Whitney Murphy, CTS, Historical Blog Post 

“The Quest for Historical Israel” is a book that grapples with the many thoughts and ideas that I have had when reading the biblical stories of my Christian faith in the Old and New Testaments. This book answers the question of the historical validity of these sacred narratives that have been written past their descriptive moments and are biased arguably because of their distance from the events they illustrate. Quite often, I would say that my religious tenacity has equated biblical history with archaeology and has set the bible on the same bookshelf as other historical documents that give tale to a world unbeknownst to me except through the power of the pen. With that, I along with others, begin to trust the motives, penmanship, and keen ear of each author of these texts we hold dear. Yet, this book questions whether that is the same as historical accurateness. I have equated sacred as being synonymous with historical and that is just unfortunately false. Contradictory interpretations showcase the humanity within the text, however, the timeless application, in my opinion, is a testament to its divinity.

Israel Finkelstein, the author of the above book, said that “archaeology…provides us with an ostensibly ‘objective’ testimony to what happened in the past. It unearths finds such as ceramic vessels, weapons, and ancient buildings that give us a real-time picture of the period under investigation” (183). Finkelstein even called them “‘eye witnesses’ to what happened in the past” (183). Archaeology is a way to view demographic, social, and economic trends that occurred within the past and can provide a great tool for understanding the shifts that happened within society. But one thing that I appreciate Finkelstein noting in his book that archaeology is not without its modern biases that are projected upon history and “it would be fair to say that without the text, archaeology remains, in a way, mute (184).

Text provides the details that fill the shell of archaeology. Questions of who, what when where and why are only the details that seemingly can be answered by text. So, the point from this reading that made most sense to me is that both are quite necessary in this puzzle called history. Text, whether sacred or not, provides a voice that gives picture to history when coupled with the discipline of archaeology. So, when trying to piece together the stories of the biblical Israel, one must utilize the biblical text, archaeology, and other written text to provide a complete story.

Finkelstein also suggested that instead of trying to research chronologically from earliest to late, we should do the complete opposite and research from late to early years. We cannot simply take the narratives of the Old Testament as portraying straightforward historical realities but we must look at it through the ideological and political lens of the author. What point was the author trying to make, what were they writing for, and who were they trying to reach.

“…It follows that one cannot simply assume that Abraham, or Moses, never existed in the same way that one cannot contend that these are “flesh and blood” historical figures. The important point is to acknowledge that the stories as we read them today belong more to the world of that of the authors then to the world of the vague primeval history of Israel” (185).

This quote to me sums up my battle with the reality of these sacred text figures. I have come to believe that it is not of importance as to whether or not these figures were real, but that these figures represented something that was timeless that has allowed them to speak to generations for years. Now, of course to some their existence is quite important but if we focused only on their existence rather than their message and teachings, then we have missed the entire point of the text we call sacred.

If I learned anything from reading this book, I have learned that writings, especially in reference to the biblical text, speak more to the author’s social, economic, and political climate than it does to that of the historical space they are illustrating. As a person of faith, I am deeply uncomfortable and enlightened at the same time. It seems that these conflicting yet honest feelings will be something I will grapple with in my journey of faith as well as in my journey throughout the Holy Land.