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15 – Biblical archaeology
THIS is a topic which presents several challenges to a Bible student, including how to spell archaeology correctly! It may be that you want to see artefacts from the past, either in a museum or in a book, or both. Or you may want to know what evidence exists from the past to support the Bible, and what we can learn about the living conditions and social circumstances that existed in Bible times.
All of those requirements can be fulfilled up to a point. What complicates matters is the way that scholastic views and fashions change, leaving the reader unsure if the artefact is now considered genuine, and if anything more recent has been discovered to corroborate or challenge previously held views.
Changing times
Visiting a museum gives the impression that everything is very orderly and clear-cut. Exhibits are classified and grouped together and the labelling is precise and reassuring. One gallery leads logically to another and you get the feeling that history just happened in a very tidy manner. Should you be visiting the British Museum, be sure to take with you the guidebook Through the British Museum – with the Bible, by Edwards and Anderton, to get the most out of the visit. That offers a guided tour in Biblical chronological order, starting with Abraham in Ur and ending in the Roman era. It also gives a lot of useful information, like a timeline and a list of kings in Israel and the nations around.
It’s worth remembering, however, that behind the scenes museums have a lot more artefacts which have not yet been fully investigated. Only a short while ago, a curator at the British Museum came across a Babylonian tablet which verified the existence of Nebo-Sarsekim, the chief eunuch who is mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah, but whose existence had not previously been verified (see “Signs of the times”, September 2007, page 348). So we are certainly not seeing the whole picture, either when we visit somewhere or look at pictures of things that have survived the ravages of time.
Examining the evidence
Just as you get a thrill looking at the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III and viewing Jehu, it can be really satisfying to see good photographs of such exhibits. Earlier publications had poor illustrations, but full colour printing has changed all that and made such works affordable, and they can be a joy. The Lion Publishing company can now be relied upon to produce stunning quality photographs. Alan Millard’s Discoveries from Bible Times (1997) provides 346 pages of visual delight, ranging across both Testaments. So does the Picture Archive of the Bible (1987, Lion) edited by Masom and Alexander. These books are really excellent for Sunday School use and for private study.
You will, of course, want more than a picture, and reading around the subject is always a good idea, especially if you are going to talk about this in an informed way. The appendix gives more information about useful books. Lion Books updated an old favourite, The Bible as History by Werner Keller when, in 1991, they printed a full colour version with entirely new photographs. That too is an attractive book, with an updated text. Then, in 1999, Ian Wilson’s book The Bible is History updated that further. As new discoveries are made, and new theories emerge, it is helpful to keep in touch with the latest thinking. The internet can be a real help, but if you want to follow the twists and turns of scholastic opinion, a subscription to the bi-monthly Biblical Archaeological Review, or another similar periodical, would be useful.
