Beyond the Texts: An Archaeological Portrait of Ancient Israel and Judah by William G. Dever (review)

Archaeology began in the nineteenth century as an apologetic defense of the biblical narrative over against rationalistic criticism. The Society of Biblical Literature helped to found the American Schools of Oriental Research in the early twentieth century. As archaeology has evolved as a discipline and as biblical studies have become more specialized and have taken a more literary turn, archaeology and biblical studies have grown apart. Dever, trained in biblical studies but having spent a career as an archaeologist, stands in the gap between the two disciplines and calls for their continued conversation. This book is his attempt to summarize the state of research in the reconstruction of the history of ancient Israel while continuing to advocate for interaction between the archaeology of the ancient Near East and biblical studies.

Dever's work is magisterial and technical. After a discussion of the cultural setting at the end of the Bronze Age, Dever outlines four major periods in the history of Israel: the emergence of Israel, the territorial states of the tenth century, the consolidation of the state in Iron IIB, and Judah in the seventh century. Dever's Israel differs considerably from the ideal Israel of the Hebrew Bible, especially in its origins. These people were indigenous peoples who were "displaced, both geographically and ideologically" and settled in previously underpopulated parts of the central hill country (231). In time these people "evolve into the full-fledged states of Israel and Judah known from the Hebrew Bible" (231).

For Dever, the archaeological data are primary as material remains are contemporary with the events. The stories in the Hebrew Bible are separated in time and are ideologically driven. Therefore, they are secondary for the construction of history in a modern sense. Notably, Dever also addresses a third polarity in historical reconstruction, post-modernism. Dever is a positivist. History can be written. Nonetheless, Dever qualifies his own work. His is "not a history but a portrait" (646) drawn almost exclusively from archaeology (90%). Since archaeology is still in its infancy, what is written today is not a definitive history but a provisional one, subject to significant revision based on new discoveries that will inevitably alter views of the past.

For typical readers of this journal, Dever's tome is likely too technical. One can easily get lost in the detailed discussion of sites and ceramics. But that reality illustrates the problem. Those with a high view of scripture typically look to archaeology for apologetic or illustrative purposes, while archaeologists often and even intentionally ignore scholars of texts. Dever invites a more substantive interaction: "Archaeology is well-positioned to write histories of the environment and its impact on settlement patterns and demography, of technological change, of long-term social, economic, and cultural developments, and even of aesthetics to some extent. Texts, however, are required to illustrate political and intellectual history fully, as well as the history of various institutions" (631). And texts reveal what the ground cannot—a God graciously active in the midst of these realia. If nothing else, I encourage the reader to take up the Conclusion of this book and to consider seriously the possibility of a new dialogue (640–43).