JUDAICA - Wisdom In Torah

ible
part though the Minimalists have exhibited a tendency to deny
archaeological evidence contrary to their position and to accuse
archaeologists of outright forgery.
[S. David Sperling (2nd ed.)]
See also *History, *Moses, *Patriarchs, *Pentateuch,
*Prophets and Prophecy, *Psalms, *Wisdom Literature.
Bibliography: Major works have been included in the text.
Much further recent bibliography and summary of the last century’s
developments are found in Herbert Hahn, The Old Testament in
Modern Research, with a survey of recent literature by H.D. Hummel
(19702). Major essays by specialists on recent developments up to
publication date are found in H.H. Rowley (ed.), The Old Testament
in Modern Study (1951). Many of the pioneering essays themselves are
reprinted and interpreted in Samuel Sandmel’s handy Old Testament
Issues (1968). Other major studies include L. Diestel, Geschichte des
Alten Testaments in der christlichen Kirche (1869); F.W. Farrar, History
of Interpretation (1886); H.-J. Krauss, Geschichte der historischkritischen
Erforschung des Alten Testaments von der Reformation bis
zur Gegenwart (19692); C. Kraeling, The Old Testament since the Reformation
(1955); B. Smalley, The Study of the Bible in the Middle Ages
(Oxford, 19522); R. Grant, A Short History of the Interpretation of the
Bible (New York, 19632), and various articles in the Interpreter’s Dictionary
of the Bible (1962) and vol. 1 of The Interpreter’s Bible (1952);
Tradition and Interpretation (G. Anderson, ed., 1979); Old Testament
Abstracts (1978– ),. W. Rogerson, Anthropology and the Old Testament
(1978); M.J. Buss (ed.), Encounter with the Text. Form and History
in the Hebrew Bible (1979); B. Childs’ Introduction to the Old
Testament as Scripture (1979); J. Hayes and J. Mueller (eds.);Israelite
and Judean History (1977); H. Frei, The Eclipse of Biblical Narrative
(1974). Add. Bibliography: R. Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative
(1981); idem, The World of Biblical Literature (1992); A. Berlin and M.
Brettler, “The Modern Study of the Bible,” in: idem (eds.), The Jewish
Study Bible (2004), 2084–96; S.D. Sperling, “Modern Jewish Interpretation,”
ibid, 1908–19; M. Brettler, in, Journal of Religion, 77 (1997),
563–83; A. Adam, “Post-Modern Biblical Interpretation,” in: DBI,
2:305–08; T. Beal et al, “Literary Theory, Literary Criticism, and the
Bible,” in: DBI, 2:79–85; E. McKnight, “Reader Response Criticism,”
in: DBI, 2:370–73; J. Berlinerblau, in, Hebrew Studies, 45 (2004), 9–26;
W.G. Dever, What Did the Biblical Writers Know and When Did They
Know It? (2001); P.R. Davies, In Search of “Ancient Israel” (1992); N.
Lemche, The Israelites in History and Tradition (1998); T. Thompson,
The Mythic Past: Biblical Archaeology and the Myth of Israel (1998);
K. Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament (2003); Z. Zevit,
in, Biblica, 83 (2002), 1–27.
RELATED EPIGRAPHIC FINDS
Archaeological excavation in Israel and the neighboring Lands
of the Bible since the 1970s has added much new inscriptional
material to the store of texts which illuminate diverse
aspects of life in Ancient Israel and its surroundings. Unfortunately,
numerous forgeries have appeared on the antiquities
market and all material whose provenance is unknown
must be treated with suspicion. The more significant finds
are noted here:
(1) Arad ostraca
(2) Khirbet al-Qom
(3) Kuntillet ‘Ajrud
(4) Seals and bullae
(5) Deir-’Alla texts
(6) Tel al-Rimah stele
(7) Iran stele
(8) Tel Dan Inscription
(9) Ammonite Inscriptions
(10) Ketef Hinnom
(11) Philistine ostraca
(12) Edomite
Arad Ostraca
In the debris of the Judahite fortress of Arad, over 100 inscribed
sherds, seals and vessels were recovered. This singular
find doubled the available corpus of Hebrew inscriptions and
brought to light details concerning the organization and the
functioning of a royal outpost during the 10th–6th centuries
B.C.E. The ostraca record the receipt and distribution of food
supplies in the eastern Negev, frequently to Kittite (Greek?)
mercenaries, under the supervision of Elyashib, perhaps commandant
at Arad. (See, e.g., Nos. 1, 2, 4, 7 et al.) One text warns
of impending Edomite attacks and orders the dispatch of army
units to Ramot Negev (see No. 24). A ration list employing
Egyptian Hieratic signs for the numerals and an Egyptian
measure of volume recovered from a late 7th-century level,
testifies to the presence of Egyptians at Arad, under circumstances
which remain obscure (No. 25; cf. 34 made up entirely
of Hieratic numerals). A number of texts relate to the local
sanctuary at Arad, the first such sanctuary to be excavated. The
names of many priestly families are recorded, perhaps for purposes
of tithing and gifts. (E.g., Korahites, Meremot, Pashhur;
see Nos. 49, 50, 54, 103–104). Finally, an intriguing fragment
of a letter, seemingly written by a Judahite king, mentions a
king of Egypt (No. 88).
Khirbet El-Qom
Located West of Hebron in the hills of ancient Judah, the site
whose Arabic name means “ruins of the heap/ tribe” may be
ancient Makkedah. An eighth-century tomb inscription for
one Uriyahu, difficult to read, refers to YHWH and