THBS304 - Archaeology and the Bible

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

THBS100 Introduction to the Bible AND THBS220 Critical Approaches to the Bible: Interpretation and Exegesis

Teaching organisation

Unit rationale, description and aim

Archaeology is the study of human history and prehistory through the recovery, typically by excavation of sites inhabited by humans. The modern analysis of artefacts, architecture, eco-facts, cultural landscapes and other physical remains typically involves specialists from a variety of interdisciplinary academic fields including anthropology, history, art history, classics, ethnology, geography, geology, literary history, linguistics, semiology, textual criticism, paleoecology, paleography and other related fields. Biblical archaeology involves the recovery and investigation of the material remains of past cultures that can illuminate the periods, worldviews, places or peoples referred to in the Biblical accounts of ancient Israel and early Christianity. 

The unit will explore the fascinating relationship between archaeological investigation and the interpretation of the Bible. It analyses how artefacts and texts can be used in a critical dialogue to reconstruct aspects of the cultural and social milieu of antiquity that illuminate interpretive aspects of the biblical record. Case studies of major discoveries relating to Ancient Israel and Judeo-Christianity will be examined.

The unit aims to build upon knowledge and skills acquired in THBS100, to facilitate the development of greater competency in applying established and emerging methods of interpretation to biblical texts. 

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

Content

Topics will include: 

•  An overview of the history of Biblical archaeology. 
• An introduction to the main techniques and theory of archaeology. 
• A survey of major excavations in the Levant and the Mediterranean region relevant to the social and cultural milieu of the Bible. 
• Examination of case studies in which archaeology and literary texts act as comparative sources of historical information. 
• The interpretation of biblical literature in light of the archaeological record. 

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit involves 150 hours of focused learning, or the equivalent of 10 hours per week for 15 weeks. The total includes formally structured learning activities such as lectures, tutorials and online learning. The remaining hours typically involve reading, research, and the preparation and submission of tasks for assessment. 

The unit is normally offered in attendance mode and multi-mode. Students learn through formally structured and sequenced learning activities that support the achievement of the learning outcomes. Students are asked to critically reflect, analyse, and integrate new information with existing knowledge, draw meaningful new connections, and then apply what they have learned. Collaborative and peer learning is also emphasized.  

The learning activities enable students to acquire and assimilate knowledge of biblical prophetic literature, particularly through modern interpretative approaches, and to identify the importance of prophetic literature to the life of believers, supported by the presence and articulation of the lecturer and tutors. Building on the foundations laid in THBS100, students will be guided to develop the academic skills needed for biblical study.  

THBS304 emphasises students as active, adult learners. Students are recognised as adult learners who engage best when what they are learning is relevant to them and gives them the opportunity to be responsible for their own learning. In many ways, the student is the one who drives the learning forward. Active participation in this unit is essential. Learning is designed to be an engaging and supportive experience, which helps students to develop critical thinking and reflection skills. 

Assessment strategy and rationale

To pass this unit students are required to achieve a cumulative mark of 50% or higher, and to demonstrate their achievement of each learning outcome. The assessment tasks for this unit are designed to enable students to progressively demonstrate their achievement of each learning outcome.  

Task 1 requires students to define the major developments in the use of archaeology in relation to biblical studies. This task is designed to allow students to display achievement of Learning Outcome 1. The task allows them a relatively low-risk piece of assessment to test their interpretative skills, as well as academic writing techniques. Feedback provided from Task 1 will help them with the other two assessment tasks. 

Task 2 invites students to analyse and assess how literature (Jewish, Roman, Greek) or material culture (numismatics, papyrology, epigraphy, artefacts, visual culture) of the period can be critically employed to inform the interpretation of the gospels within their ancient context. This is to be demonstrated by applying a historical critical method and combining the literary or material lens to analyse the meaning and significance of a designated passage from the gospels, while exhibiting awareness of the main aim and rationale specified by the unit. The principal focus of this task is to allow students to display achievement of Learning Outcome 2. 

Task 3 asks students to research and evaluate a selected biblical text, topic, or theme from a range of archaeological lenses. This task requires students to evaluate the significance and relevance of major excavations and artefacts for the study of Ancient Israel or Judeo-Christian traditions. The principal focus of this task is to allow students to display achievement of Learning Outcome 3. 

Representative texts and references

Beckman, G. M. and T. Lewis, Text, Artifact, and Image. Revealing Ancient Israelite Religion. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2007. 

Borowski, Oded. Daily Life in Biblical Times. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2003. 

Cline, Eric H. Biblical Archaeology: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University  Press, 2009. 

Dever, William G. What Did the Biblical Writers Know, and When Did They Know It?  What Archaeology Can Tell Us about the Reality of Ancient Israel. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001. 

Kitchen, K. A. On the Reliability of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003. 

McRay, J. New Testament Archaeology. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2010. 

Master, Daniel, ed. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Bible and Archaeology. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013. 

Meyers, Eric M. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East. 5 vols. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997. 

Steiner, Margreet L., and Ann E. Killebrew. The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of  the Levant, c. 8000–332 BCE. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. 

Stern, Ephraim, ed. New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land.  4 vols. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1993 (5th volume was published in 2008).