Archaeology of the Hebrew Bible

This session will introduce archaeology as a discipline and explore the development of biblical archaeology as a field.

• What is archaeology, and how is it used to study the past?
• What makes biblical archaeology distinct from other fields of archaeology?
• What regions and time periods does this course cover?
• What scientific methods and tools do modern biblical archaeologists use?

This session will investigate the emergence of the ancient Israelites and their cultural relationship to the ancient Canaanites.

• Who were the early Israelites, and how do we define them?
• When and where did Israel first appear in the historical and archaeological record?
• What inscriptions, artifacts, and settlements help us trace Israelite identity?

This session will explore the context of the biblical Exodus narrative and the archaeology of the Late Bronze Age.

• What does archaeology tell us about Egypt and Canaan during this time?
• Are there archaeological traces of an Exodus-like event?
• What did the first Israelite cities look like?
• How do scholars interpret the transition from the Late Bronze to Early Iron Age?

This session examines the rise and fall of the Israelite and Judahite kingdoms in the archaeological and historical record..

• What is the evidence for a United Monarchy under Saul, David, and Solomon?
• How are the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah represented in texts and material culture?
• What major sites (e.g., Samaria, Lachish, Jerusalem) illuminate this period?
• What led to the collapse of these kingdoms, and what does the archaeology reveal?

This session will focus on the everyday experiences of people in the biblical world, especially during the Babylonian and Persian periods.

• How were villages and cities structured socially and economically?
• What did people eat, wear, and believe?
• What role did religion, cult, and burial practices play in daily life?
• What was the Babylonian exile?
• What changes occurred during and after the Babylonian exile?

This session explores the impact of Greek culture on ancient Judea, focusing on sites and architecture of the Hellenistic period.

• What does archaeology reveal about Judea under Greek rule?
• How did Hellenism influence architecture, religion, and daily life?
• What can sites like Iraq el-Amir and Jerusalem tell us about this era?

This session will examine the archaeology of the early Roman period and the significance of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

• What was life like in Judea under Roman rule?
• What were the Dead Sea Scrolls and who lived at the nearby site of Qumran
• What do we know about Herod the Great’s building projects, including the Temple Mount?
• How do sites like Masada contribute to our understanding of the period?

This session explores the transformation of Jewish life before and after the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 CE.

• What archaeological evidence do we have for the destruction of the Temple?
• How did Jewish burial practices evolve in this period?
• When and where do the first synagogues appear, and what were they like?
• What does archaeology tell us about the shifting religious and cultural identity of Jews under Roman rule?