Archaeological Views: The Chasm Between the Media and Biblical Archaeological Scholarship

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Unfortunately, today a seemingly impenetrable divide separates lay studies and sermons, on the one hand, from the academic study of the Bible and archaeology, on the other. To this we may add the yawning gap between what scholars do and what much of the media does. For example, an ABC special that aired last year showing Christiane Amanpour and her son watching the sunrise from Mt. Sinai more or less ignored the state of the archaeological field today. This show could have been produced a generation ago.

I do not think the American public is apathetic or indifferent. On the contrary, as many readers of BAR know, a small cadre of devoted readers pride themselves on staying attuned to the most recent developments in the field of Biblical archaeology. In relation to the larger population of the United States as a whole, however, this is a very small group. When we add the fact that the media is hesitant to take on some of the real current questions that are challenging the field, the situation is even worse.

What we in academia observe is a stubborn refusal by large sectors of the population to accept climate change and global warming as factors to be taken seriously. But cancer research—everyone takes that seriously. The study of religion—and especially the Bible and archaeology—often falls into the former category.

Let me offer a few examples. If a rabbi, priest or minister sermonizes about Biblical Israel or the Exodus, there is almost zero chance of hearing any serious consideration of the complexities of Israel’s ethnogenesis: Did Israel emerge from Egypt as a fully developed people whose singular experience under slavery led to the almost immediate birth of monotheism and Israelite religion as we know it? The maximalist/minimalist debate, now a generation old and the subject of thousands of articles and books, has hardly inspired the Bible-reading public to alter its long-held views. As someone who regularly lectures on these subjects, I am usually nonplussed when people ask me, “Why have I never heard that before?”

Having a more nuanced view of Israel’s origins need not run counter to Biblical faith and might not be so threatening if one were to examine more fully the dynamics of the transition from the Late Bronze Age to the Iron Age. In fact, one might just discover factors that would enhance our understanding of the Biblical record, although in slightly altered ways. For example, perhaps the recollection by a small group of newcomers (or indigenes) recently escaped from enslavement created an environment in which new ways of living could be envisioned in the highlands of Canaan that were different from the more hierarchical norms that dominated the cultures surrounding them. What if King David was not as mighty as the Bible portrays him? What if Jerusalem was not the shining city on the hill before the beginnings of urbanism under King Hezekiah? Perhaps recognition of such history might actually lead us to a greater sensitivity for what the Biblical personae achieved in such short order. And it might also lead us to a more appreciative and faithful reading of the Biblical narrative.

Even touring the Holy Land and its array of Biblical sites and national parks can be misleading. The sign-age is often overtly political, and many of the presentations in films, brochures and websites can be wildly different from what is currently accepted in academia.

How can we change things? We all know that the print medium is in serious decline. Most of us teaching in colleges and universities are aware that the humanities are also in steep decline. That is true for courses in religious studies and the Bible, as well as archaeology, though there are many exceptions. MOOCS (massive open online courses) are becoming more common, and some of the biggest names in higher education are experimenting with them, including Duke and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. But until TV journalism, as well as major magazines and newspapers in print and online, catch up with the field and turn to real experts for advice, the larger public is destined to remain ill-informed.

Outreach education sponsored by seminaries could do a lot more in this area. In my own state of North Carolina, there are nearly 3,000 courses per year in public high schools that teach aspects of the Bible and Biblical history in a variety of settings, and yet there is no resource for those teachers so that they can be up-to-date on Biblical studies.

The Society of Biblical Literature’s new online resource, Bible Odyssey [not yet published], will, one hopes, go a long way to rectify this situation.

Unfortunately, today a seemingly impenetrable divide separates lay studies and sermons, on the one hand, from the academic study of the Bible and archaeology, on the other. To this we may add the yawning gap between what scholars do and what much of the media does. For example, an ABC special that aired last year showing Christiane Amanpour and her son watching the sunrise from Mt. Sinai more or less ignored the state of the archaeological field today. This show could have been produced a generation ago. I do not think the American public is apathetic or indifferent. On […]