In recent decades, biblical scholars have begun to explore topics at the intersections of archaeological, biblical, and anthropological studies. Of special interest are questions relating to memory, like Daniel Pioske’s recent The Bible Among Ruins. The book’s relevance is readily apparent to Bible readers familiar with the repeated use of the phrase “to this day,” which appears no fewer than 80 times in the Hebrew Bible (e.g., Joshua 8:28; Judges 6:24; 2 Kings 10:27). This expression was deployed to assert that ruins and ancient monuments were still visible to biblical writers, as they remarked upon how they related to Israel’s […]
