Despite a harsh winter, they gave thanks to the Lord for saving them and bringing a bountiful harvest...
They did not give up, rather, they remained in this untamed land....
Friday, November 27, 2009
Our Heritage
They arrived in 1620...
Despite a harsh winter, they gave thanks to the Lord for saving them and bringing a bountiful harvest...
They did not give up, rather, they remained in this untamed land....
Despite a harsh winter, they gave thanks to the Lord for saving them and bringing a bountiful harvest...
They did not give up, rather, they remained in this untamed land....
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Dating Biblical Authorship
Many critical biblical scholars and historians of ancient Israel connect the Deuteronomistic History to the book of Deuteronomy, arguing they were composed at roughly the same time. How does that conclusion influence how scholars interpret the content of both biblical sources? How does that interpretation influence the interpretation of the archaeological record, particularly for Israel's early history (pre-monarchy)?
When the Deuteronomistic history is linked in time to the book of Deuteronomy, it establishes an early date for the occurrences within the books. If the authorship occurred at the same time, the historical content will be far greater than if composed at a later date. The internal consistency would be greater since less time has elapsed to allow for human forgetfulness or changes to the text. Finkelstein adhering to a late authorship view of these books believes they reflect the political and religious ideology of their time while containing historical memories of Israel’s past. Thus the message is modified to the current political message and the ancient memories are tailored for that message. The text thus must be viewed with a critical eye to discern between ideology and true historical fact. The range of viewpoints is wide in the field. The extreme would say the, “Bible is a Hellenistic composition with (almost) no historical value, and that the entire "history" of Israel, from the patriarchs, through the exodus, the conquest, the monarchy and the exile and restoration, never happened.” Such a viewpoint dramatically affects the treatment of the text and the consideration of it its validity.
If the text contains true historical value, then archeological finds should corroborate the accounts. Those items found would be viewed through the lens of an earlier chronological dating system. Finds would also work to prove the Biblical stories. Kitchen and Hendel examine items such as the Mari and Nuzi tablets to corroborate the social milieu depicted in the Bible. If these items confirm a similarity between early near Eastern culture and the Biblical text, then there is room to argue for ancient authorship. Finds like the Merenptah Stela are interpreted differently to represent different times and different models of Israel’s history: either as a nomadic group or closer to an organized state just before the Monarchy. Minimalists such as Thomas Thompson who adhere to a late authorship date and Jan Van Seters interpret any data with a critical eye. Thompson casts doubts on the Tel Dan Inscription’s reference to, “the house of David” saying it does not mean David was a historical ancestor. Depending on the presuppositions about the Biblical text, the interpretations for the archeological findings differ.
Footnotes:
Yigael Levin, Hebrew Discussion Board: Brief definition of "minimalism" and "maximalism," http://www.wwuheiser.com/minimalmaximal.pdf.
Israel Finkelstein and Amihai Mazar, The Quest for the Historical Israel, ed. Brian B. Schmidt (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2007).
Yigael Levin, Hebrew Discussion Board: Brief definition of "minimalism" and "maximalism," http://www.wwuheiser.com/minimalmaximal.pdf.
Michael Heiser, Ancient Israel.
Michael Heiser, Ancient Israel.
When the Deuteronomistic history is linked in time to the book of Deuteronomy, it establishes an early date for the occurrences within the books. If the authorship occurred at the same time, the historical content will be far greater than if composed at a later date. The internal consistency would be greater since less time has elapsed to allow for human forgetfulness or changes to the text. Finkelstein adhering to a late authorship view of these books believes they reflect the political and religious ideology of their time while containing historical memories of Israel’s past. Thus the message is modified to the current political message and the ancient memories are tailored for that message. The text thus must be viewed with a critical eye to discern between ideology and true historical fact. The range of viewpoints is wide in the field. The extreme would say the, “Bible is a Hellenistic composition with (almost) no historical value, and that the entire "history" of Israel, from the patriarchs, through the exodus, the conquest, the monarchy and the exile and restoration, never happened.” Such a viewpoint dramatically affects the treatment of the text and the consideration of it its validity.
If the text contains true historical value, then archeological finds should corroborate the accounts. Those items found would be viewed through the lens of an earlier chronological dating system. Finds would also work to prove the Biblical stories. Kitchen and Hendel examine items such as the Mari and Nuzi tablets to corroborate the social milieu depicted in the Bible. If these items confirm a similarity between early near Eastern culture and the Biblical text, then there is room to argue for ancient authorship. Finds like the Merenptah Stela are interpreted differently to represent different times and different models of Israel’s history: either as a nomadic group or closer to an organized state just before the Monarchy. Minimalists such as Thomas Thompson who adhere to a late authorship date and Jan Van Seters interpret any data with a critical eye. Thompson casts doubts on the Tel Dan Inscription’s reference to, “the house of David” saying it does not mean David was a historical ancestor. Depending on the presuppositions about the Biblical text, the interpretations for the archeological findings differ.
Footnotes:
Yigael Levin, Hebrew Discussion Board: Brief definition of "minimalism" and "maximalism," http://www.wwuheiser.com/minimalmaximal.pdf.
Israel Finkelstein and Amihai Mazar, The Quest for the Historical Israel, ed. Brian B. Schmidt (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2007).
Yigael Levin, Hebrew Discussion Board: Brief definition of "minimalism" and "maximalism," http://www.wwuheiser.com/minimalmaximal.pdf.
Michael Heiser, Ancient Israel.
Michael Heiser, Ancient Israel.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Patriarchs: Historical or Legendary? Pt. 1
Imagine…
As the Constitution’s signatures still sat wet, the question arose amongst the auspicious Congress, “Does not this new nation need a historical background as a foundation for the new Republic?” Indeed, the need for heroic figures and a common cultural background to unite and inspire the thirteen legislatures and their people groups so aroused the writers leading them to assign Thomas Jefferson with the task of creating a national history. Hence the account originated: of a brave Italian explorer, Christopher Columbus, lineage of the Separatists and Moravians who followed the reformed faith of Martin Luther and the courageous Miles Standish and Thomas Hooker. Indeed, contemplated the Congress upon reviewing the historical and detailed nature of Jefferson’s work, such a “history”, though fictional, embodied the spirit of freedom and bravery to be emulated and found in this new land and home. Thus in further legal documents and popular Gazette reports, the Congress promoted the created heritage to the American populous.
Imagine such a scenario. Imagine it truly relates the origins of our national heritage. What pride would you take in following, honoring and imitating such a respectable…but fictional legacy? The scenario illustrates the position of the minimalist school on Israel’s heritage portrayed in the Biblical account. Israel Finkelstein writes on the minimalist viewpoint,
It [Old Testament] is a largely fictional composition motivated by the theology of the time of its compilation, which occurred centuries after the alleged events took place….it contains only vague and quite unreliable information about the origins and early history of Israel…. the authors…stitched together old myths, folktales, imaginary records, legendary narratives, and a few memories of historical facts…into a single saga of apostasy and redemption.
In other words, the authors wrote up a history with a specific ideological bent for political purposes. Such a viewpoint targets the Pentateuch’s veracity, a portion containing Abrahams, Jacobs and Isaacs’ stories, pivotal to the Biblical chronicle and theology. Thus with archaeology’s emergence, the Bible’s historicity has been challenged. Its historical portions and accounts of the Patriarchs remain highly critiqued due to a lack of archeological confirmation. With textual criticism, the dating of Patriarchal narratives has raised questions on authorship and date composition along with questioning the reliability and possibility of historical data and the accounts’ oral transmission. Such doubts engendered the hypothesis that the biblical account was constructed during the Persian or Hellenistic periods in an attempt to create a history and present an ideology. Such challenges and hypotheses demand a response. While the Scriptures demonstrate certain literary styles such techniques do not invalidate the content. While scholars doubt the possibility for accurate oral transmission, it is a viable option in a culture accustomed to its practice and especially when a sovereign God directs the transmission. The archeological field contains a variety of arguments for or against the Patriarchs’ existence but contains enough data to maintain their historicity. Overarching each of these considerations is the theological testimony for and dependence on the historical nature of these biblical characters. This response will address theories on the Bible’s literary genres, the debate and evidence regarding the Patriarchal narratives’ historicity and the theological implications of either viewpoint.
As the Constitution’s signatures still sat wet, the question arose amongst the auspicious Congress, “Does not this new nation need a historical background as a foundation for the new Republic?” Indeed, the need for heroic figures and a common cultural background to unite and inspire the thirteen legislatures and their people groups so aroused the writers leading them to assign Thomas Jefferson with the task of creating a national history. Hence the account originated: of a brave Italian explorer, Christopher Columbus, lineage of the Separatists and Moravians who followed the reformed faith of Martin Luther and the courageous Miles Standish and Thomas Hooker. Indeed, contemplated the Congress upon reviewing the historical and detailed nature of Jefferson’s work, such a “history”, though fictional, embodied the spirit of freedom and bravery to be emulated and found in this new land and home. Thus in further legal documents and popular Gazette reports, the Congress promoted the created heritage to the American populous.
Imagine such a scenario. Imagine it truly relates the origins of our national heritage. What pride would you take in following, honoring and imitating such a respectable…but fictional legacy? The scenario illustrates the position of the minimalist school on Israel’s heritage portrayed in the Biblical account. Israel Finkelstein writes on the minimalist viewpoint,
It [Old Testament] is a largely fictional composition motivated by the theology of the time of its compilation, which occurred centuries after the alleged events took place….it contains only vague and quite unreliable information about the origins and early history of Israel…. the authors…stitched together old myths, folktales, imaginary records, legendary narratives, and a few memories of historical facts…into a single saga of apostasy and redemption.
In other words, the authors wrote up a history with a specific ideological bent for political purposes. Such a viewpoint targets the Pentateuch’s veracity, a portion containing Abrahams, Jacobs and Isaacs’ stories, pivotal to the Biblical chronicle and theology. Thus with archaeology’s emergence, the Bible’s historicity has been challenged. Its historical portions and accounts of the Patriarchs remain highly critiqued due to a lack of archeological confirmation. With textual criticism, the dating of Patriarchal narratives has raised questions on authorship and date composition along with questioning the reliability and possibility of historical data and the accounts’ oral transmission. Such doubts engendered the hypothesis that the biblical account was constructed during the Persian or Hellenistic periods in an attempt to create a history and present an ideology. Such challenges and hypotheses demand a response. While the Scriptures demonstrate certain literary styles such techniques do not invalidate the content. While scholars doubt the possibility for accurate oral transmission, it is a viable option in a culture accustomed to its practice and especially when a sovereign God directs the transmission. The archeological field contains a variety of arguments for or against the Patriarchs’ existence but contains enough data to maintain their historicity. Overarching each of these considerations is the theological testimony for and dependence on the historical nature of these biblical characters. This response will address theories on the Bible’s literary genres, the debate and evidence regarding the Patriarchal narratives’ historicity and the theological implications of either viewpoint.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Announcing....
I am pleased to announce a new revolutionary Logos Bible Software product: Logos 4.
Our company has worked tirelessly to recreate the technology for its product: a Christian library with powerful search capabilities. As an employee, I've had the priviledge of using Logos 4 and have fallen in love with the product. While reading the text in Libronix was okay, reading on Logos 4 is a pleasure. The interface is gorgeous with light blue and white tones which prove soothing to the eyes and aesthetically pleasing. The new homepage displays book review clippings or blogpost snippets enticing you onto deeper studies and demonstrating the information within your grasp with simply a search. Researching with Logos 4 saves an inestimable amount of time. Writing papers for class is joyfully facilitated by this beautiful and effective research guide. Please save yourself the pain of library searching and obtain a copy of Logos 4. Visit our website at: http://www.logos.com/4.
Our company has worked tirelessly to recreate the technology for its product: a Christian library with powerful search capabilities. As an employee, I've had the priviledge of using Logos 4 and have fallen in love with the product. While reading the text in Libronix was okay, reading on Logos 4 is a pleasure. The interface is gorgeous with light blue and white tones which prove soothing to the eyes and aesthetically pleasing. The new homepage displays book review clippings or blogpost snippets enticing you onto deeper studies and demonstrating the information within your grasp with simply a search. Researching with Logos 4 saves an inestimable amount of time. Writing papers for class is joyfully facilitated by this beautiful and effective research guide. Please save yourself the pain of library searching and obtain a copy of Logos 4. Visit our website at: http://www.logos.com/4.
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