Books in Brief
Biblical Archaeology for Teens
Barbara Miley and Lorraine O. Schultz
(San Diego, CA: Rainbow Publishers, 1988) 4 vol., 64 pp. each, $6.95 each, paper
Biblical Archaeology for Teens—four colorfully covered booklets—aims to spark the interest of youthful readers in archaeology, in Biblical history and in life in Bible times. I believe that the booklets accomplish this purpose and that even adults unfamiliar with Biblical archaeology can find them interesting and informative. The intended audience, however, is clearly Christian—even the booklet subtitled “Discovering the Old Testament” refers to Jesus” Parable of the Hidden Treasure. For Christian youth, then, these booklets provide easy-to-read, interesting and illuminating information. Such materials have long been needed; now church youth-group advisors and teachers have access to basic material written at an unsophisticated level appropriate to young people.
Each booklet is 64 pages long and bears a descriptive subtitle. “Discovering the Old Testament” and “Discovering Daily Life in Bible Times” were penned by Barbara Miley; “Discovering the New Testament” and “Discovering Jerusalem” are by Lorraine O. Schultz.
Barbara Miley has had some field experience, working in Israel at Horvat Uza, Timnah, Tel Qasile, Tel Shiloh and Tell Halif (Lahav). Her preface in “Discovering the Old Testament,” the first of the series, pays tribute to Bruce Cresson, Itzhaq Beit-Arieh, George Kelm, Amihai Mazar, Israel Finkelstein and Joe Seger, directors of these excavations. (Readers of BAR will readily recognize most of these names.) She has divided her text into seven parts with such catchy titles as “The Write Stuff,” “Cracked Pots” and “Your Mind Will Be in Ruins.” In “Discovering Everyday Life in Bible Times,” Miley offers interesting insights on weapons and warfare; what houses were like; and on typical daily activities, including the games young people played, what people ate and the kinds of work they did. Because of recent discoveries of olive presses at Tel Miqne, a discussion of olive oil production and its importance is also included.
Lorraine O. Schultz has provided no information about herself. However, I’ve learned a few pertinent facts. A retired missionary who spent 33 years in Africa, Ms. Schultz has visited Israel 11 times and has studied many archaeological sites. Like her co-author, she participated in the Tel Qasile excavation. Ms. Schultz founded the Los Angeles chapter of the Biblical Archaeology Society, which now has 150 members. In “Discovering the New Testament,” she touches on the archaeology of sites related to Herod the Great: the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Masada, New Testament Jericho, Caesarea Maritima and Herodium. A second section treats Galilean sites related to the ministry of Jesus; tombs and ossuaries; and the archaeology of sites related to Paul’s missionary journeys. Roman and Greek ruins related to New Testament events take up a section, followed by coins and writing materials (Schultz connects the latter with scribal activity and with the transmission of manuscripts.).
“Discovering Jerusalem” covers the history of the city from Jebusite times through the Herodian period. It is a melange of information, some of which has been presented in the previous booklets. The City of David excavations rightfully receive more attention than earlier digs. Schultz devotes the last section to the Dead Sea Scrolls and even notes the recent (1988!) use of infrared photography to recover texts hidden in the decaying, darkened leather.
Some of the photographs in the booklets are rather dark; all are black and white. A view of the ruins of Shechem identifies a feature as “the back of Joshua’s altar … ,” which is both unprovable and unlikely. There is much more recounting of Biblical history than of the results of archaeological research in these texts, but, since “archaeology” earlier connoted ancient history, the title of the series is permissible. This recounting is probably necessary, since the youthful readers are not likely to know the basic flow of ancient and Biblical history. These are minor criticisms, however, that do not detract from the authors’ accomplishments in providing interestingly written and informative material for the intended audience.
Discovering the Biblical World
Harry Thomas Frank, edited by James F. Strange
(Maplewood, NJ: Hammond, rev. ed., 1988), 288 pp., $29.95
Harry Thomas Frank wrote the original edition of this work, which appeared in 1975. It was well received, although some reviewers expressed limited reservations about the coloring of the maps and the reproduction of some photographs.
When Frank died, James F. Strange was invited to undertake the revision of his work. In both cases the publisher chose well; Frank and Strange, scholars of proven expertise, have written from long acquaintance with the history, archaeology and landscape of the Bible.
The dustjacket overclaims when it describes the book under review as a “completely revised edition” of Frank’s work. That is not so. Strange’s account of his own contribution is much more accurate: “I have simply endeavored to bring Tom Frank’s text up to date, to omit some repetitions, to correct a few items, and to interweave some recent archaeology.”
It is not easy to categorize Discovering the Biblical World. Not an introduction to the Bible, nor a book on Biblical archaeology or Biblical geography, it is a combination of the three, written for the lay reader. What it does is retell the Biblical narrative (both Old and New Testament, and beyond) in elegant and vibrant style.
The revised version, like the original edition, is enhanced by over 40 color maps, 170 color photographs, 110 black-and-white illustrations, town plans and chronological charts. Many of the photographs were made by Frank, who was a first-class photographer. Artifacts of all kinds are the subject of these illustrations. The visual aids in the revised edition are superior to those in the first, and they will be extremely helpful to the reader.
As already stated, this book is intended for the lay reader, not the scholar. In fact, even the serious student would find the text a bit basic. It does not attempt to deal critically with many of the issues in current Biblical scholarship. This is especially evident in the early chapters of the book, covering the period before the United Monarchy (about 1000 B.C.). It is true that newer archaeological evidence has been incorporated in the revision, but only tangentially; seldom is the new evidence made to confront the Biblical text. It is most appropriate to include references to the extraordinary epigraphic discoveries at Ebla (modern Tell Mardikh in Syria), which flourished between 2600 and 1600 B.C., as well as the full-scale excavations of Jerusalem, covering practically every period of its long history. It would have been more useful, however, to spell out the implications of these discoveries for the history of the ancient Near East, of which the Bible was an important part. One suspects that Strange, an excellent archaeologist, was under the constraint of the publisher to minimize changes in the plates.
Inevitably, in a work of this scope, a few errors have crept in. For example, the American dig at Samaria took place between 1908 and 1910, not in 1912. The map of archaeological sites in Israel and Jordan (p. 14) omits Tel Miqne (identified with Ekron, one of the capital cities of the Philistine Pentapolis), which is currently under excavation. The site is mentioned, however, on the page facing the map. Yigal Shiloh, late excavator of the City of David (Jerusalem), found no evidence that the famous shaft, known as the “Jebusite Shaft” or “Warren’s Shaft,” was cut by the pre-Davidic Jebusites. Consequently, David’s warriors, led by Joab, did not gain access to the city through this shaft, as previously thought.
In general, this book is a solid piece of work that can take its rightful place on a Biblical library shelf. The reservations expressed herein are intended only to indicate the proper audience for whom this book is intended. The lay reader will find it a pleasure to read, and will profit greatly from it. The maps and time chart will help to situate the reader in Biblical places and times. For those who wish to go beyond Discovering the Biblical World, there is a selected bibliography, which has been updated.
BAR readers may order the books reviewed above directly from the Biblical Archaeology Society. Send a check or VISA/Mastercard information to 3000 Connecticut Avenue N.W., Suite 300, Washington, DC 20008.