BAS Publication Awards

057

The 2005 Biblical Archaeology Society Publication Awards recognize the best books on archaeology and the Bible published in 2003 and 2004. The biennial BAS Publication Awards for books about archaeology and the Bible have been presented since 1985. These prestigious awards are made possible by a grant from the Leopold and Clara M. Fellner Charitable Foundation, through its trustee Frederick L. Simmons.

Best Popular Book on Archaeology

A Biblical History of Israel

Iain Provan, V. Philips Long and Tremper Longman III

(Westminster/John Knox Press, 2003)

This book was nominated in the Best Scholarly Book on Archaeology category, but the judges believe that it makes such an important contribution to the debate about the use of the Bible in writing a history of Israel that it could not go unrewarded. It is both scholarly and accessible to the general reader. Its interdisciplinary approach, utilizing archaeological sources, ancient texts and the Bible itself, makes the book compelling.

Judges

James Hoffmeier, Trinity Evangelical

Carol Redmount, University of California, Berkeley

Lawrence E. Stager, Harvard University

Best Book Relating to the Old Testament

Symbiosis, Symbolism, and the Power of the Past

W.G. Dever and S. Gitin, eds.

(Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2003)

Symbiosis, Symbolism, and the Power of the Past covers the history of ancient Israel and its relations with neighboring lands from the Late Bronze Age to the end of the first millennium B.C.E. Although it is an edited volume, and thus necessarily eclectic in its coverage, its contributions are of a standard that uniformly advances the state of knowledge in the field. Its breadth, too, contributes to widening the discussion of Near Eastern and Israelite cultures and history to include Egypt and the Mediterranean basin. The book demonstrates the value of correlating different types of evidence—textual, archaeological and historical—with one another.

Judges

Baruch Halpern, Pennsylvania State University

Ronald Hendel, University of California, Berkeley

Choon-Leong Seow, Princeton Theological Seminary

(Professor Halpern contributed to the winning volume, so he recused himself from the selection process.—Ed.)

Best Scholarly Book on Archaeology

Megiddo 3

Timothy P. Harrison

(Chicago: Oriental Institute, 2004)

In this significant contribution, Harrison has not only published the important material from University of Chicago excavations at Megiddo in the 1920s and 1930s, but his treatment of the Iron Age materials has helped to settle some of the debate about the tenth century B.C.E. and the United Monarchy of Israel. He attributes the destruction of Stratum VI at Megiddo to Israelite expansion under King David. His careful analysis of the archaeological remains and integration with historical sources offers a credible model for doing “Biblical archaeology.”

Judges

James Hoffmeier, Trinity Evangelical

Carol Redmount, University of California, Berkeley

Lawrence E. Stager, Harvard University

Best Book Relating to the New Testament

Paul’s Language of Grace in Its Graeco-Roman Context

James R. Harrison

(Tübingen, Germany: J.C.B. Mohr [Paul Siebeck], 2003)

James Harrison’s book tackles one of the most theologically important terms of the New Testament, “grace” (charis), and argues that Paul’s audience understood this term to belong to a cluster of words, concepts and practices having to do with Hellenistic ideas of reciprocity and benefaction—the rituals of giving and receiving, of creating and maintaining networks of patrons and clients. Reciprocity was in fact the “glue” that held Hellenistic and Roman society together. This is an outstanding work of scholarship based on a careful analysis of epigraphical and literary texts from the Mediterranean antiquity, showing how Paul’s language both fit with and transformed the customary language of giving and receiving. It is destined to make a very significant impact on Pauline studies.

Judges

Peter W. Flint, Trinity Western University

John S. Kloppenborg, University of Toronto

Stephen Patterson, Eden Theological Seminary

The 2005 Biblical Archaeology Society Publication Awards recognize the best books on archaeology and the Bible published in 2003 and 2004. The biennial BAS Publication Awards for books about archaeology and the Bible have been presented since 1985. These prestigious awards are made possible by a grant from the Leopold and Clara M. Fellner Charitable Foundation, through its trustee Frederick L. Simmons. Best Popular Book on Archaeology A Biblical History of Israel Iain Provan, V. Philips Long and Tremper Longman III (Westminster/John Knox Press, 2003) This book was nominated in the Best Scholarly Book on Archaeology category, but the […]