Hershel’s Crusade, No. 2: For King and Country: Chronology and Minimalism

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Is the Hebrew Bible a reliable source of information about ancient Israel? Does it contain true histories or just constructs? Archaeologist William Dever presents an overview of the controversy between the extreme skeptics (minimalists) and the more optimistic Biblical maximalists, highlighting the vital role of Hershel Shanks and BAR in that debate.

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Footnotes

1. Baruch Halpern, “Erasing History,” BAR 11:06.

2. Hershel Shanks, “Face to Face: Biblical Minimalists Meet Their Challengers,” BAR 23:04.

3. Philip Davies, “What Separates a Minimalist from a Maximalist? Not Much,” BAR 26:02; William G. Dever, “Save Us from Postmodern Malarkey,” BAR 26:02; Amihai Mazar and John Camp, “Will Tel Rehov Save the United Monarchy?” BAR 26:02.

4. Yosef Garfinkel, “The Birth & Death of Biblical Minimalism,” BAR 37:03.

Endnotes

1.
William G. Dever, What Did the Biblical Writers Know and When Did They Know It? What Archaeology Can Tell Us About the Reality of Ancient Israel (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001).

2. Mario Liverani, Israel’s History and the History of Israel (London & Oakville: Equinox Publishing Ltd., 2003); Jan Alberto Soggin, Israel in the Biblical Period (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 2001).

3. Megan B. Moore and Brad E. Kelle, Biblical History and Israel’s Past: The Changing Study of the Bible and History (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2011).

4.
William G. Dever, Beyond the Texts: An Archaeological Portrait of Ancient Israel and Judah (Atlanta: SBL Press, 2017).