Archaeology and Bible--two simple terms, often used together, understood by everybody. But are they understood properly? If so, why are both subject to such controversy? And what can archaeology contribute to our understanding of the Bible? These are the problems addressed by Professor Dever in this book.
Dever first looks at the nature and recent development of both archaeology and Biblical studies, and then lays the groundwork for a new a productive relationship between these two disciplines. His "case studies" are three eras in Israelite history: the period of settlement in...
Archaeology and Bible--two simple terms, often used together, understood by everybody. But are they understood properly? If so, why are both subjec...
For centuries the Hebrew Bible has been the fountainhead of the Judeo-Christian tradition. Today, however, the entire biblical tradition, including its historical veracity, is being challenged. Leading this assault is a group of scholars described as the -minimalist- or -revisionist- school of biblical studies, which charges that the Hebrew Bible is largely pious fiction, that its writers and editors invented -ancient Israel- as a piece of late Jewish propaganda in the Hellenistic era. In this fascinating book noted Syro-Palestinian archaeologist William G. Dever attacks the minimalist...
For centuries the Hebrew Bible has been the fountainhead of the Judeo-Christian tradition. Today, however, the entire biblical tradition, including it...
This book addresses one of the most timely and urgent topics in archaeology and biblical studies -- the origins of early Israel. For centuries the Western tradition has traced its beginnings back to ancient Israel, but recently some historians and archaeologists have questioned the reality of Israel as it is described in biblical literature. In Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From? William Dever explores the continuing controversies regarding the true nature of ancient Israel and presents the archaeological evidence for assessing the accuracy of the well-known...
This book addresses one of the most timely and urgent topics in archaeology and biblical studies -- the origins of early Israel. For centuries the Wes...
The time was the Bronze to the Iron Age, the third to first millenniums B.C. Great leaders arose from Iraq to Eygpt-- Sargon of Akkad, Gudea of Lagash, Hammurapi of Babylon, and Akhenaten of Egypt--and from these lands of the Fertile Crescent came the underpinnings of Western civilization: law, science, arts, and the alphabet. But the human spirit wanted more.
In a universe run by mercurial gods who kept humankind in bondage, there emerged the need for one all-powerful divinity, one omnipresent as mentor and protector. The book of Genesis, with its narratives of real people...
The time was the Bronze to the Iron Age, the third to first millenniums B.C. Great leaders arose from Iraq to Eygpt-- Sargon of Akkad, Gudea of Lag...
Following up on his two recent, widely acclaimed studies of ancient Israelite history and society, William Dever here reconstructs the practice of religion in ancient Israel from the bottom up. Archaeological excavations reveal numerous local and family shrines where sacrifices and other rituals were carried out. Intrigued by this -folk religion- in all its variety and vitality, Dever writes about ordinary people in ancient Israel and their everyday religious lives.Did God Have a Wife? shines new light on the presence and influence of women's cults in early Israel and their...
Following up on his two recent, widely acclaimed studies of ancient Israelite history and society, William Dever here reconstructs the practice of rel...
The Lives of Ordinary People tells the untold story of how the vast majority of Israelites -- the people who are usually overlooked in -typical- histories of ancient Israel -- lived during the eighth century b.c.e. William G. Dever applies the latest archaeological evidence and his own considerable expertise to answer the question What was it really like to live in Israel's divided kingdom? Writing as an archaeologist who is also a secular humanist, Dever relies primarily on archaeological data rather than the Hebrew Bible for his source material. He uncovers and analyzes...
The Lives of Ordinary People tells the untold story of how the vast majority of Israelites -- the people who are usually overlooked in -typical...
