Inside BAR

004

Many readers will be surprised to learn that the recent peace treaty between Egypt and Israel was not the first between these two countries. As we learn from Abraham Malamat, distinguished Israeli historian and Biblical exegete, the same thing happened 3000 years ago, except that then the deal was sealed by a marriage between Pharaoh’s daughter and an Israelite king. In “The First Peace Treaty Between Israel and Egypt,” Malamat displays his rare talent as a political and military analyst of the ancient Near East.

An immigrant to Israel from Austria at the age of 12, Malamat studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and is now chairman of its Department of Jewish History where he has a reputation for fast paced lectures in rich, impeccable Hebrew.

Having first taught in the United States nearly 30 years ago at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, and then again at the University of Pennsylvania in the early 60’s, Malamat resumed for a third time last spring to Oberlin College to deliver the prestigious Haskell Lectures in Biblical studies.

A prolific writer of scholarly articles in both English and Hebrew, Malamat is editor of the Bulletin of the Israel Exploration Society and was associate editor of the Israel Exploration Journal. His most recent extensive treatment in English of early Israelite history appeared in Part One of A History of the Jewish People, Haim Ben-Sasson, ed., (Harvard University Press, 1976).

Carol Meyers divides her time between digging in Israel and teaching in the United States. In this issue, Meyers asks, “Was There a Seven-Branched Lampstand in Solomon’s Temple?” The seven-branched lampstand is one of Judaism’s most ancient and enduring symbols. Those who think they know the answer to Meyers’ question are in for some surprises.

Carol Meyers and her husband Eric are both members of the Department of Religion at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. She also teaches at the nearby Chapel Hill campus of the University of North Carolina.

The Meyers family spend their summers digging in the Galilee at Tell Meiron where Carol Meyers co-directs the dig. Before Meiron she was on the staff of excavations at Shema and Tell Gezer.

In a previous article for BAR (“Digging the Talmud in Ancient Meiron,” BAR 04:02), Eric and Carol Meyers described life in Talmudic times in the village of Meiron, where Jews lived since 135 A.D., following the Second Jewish Revolt against Rome.

From infancy, the Meyers children, Julie (age 10) and Dina (age 7) have accompanied their parents on their excavations and are already well-seasoned dirt archaeologists.

Aharon Kempinski also had a youthful exposure to archaeology. Kempinski lived in the Mediterranean beach town of Nahariya, north of Haifa. By the age of 13, he was already working with Moshe Dothan, who was excavating Nahariya. One day Kempinski and a friend accidentally discovered some votive vessels in the sand. This clue led to the discovery of the only standing Canaanite Temple in Israel. The next season, Kempinski participated in the excavation of the Temple. From then on, he says, he has been a captive of archaeology.

After graduating from the Hebrew University’s Institute of Archaeology, Kempinski pursued doctoral studies in Hittite history and culture at the University of Marburg in Germany, where he received his Ph.D. in 1974. In the late ’60’s he worked on the excavation of Hattusas (Bogazkoy), the ancient Hittite capital in northern Turkey. In “Hittites in the Bible—What Does Archaeology Say?” Kempinski draws both on his academic background and his field experience to take BAR readers on a fascinating exploration of the relationship of archaeology to the Biblical text.

Kempinski is currently Senior Lecturer in Ancient History and Archaeology of the Middle East at Tel Aviv University. Since 1972 he has co-directed with the late Yohanan Aharoni and Volkmar Fritz excavations at Tell Masos, a site near Beersheva identified by Aharoni as Biblical Hormah. His work there provided the material for “Israelite Conquest or Settlement? New Light from Tell Masos,” BAR 02:03.

Many readers will be surprised to learn that the recent peace treaty between Egypt and Israel was not the first between these two countries. As we learn from Abraham Malamat, distinguished Israeli historian and Biblical exegete, the same thing happened 3000 years ago, except that then the deal was sealed by a marriage between Pharaoh’s daughter and an Israelite king. In “The First Peace Treaty Between Israel and Egypt,” Malamat displays his rare talent as a political and military analyst of the ancient Near East. An immigrant to Israel from Austria at the age of 12, Malamat studied at […]