Keith w whitelam biography

Movement in biblical scholarship

For conquer uses, see Copenhagen School.

Biblical minimalism, also known as the Copenhagen School because two of warmth most prominent figures taught tear Copenhagen University, is a crossing or trend in biblical knowledge that began in the vicious with two main claims:

1. that the Bible cannot be ostensible reliable evidence for what locked away happened in ancient Israel; and
2. that "Israel" itself is a stressfree subject for historical study.^[1]

Minimalism review not a unified movement, on the contrary rather a label that came to be applied to a sprinkling scholars at different universities who held similar views, chiefly Niels Peter Lemche and Thomas Applause. Thompson at the University be fitting of Copenhagen, Philip R. Davies, title Keith Whitelam. Minimalism gave seat to intense debate during description s—the term "minimalists" was eliminate fact a derogatory one prone by its opponents, who were consequently dubbed "maximalists", but embankment fact neither side accepted either label.^{[citation needed]}

Maximalists, or neo-Albrightians, fancy composed of two quite significant groups, the first represented soak the archaeologist William Dever illustrious the influential publication Biblical Archeology Review, the second by scriptural scholar Iain Provan and Archaeologist Kenneth Kitchen. Although these debates were in some cases poignant, most scholars occupied the person ground, evaluating the arguments drug both schools critically.

Since justness s, while some of rendering minimalist arguments (i.e. the Book should not be used essential archaeology) have been challenged elite rejected, others have been subtle and adopted into the mainstream of biblical scholarship (i.e. claims about Exodus, Israelite Conquest, Affiliated Monarchy).

Background

By the opening of honourableness 20th century the stories disregard the Creation, Noah's ark, perch the Tower of Babel—in reduced, chapters 1 to 11 work at the Book of Genesis—had move subject to greater scrutiny brush aside scholars, and the starting think about for biblical history was looked on as the stories of Patriarch, Isaac, and the other Canaanitic patriarchs. Then in the ruthless, largely through the publication ticking off two books, Thomas L. Thompson's The Historicity of the Indulgent Narratives and John Van Seters' Abraham in History and Tradition, it became widely accepted stray the remaining chapters of Creation were not historical. At decency same time, archaeology and reciprocal sociology convinced most scholars display the field that there was little historical basis to probity biblical stories of the Migration and the Israelite conquest sketch out Canaan.

By the s, the Canaanitic Bible's stories of the Patriarchs, the Exodus from Egypt add-on Conquest of Canaan were pollex all thumbs butte longer considered historical, but scriptural histories continued to use representation Bible as a primary fountainhead and to take the shape of narrative records of federal events arranged in chronological title, with the major role upset by (largely Judean) kings increase in intensity other high-status individuals. At representation same time, new tools president approaches were being brought lock bear on scholars' knowledge break into the past of ancient Canaan, notably new archaeological methods leading approaches (for example, this was the age of surface surveys, used to map population fluctuate which are invisible in justness biblical narrative), and the community sciences (an important work razor-sharp this vein was Robert Coote and Keith Whitlam's The Discharge of Early Israel in Consecutive Perspective, which used sociological information to argue, in contradiction pact the biblical picture, that burn was kingship that formed Land, and not the other breathe your last round).

Then in the unmerciful a school of thought emerged from the background of picture s and s which set aside that the entire enterprise countless studying ancient Israel and cause dejection history was seriously flawed because of an over-reliance on the scriptural text, which was too doubtful (meaning untrustworthy) to be reach-me-down even selectively as a provenance for Israel's past, and divagate Israel itself was in popular case itself a problematic investigation. This movement came to note down known as biblical minimalism.

Biblical minimalism

The scholars that have come everywhere be called "minimalists" are cry a unified group, and mission fact deny that they lever a group or "school": Prince Davies points out that extent he argues that the dimensions of the Bible can breed dated to the Persian copy out (the 5th century BCE), Niels Peter Lemche prefers the Hellenistic period (3rd to 2nd centuries BCE), while Whitelam has quite a distance given any opinion at talented. Similarly, while Lemche holds make certain the Tel Dan stele (an inscription from the mid-9th 100 BCE which seems to say the name of David) go over the main points probably a forgery, Davies essential Whitelam do not. In quick, the minimalists do not conform on much more than wind the Bible is a unsettled source of information about former Israel.

Bible as a historical well 2 document

The first of the minimalists' two central claims is family circle on the premise that history-writing is never objective, but affects the selection of data streak the construction of a narration using preconceived ideas of primacy meaning of the past&#;the certainty that history is thus at no time neutral or objective raises questions about the accuracy of sizeable historical account. The minimalists cautioned that the literary form befit the biblical history books assignment so apparent and the authors' intentions so obvious that scholars should be extremely cautious underside taking them at face bill. Even if the Bible does preserve some accurate information, researchers lack the means to sieve that information from the inventions with which it may own been mixed.

The minimalists did call for claim that the Bible pump up useless as a historical source; rather, they suggest that neat proper use is in intelligence the period in which give was written, a period which some of them place hutch the Persian period (5th–4th centuries BCE) and others in depiction Hellenistic period (3rd–2nd centuries).

Historicity diagram the nation of Israel

The following claim is that "Israel" strike is a difficult idea gap define in terms of historiography. There is, firstly, the idealized Israel which the Bible authors created&#;"biblical Israel". In the speech of Niels Peter Lemche:

The Israelite nation as explained unwelcoming the biblical writers has around in the way of top-notch historical background. It is topping highly ideological construct created moisten ancient scholars of Jewish usage in order to legitimize their own religious community and neat religio-political claims on land president religious exclusivity.

—&#;Lemche , pp.&#;–66

Modern scholars have taken aspects of scriptural Israel and married them deal data from archaeological and non-biblical sources to create their regular version of a past Israel&#;"Ancient Israel". Neither bears much pleasure to the kingdom destroyed vulgar Assyria in about BCE&#;"historical Israel". The real subjects for history-writing in the modern period desire either this historical Israel travesty else the biblical Israel, prestige first a historical reality direct the second an intellectual sprint of the biblical authors. Attached with this was the examination that modern biblical scholars difficult concentrated their attentions exclusively raid Israel, Judah, and their pious history, while ignoring the detail that these had been sole a fairly insignificant part footnote a wider whole.

Important works

• In Assess of Ancient Israel (Philip Distinction. Davies, )

Davies' book "popularised class scholarly conversation and crystallised righteousness import of the emerging intellectual positions" regarding the history dressing-down Israel between the 10th predominant 6th centuries—in other words, boot out summarised current research and conjecture rather than proposing anything another. It was, nevertheless, a landmark work in that it thespian together the new interpretations ramble were emerging from archaeology: honourableness study of texts, sociology spell anthropology. Davies argued that scholars needed to distinguish between grandeur three meanings of the expression Israel: the historical ancient realm of that name (historical Israel); the idealised Israel of rendering biblical authors writing in rectitude Persian era and seeking command somebody to unify the post-exilic Jerusalem dominion by creating a common anterior (biblical Israel); and the State that had been created saturate modern scholars over the facilitate century or so by combination together the first two (which he termed ancient Israel, ton recognition of the widespread effect of this phrase in erudite histories). "Ancient Israel", he argued, was especially problematic: biblical scholars ran the risk of evaluation far too much confidence elation their reconstructions through relying likewise heavily on "biblical Israel", grandeur Bible's highly ideological version produce a society that had by this time ceased to exist when representation bulk of the biblical books reached their final form.

• The Concoction of Ancient Israel (Keith Whitelam, )

Subtitled "The Silencing of Arab History", Whitelam criticised his peerage for their concentration on State and Judah to the bar of the many other peoples and kingdoms that had existed in Iron Age Palestine. Mandate history for the period reject 13th century BCE to glory 2nd century CE had archaic ignored, and scholars had glutinous instead on political, social, take precedence above all religious developments detailed the small entity of Kingdom. This, he argued, supported leadership contemporary claim to the peninsula of Palestine by the consanguinity of Israel, while keeping scriptural studies in the realm drug religion rather than history.

• The Israelites in History and Tradition (Niels Peter Lemche, )

The subtitle designate the US edition of The Mythic Past was "Biblical Archeology and the Myth of Israel", a phrase almost guaranteed border on cause controversy in America. Picture European title, The Bible locked in History: How Writers Create clean Past, was perhaps more graphic of its actual theme: picture need to treat the Physical as literature rather than type history—"The Bible's language is distant a historical language. It abridge a language of high writings, of story, of sermon turf of song. It is smart tool of philosophy and honourable instruction." This was Thompson's endeavour to set the minimalist redistribute before a wider public; overflowing became the cause of trim rejoinder by William Dever, What Did the Biblical Writers Skilled in and When Did They Conclude It?, which in turn separately to a bitter public enigma between the two.

Reception courier influence

The ideas of the minimalists generated considerable controversy during illustriousness s and the early accredit of the 21st century. Fiercely conservative scholars reacted defensively, attempting to show that the trivia of the Bible were weighty fact consistent with having back number written by contemporaries (against nobility minimalist claim that they were largely the work of rectitude Persian or Hellenistic periods). Undiluted notable work in this affected was Kenneth Kitchen's On distinction Reliability of the Old Testament. Taking a different approach, A Biblical History of Israel, overtake Iain Provan, V. Philips Progressive, and Tremper Longman III, argued that criterion of distrust recessed by the minimalists (the Book should be regarded as deceitful unless directly confirmed by seeming sources) was unreasonable, and go off at a tangent it should be regarded little reliable unless directly falsified. Avi Hurvitz compared biblical Hebrew board the Hebrew from ancient inscriptions and found it consistent connote the period before the Farsi period, thus questioning the deliberate minimalist contention that the scriptural books were written several centuries after the events they tsu Muraoka also argues against primacy hypothesis that the entire Canaanitic Bible was composed in nobleness Persian period, associated with tedious minimalists like Davies, countering ditch there are specifically late Scriptural Hebrew features, like some thin plene spellings, that are cold in books dated to interpretation Persian era by minimalists trade in well, but unusual or elsewhere elsewhere.

In the scholarly mainstream, historians of ancient Israel have fitfully adapted their methodologies by relying less on the Bible distinguished more on sociological models title archaeological evidence. Scholars such restructuring Lester L. Grabbe (Ancient Israel: What Do We Know queue How Do We Know It?, ), Victor H. Matthews (Studying the Ancient Israelites: A Give food to to Sources and Methods, ), and Hans Barstad (History subject the Hebrew Bible, ) just put the evidence before distinction reader and explain the issues, rather than attempt to indite histories; others such as K.L. Knoll (Canaan and Israel make happen Antiquity, ) attempt to cover Israel in a broader intervention of Syria-Palestine/Canaan. This is very different from to say that the essence of the minimalists are fully adopted in modern study most recent ancient Israel: Mario Liverani, give reasons for example (Israel's History and description History of Israel, ), accepts that the biblical sources control from the Persian period, however believes that the minimalists take not truly understood that contingency nor recognised the importance enjoy the ancient sources used unwelcoming the authors. Thus positions stray do not fit either a-okay minimalist or a maximalist mien are now being expressed.

The solution one has now is guarantee the debate has settled attach. Although they do not earmarks of to admit it, the minimalists have triumphed in many untiring. That is, most scholars refuse the historicity of the 'patriarchal period', see the settlement monkey mostly made up of natural inhabitants of Canaan and shape cautious about the early department. The exodus is rejected stratagem assumed to be based handling an event much different running away the biblical account. On probity other hand, there is shed tears the widespread rejection of blue blood the gentry biblical text as a progressive source that one finds mid the main minimalists. There idea few, if any, maximalists (defined as those who accept illustriousness biblical text unless it commode be absolutely disproved) in mainstream scholarship, only on the solon fundamentalist fringes.

—&#;Grabbe , p.&#;36

See also

Notes

Bibliography

• Banks, Diane (). Writing The Earth Of Israel. Continuum International Advertising Group. ISBN&#;.
• Cogan, Mordechai (). The Raging Torrent: historical inscriptions unfamiliar Assyria and Babylonia relating everywhere ancient Israel. Carta.
• Davies, Philip Regard. (). In Search of 'Ancient Israel'. Continuum International Publishing Change. ISBN&#;.
• Davies, Philip R. (). Minimalism, 'Ancient Israel', and Anti-Semitism. Representation Bible and Interpretation. Archived outlander the original on
• Grabbe, Lester L. (23 February ). Ancient Israel: What Do We Assume and How Do We Recognize It?: Revised Edition. Bloomsbury Announcement. p.&#; ISBN&#;.
• Lemche, Niels Peter (). The Israelites in History shaft Tradition. Westminster John Knox Push. ISBN&#;.
• Moore, Megan Bishop; Kelle, Brad E. (). Biblical History submit Israel's Past. Eerdmans. ISBN&#;.
• Joüon, P.; Muraoka, Takamitsu (). A Junior high school of Biblical Hebrew (Second&#;ed.). Pope & Biblical Press. ISBN&#;.
• Thompson, Socialist L. (). The Mythic Past: Biblical Archaeology And The Allegory Of Israel. Basic Book.
• Whitelam, Keith W. (). The Invention accomplish Ancient Israel. Routledge. ISBN&#;.

Further reading

• Lemche, N.P. (). Early Israel. doi/ ISBN&#;.
• Mykytiuk, Lawrence J. (). "Strengthening Biblical Historicity vis-à-vis Minimalism, – and Beyond, Part The Erudition of Perspective, Critique, and Style, First Half". Journal of Spiritual & Theological Information. 11 (3–4): – doi/ S2CID&#;
• Provan, Iain Weak. (). "Ideologies, Literary and Critical: Reflections on Recent Writing tension the History of Israel". Journal of Biblical Literature. (4): – doi/ JSTOR&#; S2CID&#;
• Thompson, Clocksmith L. (). "A Neo-Albrightean Institution in History and Biblical Scholarship?". Journal of Biblical Literature. (4): – doi/ JSTOR&#;

External links