches ranging from the use of military force to magical rites. The analysis of MB IIA site-distribution indicates that Canaanite settlement first developed in areas on the coast most conducive to agricultural growth. It then progressed according to a dendritic pattern of organization along the east-west wadi systems into the interior in response to a growing demand for resources and raw materials, fueled in part by contact with Egypt and the international world of the eastern Mediterranean. Chronological correlations between the Canaanite settlement systems and Middle Kingdom Egypt also indicate that the beginning of the MB IIA in Canaan dates well into the Middle Kingdom, rather than being contemporary with its beginnings, as previously understood. Findings concerning the Canaanite-Egyptian relationship, Canaanite site-distribution, and chronological connections between these two regions all illustrate the development of Canaan from a society in the first stages of urbanization to a fully urbanized one, setting the stage for the rise of the Hyksos to power in Egypt.

The use of Neutron Activation Analysis opens up enormous possibilities for studying and identifying the chemical composition of clays from pottery vessels and, subsequently, for investigating the origins and possible place of manufacture for these vessels. This publication and the research on which it is based, completes the work of Joan Huntoon whose dissertation focused on the origins, distribution and trade of Middle Bronze Canaanite Jars, with the site of Tel el-Daba featuring prominently. Patrick McGovern uses Huntoon's programme of NAA analyses in making inferences on the production, movement and trade of Canaanite jars, polished, painted and other vessels around the Near East and Aegean.

In this short, accessible and readable book, Professor Soggin gives an account of all the features of Israelite and Jewish religion in the biblical period. After a radical assessment of the nature of the sources and the problems of using them historically, he discusses the origin of monotheism and Israel's belief in its one God Yahweh. Then follow accounts of the three most important features in Israelite religion: the Jerusalem temple and its worship, the covenant, and sacrifices. The main festivals are discussed and there are chapters on the sabbath and the new moon, the sabbatical year and the year of jubilee, and the calendar. The book ends with an account of changes brought about after the exile and the development of Middle Judaism, and the collapse of the old Israelite system of worship after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE.Though firmly based on biblical and Near Eastern texts and artefacts, the book wears its learning lightly; there are no footnotes, but a bibliography of books for further reading. Its clarity and straightforward approach make it an ideal introduction to the subject for students.

Hierakonpolis, located less than 100km south of Luxor, has been excavated at various times since the end of the 19th century with much work carried out by Michael Hoffman in the 1980s. This report builds on Hoffman's work and forms the background to renewed investigations at the site by Adams and others. It presents material from 12 tombs which are part of the large cemetery, including descriptions of the tomb form and type, and artifacts found within them, as well as plant, human and faunal remains. These finds are then compared with material from other parts of the Hierakonpolis site.

Before its inundation in 1965, the island of Meinarti was situated at the foot of the Second Nile Cataract, 10km south of the town of Wadi Halfa. It was the last place that could be reached, at all times of the year, by large watercraft travelling upriver, a circumstance clearly important in shaping the history of the settlement. The total excavation work covered 18 occupation levels, varying in date from the 2nd or 3rd centuries to the 17th century AD. This volume processes in detail the Late Meroitic and Ballana phases (c. 200-660 AD), and is the first in five volume series.

Recent books about Jesus and early Christianity can be divided into two kinds: those that examine the life and work of the historical Jesus prior to his death and those that reconstruct events between JesusGCO death and the writings of the first Gospels. SawickiGCOs provocative book challenges the results of both kinds of research by using both archaeology and anthropology to situate Jesus clearly in his Galilean cultural context. Sawicki contests recent portraits of Jesus as a Mediterranean peasant, a Cynic sage, or the convener of a fellowship of equals. In addition, she calls into question readings of ancient Galilee that emphasize it as a society marked simply by economic stratification or by an GC honor-shameGCY sociology. Rather, she discovers the Galilean JesusGCO indigenous cultural idiom in its material structures for the negotiation of kinship, the management of labor, the distribution of commodities, and the construction of gender. SawickiGCOs book is the first to balance classical urban archaeology against the more recent archaeology of villages and of local and regional commerce. It frames current issues in Jesus research in terms that can guide both ongoing village excavations in Israel and responsible exegesis of the Gospels in church and academy. Marianne Sawicki is the author of Seeing the Lord: Resurrection and Early Christian Practices. For: Seminarians; graduate students; biblical archaeologists

This collection of essays composed by an international array of friends and colleagues typifies the career accomplishments and scholarly endeavors of W. G. Lambert.

This is a groundbreaking book on the origins of Israel, taking into account the contexts of geography, anthropology, and sociology, and drawing on a careful analysis of archaeological and written evidence. Thompson argues that none of the traditional models for the origin of biblical Israel in terms of conquest, peaceful settlement, or revolution are viable. The ninth and eighth century BC State of Israel is a product of the Mediterranean economy. The development of the ethnic concept of biblical Israel finds its context in history first at the time of the Persian renaissance. The volume presents a clear historical context and an interpretative matrix for the Bible.

Contents: The Construction; History; Builders; Mystery of its Purpose; Symbol of Science; Geographical Significance; Mathematical Symbolism; Law of Cycles; Astrological Sybmolism; Biblical Prophecies; Recent World Events; Human Progress; The New Age; Fulfillment of the Pyramid's Prophetic Symbolism; Ancient Pyramid Builders of the Americas.

Over the millennia, the legend of a great deluge has endured in the biblical story of Noah and in such Middle Eastern myths as the epic of Gilgamesh. Now two distinguished geophysicists have discovered a catastrophic event that changed history, a gigantic flood 7,600 years ago in what is today the Black Sea.
Using sound waves and coring devices to probe the sea floor, William Ryan and Walter Pitman revealed clear evidence that this inland body of water had once been a vast freshwater lake lying hundreds of feet below the level of the world's rising oceans. Sophisticated dating techniques confirmed that 7,600 years ago the mounting seas had burst through the narrow Bosporus valley, and the salt water of the Mediterranean had poured into the lake with unimaginable force, racing over beaches and up rivers, destroying or chasing all life before it. The rim of the lake, which had served as an oasis, a Garden of Eden for farms and villages in a vast region of semi-desert, became a sea of death. The people fled, dispersing their languages, genes, and memories.

The Babylonian and Assyrian Legends Concerning the Creation of the World and of Mankind. The Enuma Elish is one of the oldest stories known to mankind. It is a story first written down by the ancient Sumerians thousands of years ago. As a one time assistant in the Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities at the British Museum. L.W. King provides us with a qualified translation of the tables which were originally written in cuneiform script. The Enuma Elish is receiving renewed interest from modern researchers delving into the origins of mankind, the earth, and the solar system. Over the centuries a copy ended up in the library at Nineveh in the 7th century B.C., and was uncovered by archaeologists in the late 1800s. Written to cuneiform text and preserved on seven clay tables, the entire story was called "The Seven Tablets of Creation". After being translated the story revealed how the planets became aligned, how a cosmic catastrophe affected the earth, how mankind came upon the scene, and how the "gods" played a role in all of it. The Seven Tablets of Creation have had many profound implications since they were first discovered and subsequently published. They predate many parts of the Book of Genesis as well as other worldwide creation myths. Volume One includes this epic poem's English translation. It also includes information on parallels in Hebrew literature, the date and origin of the Babylonian creation legends, and more. Volume Two includes other accounts of creation, an Assyrian "Tower of Babel" story, and supplementary texts showing the actual cuneiform tablets.

The city state of Meroe in central Sudan flourished between 750 BC and AD 350. The cemetery site of Gabati lies 40 km to the north of Meroe, on the east bank of the Nile and was in use throughout the Meroitic and the medieval periods. Its excavation by David Edwards and his team has shed considerable light on the little known events and population movements in this area after the end of the Meroitic. The wealth of finds is presented here - from Meroitic graffiti, jewellery and glass, to post-Meroitic and medieval basketry, grindstones, and pottery.

In 701 B.C. the Assyrian king Sennacherib launched his campaign against, a.o., Judah. This event has been recorded in the Hebrew Bible (Isaiah, the Biblical war narratives) and, as a consequence, has decisively influenced Jewish and Christian thought. The war, though, has remained obscure for modern historians. The author of this latest volume in Brill's monograph series "Studies in the History and Culture of the Ancient Near East" brings together both Biblical and Assyrian sources on the campaign. Part of these abundant Assyrian materials are new, and consequently enable the author to give new insights on the event itself. A second major result of this study lies in the new, carefully supported interpretations of some "Isaiah oracles," and of both the "Assyrian and Biblical narratives" of Sennacherib's campaign. The meticulous attention given to textual criticism, translation problems, historiographical questions and its cautiously applied literary criticism make it a model of the contextual method in Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical Studies.

This is considered to be the most important book left out of the Bible. During the first two hundred years of Christianity it was the most widely read of all texts. This is the best available version because it was originally written in Ethiopic and the translator, R. H. Charles, directly and accurately translated it. It also includes additional research, which Charles added at a later time. He said of this work, The influence of I Enoch on the New Testament has been greater than that of all the other apocryphal and pseudepigraphical books put together. It is referred to in the Hebrew Zohar, The Book of Jubilees, The Epistle of St. Jude, and other ancient texts. Written mostly in the second century BC, it explains how evil came into the world with the arrival of the fallen angels. Enoch was chosen to be a scribe in the judgment process due to his neutral human standing. Many of the ideas adopted by Christianity were first found in this book, including the Final Judgment, the concept of demons, the origins of evil and the Messianic Kingdom. If you wish to go to the source of Christianity, this is a great place to start. This is by far the most complete and accurate version which every serious researcher and student should have.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

A popular introduction to archaeology and the methods archaeologists use to reconstruct the history of ancient Israel.

The Babylonian and Assyrian Legends Concerning the Creation of the World and of Mankind. The Enuma Elish is one of the oldest stories known to mankind. It is a story first written down by the ancient Sumerians thousands of years ago. As a one time assistant in the Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities at the British Museum, L.W. King provides us with a qualified translation of the tablets which were originally written in cuneiform script. The Enuma Elish is receiving renewed interest from modern researchers delving into the origins of mankind, the earth, and the solar system. Over the centuries a copy ended up in the library at Nineveh in the 7th century B.C., and was uncovered by archaeologists in the late 1800s. Written in cuneiform text and preserved on seven clay tablets, the entire story was called "The Seven Tablets of Creation". After being translated the story revealed how the planets became aligned, how a cosmic catastrophe affected the earth, how mankind came upon the scene, and how the "gods" played a role in all of it. The Seven Tablets of Creation have had many profound implications since they were first discovered and subsequently published. They predate many parts of the Book of Genesis as well as other worldwide creation myths. Volume One includes this epic poem's English translation. It also includes information on parallels in Hebrew literature, the date and origin of the Babylonian creation legends, and more. Volume Two includes other accounts of creation, an Assyrian "Tower of Babel" story, and supplementary texts showing the actual cuneiform tablets.

The incredible discoveries at Qumran are unveiled in this compelling volume by one of the world's foremost experts on biblical archaeology and the ancient Qumran community. Drawing on the best of current research and a thorough knowledge of all the Dead Sea Scrolls, Hartmut Stegemann analyzes the purpose of the Qumran settlement, paints a picture of how daily life was carried on there, explores the relation of the Qumran community to John the Baptist, to Jesus, and to early Christianity, and uncovers the true nature of the Qumran writings, which continue to have a profound impact on biblical studies today

This volume - in Italian, with an English summary - presents the 1930s archaeological photo-albums of John Alfred Spranger (1889-1968). Engineer, topographer, mountain climber, archaeologist, art collector and photographer, Spranger traveled extensively - in the Balkans, Greece, Egypt and the Near East, Canada, Central Asia - and left several photo albums detailing archaeological explorations as well as travel memories. In the 1920s-1930s, he took part in a number of Etruscan excavations in Tuscany, together with Harry Burton, the photographer of the Tomb of Tutankhamun. With a pioneering approach, they used the photo-camera to document the excavation work in progress. The albums are dedicated to a trip to Egypt in 1929, a trip to Mesopotamia (Iraq) in 1936 and some surveys and excavations carried out in Etruria (Tuscany, Italy) in 1929-1935. Spranger's photos are particularly meaningful, especially because he combined his skills in using the camera with a great expertise in archaeology and topography. His photos make it possible to understand, after almost a century, how many Egyptian, Mesopotamian and Etruscan sites appeared at the time of their first excavations | Il volume - in italiano con riassunto in inglese - e dedicato agli album fotografici realizzati negli anni Trenta del Novecento da John Alfred Spranger (1889-1968): fu ingegnere, topografo, alpinista, archeologo, collezionista e fotografo. Viaggio molto - nei Balcani, in Grecia, in Egitto e nel Vicino Oriente, in Canda e in Asia centrale - lasciandoci molti album fotografici dedicati ai suoi viaggi e alle sue ricerche archeologiche. Negli anni Venti e Trenta partecipo a ricognizioni e scavi archeologici in Toscana, assieme a Harry Burton, il fotografo della Tomba di Tutankhamun. Con un approccio pionieristico, ambedue sperimentarono l'uso della macchina fotografica per documentare lo scavo archeologico. Gli album presentati sono dedicati a due viaggi, uno in Egitto nel 1929 e l'altro in Mesopotamia (Iraq) nel 1936, e a ricognizioni e scavi condotti in siti etruschi della Toscana tra 1929 e 1935. Le fotografie di Spranger sono particolarmente significative perche riflettono sia la competenza del fotografo che quella del topografo e dell'archeologo, e ci permettono di capire, a quasi un secolo di distanza, quale fosse l'aspetto di numerosi siti egizi, mesopotamici ed etruschi, al momento della loro prima indagine archeologica.

The most impressive legacy of the Dynasty of Akkade (ca. 2310-2160 B.C.E.) was the widespread, popular legends of its kings. Dr. Westenholz offers an annotated edition of all the known legends of the Akkadian kings, with transliteration, translation, and commentary. Of particular interest to biblical scholars is the inclusion of "The Birth Legend of Sargon," which is often compared to Moses in Exodus.

The development of a prehistoric civilization in the Sultanate of Oman was strongly connected with the exploitation and the use of copper. The Oman Peninsula has several rich copper ore deposits that have been exploited since prehistoric times. The earliest evidence of metallurgical activities in Oman dates back to the end of the Neolithic period in the 4th millennium BC. Thanks to the availability of this precious raw material, Oman became one of the main copper sources for the entire Middle East during the Bronze Age. The cuneiform texts of Mesopotamia referred to Oman as the Land of Magan, a region where the precious copper was found in fabulous abundance. This volume describes the geography and environments of Oman, its rich copper ore deposits and the ancient mining and smelting techniques, and it also includes an overview of the physical properties of the different metals exploited in antiquity and of the analytical techniques used in archaeometallurgy. Moreover, the author presents for the first time a comprehensive and detailed typology of the metal objects discovered at sites in Oman dating to the millennia from the Neolithic up to the Early Iron Age, emphasizing the development of advanced alloying techniques in order to obtain artefacts with specific proprieties and appearance.

The most impressive legacy of the Dynasty of Akkade (ca. 2310-2160 B.C.E.) was the widespread, popular legends of its kings. Dr. Westenholz offers an annotated edition of all the known legends of the Akkadian kings, with transliteration, translation, and commentary. Of particular interest to biblical scholars is the inclusion of "The Birth Legend of Sargon," which is often compared to Moses in Exodus.

One of the splendours of the Augustan age, the great temple at Jerusalem occupied an area four times larger than the Acropolis. Even before this period the site had already seen much building. Here the authors have created a sourcebook on the cisterns, subterranean chambers and conduits of the Haram al-Sharif. Public and archival sources have been gathered together and original plans and drawings were re-examined, in order to enable other scholars to make use of this rich resource.