Scripture and Other Artifacts: Essays on the Bible and Archeology in Honor of Philip J. King

by Michael D. Coogan, J. Cheryl Exum

This important volume focuses on the contribution of excavated material to the interpretation of biblical texts. Here, both practicing archaelogists and biblical scholars who have been active in fieldwork demonstrate that archaeological data and biblical accounts are complementary in the study of ancient Israel, early Judaism, and Christianity. Thus scriptural and archaeological finds are illuminated by consideration of both.

Genres: Archaeology

120 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1994

About the author

Michael David Coogan is Director of Publications for the Harvard Semitic Museum and Professor of Religious Studies at Stonehill College. For several decades, he has taught an introductory course on the Hebrew Scriptures at Harvard University, as well as at Wellesley College, Boston College, and Stonehill College. One of the leading biblical scholars in the United States, he is the author of The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures, and editor of the acclaimed third edition of The New Oxford Annotated Bible.

Reviews

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was an interesting book to read. I started off using parts of it for a paper and ended up reading the entire book. It is composed of multiple essays dealing with different aspects or references from the Bible and discussing them in terms of the archaeological record. Some of the essays were "more interesting" than others [those had a "better flow" in their narrative and were more readable for the reading, thereby making it more interesting for me]. Many of the sections acknowledged that the Bible was written for a specific purpose, and historical record-keeping was not that purpose. However, archaeology can be used to glean the importance of cities and city-states mentioned in passing in the Bible and further enrich the "backhistory" of the Biblical text [be filling in the "backstory", as it were].

For the most part, I felt the book was quite readable; most of it was interesting to me. I did find some essays more intriguing than others, but each essay still had something to say that was "new" to me. I am not saying that the essays in this book "proved the Bible to be "true" and without error", but they did "fill in the gaps" in the Biblical record about various nations, tribes, and groups mentioned in the Bible.

I am glad I read the book, and I am sure I will be looking for a copy to purchase to keep on my shelf so I can read it at a later time.