UPDATE II: Antonio now informs us that the program is ‘viewable’ by those outside the US. This gives everyone on the planet now a chance to watch it.
UPDATE: The entire program is now available online here.
[Originally posted November 18 at 9:55 pm]
Introductory Segment: The destruction of the temple and the kingdom of Judah in 586 BCE and the birth of the Bible and monotheism set the stage for the questions which will follow in the program; portrayed as an archaeological detective story of who wrote the Bible, when and why.
Segment One: The beginnings of biblical archaeology with Flinders Petrie and the discovery of the Merneptah Stele in Egypt, the first historical evidence of an ethnic group called ‘Israel’ in the central highlands of Canaan (in 1208 BCE) open the segment. How did these ‘Israelites’ discover monotheism? This is the primary question of the program. To find an answer scholars seek an intersection between scripture and archaeology. However, the Abraham narrative and the other accounts found in Genesis remain uncorroborated in the archaeological record. Hence, scholars assert that the purpose of the Bible has something to do with other than ‘history’ and that rather than being composed by one author was composed by several (in the Pentateuch here in particular).
When, then, did writing in Israel begin? Tel Zayit and Ron Tappy come to the fore as evidence of 10th century literacy. Thus, we’re told, it is possible that the composition of the Hebrew Bible had begun by that time. Exodus 15 (the Song of the Sea) is offered as the most archaic linguistic material. Does this mean, then, that the Exodus narrative has a historical core? There is no archaeological evidence of such.
The biblical description of Joshua’s conquest too has precious little archaeological support. Garstang’s claim that Jericho was destroyed as related in the Bible had been proven wrong. Hazor too, purportedly conquered by Joshua (according to the Bible), apparently was in fact destroyed by the Israelites (according to ben Tor). Ai was another site which the Bible attributes to destruction by the hand of Joshua- but alas, 2200 BCE was the actual date of its destruction. Of the 31 sites reported conquered by Joshua, none show destruction layers during the ‘period of Joshua’. Only Hazor fits the proper timeframe, and only ben Tor among modern archaeologists asserts Israelite destruction. Zuckerman, the site co-director, disagrees however and asserts destruction of caused by something other than conquest; most likely decline and rebellion from within.
Hence, archaeology demonstrates the decline of the Canaanite city states and corruption from within, and filling the void created by the dissolution of that culture the Israelites seem to have arisen. Israel Finkelstein’s surface analysis of the central highlands demonstrates a population explosion in the 9th century in the wake of the collapse of the state-systems. The Israelites, then, were the ‘have nots’ of Canaanite culture who emerged from within upon the collapse of the city-state. The Israelites were themselves Canaanites.
Why, then, did they portray themselves as ‘outsiders’? Because of a desire to make particular their own identity. And what better way to do that then to create a story about destroying their former overlords? And where did they find their God, Yahweh? With the Shasu of Midian? Where Moses first encounters Yahweh at the burning bush? Perhaps. Did a small group of Canaanite slaves leave Egypt and take with them to the Central Highlands their new found God Yahweh? Do they attribute their deliverance to the newfound God of Midian and share that theological perspective with the central highland’s inhabitants, thus bringing to birth Yahweh-ism?
However it happened, a collective identity was forged among the tribes and eventually became a central theme of the Bible: exodus and deliverance. Is this the birth of monotheism? No- because other gods were also worshiped in Israel at the same time.
Dever, Machinist, Cahill, Ilan, Coogan, Tappy, McCarter, Bietak, Carol Meyers, ben Tor, nur el-Din, Zuckerman, Finkelstein, Faust, Redford, and Stager all serve as talking heads and Dever sounds for all the world just like a ‘minimalist’ when he speaks of the Bible containing a ‘kernal of historical truth’ though he soon changes his tune and sounds more maximalist than ever, especially when referencing the ‘revisionists’.
Segment Two: The Monarchical Period. What can we know of the United Monarchy? The Tel Dan inscription features prominently since its discovery in 1993. Does it prove the ‘revisionists’ wrong? Does it prove that David really lived? David is the oldest biblical figure to be confirmed by archaeology (according to the presenters). Were there scribes composing Biblical texts in David’s kingdom? The program certainly seems to accept that as a fact and they follow here the Germans and von Rad in positing the sources J and E as active during the Davidic/ Solomonic kingdons.
Mazar’s claim of having discovered David’s Palace is featured- as she asserts ‘it can be only a royal structure’. But is it? Does the pottery discovered at the site support this claim? Albright’s chronology was used by Mazar to date the find in the sort of circular reasoning that’s too common amongst many biblical archaeologists.
Fortunately Finkelstein comes to the rescue and debunks the Albrightian chronology so heavily relied upon by Mazar and others and instead makes use of carbon dating to date straigraphic layers. Poor Albright and his minions have missed the date by at least 75 years. Tappy’s Tel Zayit inscription and the so called ‘Davidic Palace’ are dated, then, to a century after ‘David and Solomon’. There was no large Davidic kingdom but only a petty warlord ruling a cowtown. Yet, the carbon dates are debated. So are there other sites that might be useful in establishing the facticity of the biblical narrative? Of course- Hazor, Gezer and Megiddo.
There is, as well, the account of Shishak, which gives a firm date for the death of Solomon- 930 BCE – as well as a list of cities conquered by the Egyptians. This convergence of evidence supports the biblical account of a United Kingdom.
Cook, Dever, Branham, Eilat Mazar, Boaretto, Redford, Cohen, and ben Tor are the talking heads in this portion.
Segment Three: The Temple and the form and structure of worship are examined. Perhaps the highlight of the program is found in this segment with its very fine computer aided reconstruction of the ‘Temple of Solomon’ and its illumination of Israelite worship by means of comparison with the practices of the Samaritans at Mount Gerizim at present. And even though there was a temple, there were still many Israelites worshiping Yahweh along with fertility goddesses and other gods.
Dever here features prominently especially in his assertions concerning Yahweh and his wife, Asherah. Naturally this should come as no surprise to anyone who has bothered to read the Old Testament, and particularly the Prophets, who rail against idolatry. The prophetic denunciation of idolatry and threat of punishment came to realization in the campaign of the Assyrians. Josiah, in the Southern Kingdom (Judah), decides to reform worship and bring the people back to God based on the ‘newly discovered’ Law book (most likely Deuteronomy). So now, along with J and E, we have D. The Bible is forming slowly but surely. But we still have no ‘monotheism’. Though we do have the Ten Commandments.
The eventual triumph of monotheism begins with the destruction of the Temple in 586 BCE and the deportation of the rulers. This theological disaster (the breaking of the Covenant with the house of David) was the most traumatic event in Israelite history. How could they survive without Temple, land, and King? In Babylon priests and scribes answered the question by composing most of the Hebrew Bible. These are the Priestly writers, who took J and E and D and combined them in the Torah. And it is they who make circumcision a covenantal value. This became the marker of covenant (much more than the Temple or the King or the Land) along with Sabbath observance and prayer. Thus, circumcision, sabbath, and prayer replaced King and land and Temple and Judaism was born and along with it, monotheism.
The talking heads were all the same as found in the previous segments with the addition of Eric Meyers.
Segment Four: Nonetheless, the oldest biblical texts we have are not from Babylon but from Qumran. And while most accept the narrative as presented above by the majority, the ‘revisionists’, demonized by Dever, assert that the biblical stories are ideological rather than historical. The bible is a ‘foundation myth’ rather than a historical document.
Barkai’s discovery of the Silver Amulet and the Priestly Benediction it contained affirmed the ancient pedigree of the biblical text, since the amulet dates, beyond any doubt, to the 7th century BCE. This proves that at least portions of the Bible were in existence before the Babylonian captivity.
Monotheism triumphs after the Babylonian destruction because the Exile seared into the consciousness of the Israelites the folly of polytheism. In 539 when the Judeans return to Judah Ezra reads the Torah and the people accept it as their foundation document. The Hebrew Bible is born and hand in hand with it, the God of the three great monotheistic religions.
Magness, Barkai, Stern, and Vaughn, are the talking heads in this final portion.
In sum, the program was well done and well illustrated. However, anyone who has opened up a commentary or a history of Israelite religion in the last 40 years has had access to everything it contains. There is here nothing groundbreaking or new or revolutionary. Nonetheless, I don’t suppose the program’s purpose was to break new ground. Instead, it simply summarizes scholarship to this point in what I confess was a balanced and fair way (though it did lean a tad towards the maximalist position, doubtless at the instigation of Dever). If you didn’t get a chance to watch, do so when it airs next or buy a copy here.
