BAS Publication Awards

2023 WINNERS BAS Publication Awards
These prestigious awards have been made possible by a grant from:
The Rohr Family in memory of Sami Rohr

BEST BOOK ON THE HEBREW BIBLE

Purity and Pollution in the Hebrew Bible

Purity and Pollution in the Hebrew Bible

From Embodied Experience to Moral Metaphor
Yitzhaq Feder
(Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2021)

Where did the Hebrew Bible’s concepts of purity and pollution originate, and how did ancient Israel think about these ideas? In this insightful book, anthropologist and biblical scholar Yitzhaq Feder builds upon previous scholarship and offers a nuanced way forward by synthesizing what are typically opposing views on purity and pollution. His explanations of the linguistic and historical issues involved are clear and accessible, and his engagement with both biblical and extrabiblical sources is thorough and careful. All the while, Feder never loses sight of the significance his research holds for better understanding the Hebrew Bible.

— JUDGES —
ELIZABETH BACKFISH – William Jessup University
STEED DAVIDSON – Society of Biblical Literature
AMY-JILL LEVINE – Hartford International University for Religion and Peace

BEST BOOK ON THE NEW TESTAMENT

The Pharisees

The Pharisees

Edited by Joseph Sievers and Amy-Jill Levine
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2021)

The Pharisees is a landmark volume that tackles a longstanding problem in the field of New Testament studies by bringing together a broad variety of scholars with a stunningly wide breadth of expertise—including literary and archaeological perspectives, Jewish and Christian contexts, and ancient and modern purviews. The negative portrayal of Pharisees in the New Testament and its effects on the history of anti-Semitism have been long noted, including in relation to a difficult legacy of anti-Judaism that has been shaped by the academic study of the New Testament. This volume addresses the problem head-on, updating our historical understanding of this group in the light of new data and approaches.

— JUDGES —
ANNETTE YOSHIKO REED – Harvard Divinity School
JORDAN RYAN – Wheaton College
ROBYN FAITH WALSH – University of Miami

BEST BOOK ON ARCHAEOLOGY (TIE)

Why Those Who Shovel Are Silent

Why Those Who Shovel Are Silent

A History of Local Archaeological Knowledge and Labor
Allison Mickel
(Louisville: University Press of Colorado, 2021)

Allison Mickel’s book sheds light on an aspect of archaeology that rarely receives attention: the role of the local community in the research process. By combining ethnographic research with a study of the practice of fieldwork, Mickel draws attention to the unique knowledge that local laborers possess and allows their voices to be heard.

Age of Empires

Age of Empires

The History and Administration of Judah in the 8th–2nd Centuries BCE
Oded Lipschits
(University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns, 2021)

Age of Empires covers the phenomenon of stamped storage jar handles in the Kingdom of Judah and its role in the administration of the kingdom for 600 years. It examines the archaeological remains and explores the function of these jars in the political and economic life of Judah.

HERSHEL SHANKS AWARD FOR BEST DIG REPORT (TIE)

Tel Reḥov

Tel Reḥov

A Bronze and Iron Age City in the Beth-Shean Valley, Vols. 1–5
Amihai Mazar and Nava Panitz-Cohen
(Jerusalem: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2020)

Megiddo VI

Megiddo VI

The 2010–2014 Seasons
Edited by Israel Finkelstein and Mario A.S. Martin
(University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns, 2022)

The five-volume Tel Reḥov report, covering all 11 seasons of the project (1997– 2012), and the three-volume Megiddo VI report, covering the seasons from 2010–2014, are extremely comprehensive. Each includes chapters on stratigraphy, architecture, pottery, other artifacts, and scientific analyses. The new information, analyses, and interpretations expand our understanding not only of the sites themselves but the very fabric of the ebb and flow of history in this region, especially during the Bronze and Iron Ages.

— JUDGES OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY BOOKS —
ODED BOROWSKI – Emory University
ERIC H. CLINE – George Washington University
DEBRA FORAN – Wilfrid Laurier University

WINNERS BAS Publication Awards These prestigious awards have been made possible by a grant from: The Rohr Family in memory of Sami Rohr BEST BOOK ON THE HEBREW BIBLE Purity and Pollution in the Hebrew Bible From Embodied Experience to Moral Metaphor Yitzhaq Feder (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2021) Where did the Hebrew Bible’s concepts of purity and pollution originate, and how did ancient Israel think about these ideas? In this insightful book, anthropologist and biblical scholar Yitzhaq Feder builds upon previous scholarship and offers a nuanced way forward by synthesizing what are typically opposing views on purity and […]