Jerusalem In Bible And Archaeology

What are archaeologists and biblical scholars saying about Jerusalem? This volume includes the most up-to-date cross-disciplinary assessment of Biblical Jerusalem (ca. 2000-586 B.C.E.) that represents the views of biblical historians, archaeologists, Assyriologists, and Egyptologists. The archaeological articles both summarize and critique previous theories as well as present previously unpublished archaeological data regarding the highly contested interpretations of First Temple Period Jerusalem. The interpretative essays ask the question, "Can there be any dialogue between archaeologists and biblical scholars in the absence of consensus?" The essays give a clear "yes" to this question, and provide suggestions for how archaeology and biblical studies can and should be in conversation. This book will appeal to advanced scholars, nonspecialists in biblical studies, and lay audiences who are interested in the most recent theories on Jerusalem. The volume will be especially useful as a supplemental textbook for graduate and undergraduate courses on biblical history.

Traces the turbulent history of the Holy City on the 3,000th anniversary of its establishment by King David as the capital of Israel.

In this groundbreaking work that sets apart fact and legend, authors Finkelstein and Silberman use significant archeological discoveries to provide historical information about biblical Israel and its neighbors. In this iconoclastic and provocative work, leading scholars Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman draw on recent archaeological research to present a dramatically revised portrait of ancient Israel and its neighbors. They argue that crucial evidence (or a telling lack of evidence) at digs in Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon suggests that many of the most famous stories in the Bible—the wanderings of the patriarchs, the Exodus from Egypt, Joshua’s conquest of Canaan, and David and Solomon’s vast empire—reflect the world of the later authors rather than actual historical facts. Challenging the fundamentalist readings of the scriptures and marshaling the latest archaeological evidence to support its new vision of ancient Israel, The Bible Unearthed offers a fascinating and controversial perspective on when and why the Bible was written and why it possesses such great spiritual and emotional power today.

The importance of Jerusalem in biblical times as well as subsequent areas cannot be challenged, rendering a reliable and understandable textbook on its archaeology and history a virtual necessity. 'The Archaeology of the Jerusalem Area' is such a book. The approach of this study,Ó writes the author, is basically chronological, covering the archaeological history of the Jerusalem area from earliest times to our modern day. While the archaeological evidence is stressed, care is taken to fill in the picture with historical details gathered from the Bible and other literary sources.Ó After an historical overview of the city, chapters expand on the Jerusalem area in pre-Davidic times, Davidic Jerusalem, Solomonic Jerusalem, the city during the kingdom of Judah, after the exile, from 100 B.C. to A.D. 100, in the Roman period, in the Byzantine period, in the early Islamic periods, and during the Crusader, Mamluk, and Turkish periods. Plentiful maps, photographs, and sketches illustrate the archaeological data. Footnotes and a select bibliography guide the student to additional information available on various aspects of the subject. Jerusalem has always gained her strength and renown from the moral and religious precepts taught within her walls.,Ó the author writes. This has been true from the times of the Old Testament prophets into the time of Jesus... and on through the period of Islam.Ó So he addresses such questions as these: What was the nature of the struggles waged over her by pagan, Jew, Christian, and Muslim? What archaeological evidence is there of religious practices? What was the lifestyle of the people who inhabited Jerusalem over the centuries?Ó

The contributors in this book use the most recent research in key areas - the early settlements of Israel, early Israelite religion, Qumran, Jerusalem, early Christian churches - to show that ancient writings and modern archaeology can illuminate each other, but only when used with professional care. The essays represent a new generation of archaeologists and historians, with new social, political and religious concerns who draw a fresh and vital picture of the emergence of ancient Israel.

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In this sweeping and lavishly illustrated history, Katharina Galor and Hanswulf Bloedhorn survey nearly four thousand years of human settlement and building activity in Jerusalem, from prehistoric times through the Ottoman period. The study is structured chronologically, exploring the city’s material culture, including fortifications and water systems as well as key sacred, civic, and domestic architecture. Distinctive finds such as paintings, mosaics, pottery, and coins highlight each period. Their book provides a unique perspective on the emergence and development of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and the relationship among the three religions and their cultures into the modern period.