-Caveat Lector-
http://www.discovery.com/news/briefs/brief3.html?ct=3819eb2a
Bible History: Only Myths?
There was no exodus from Egypt, Joshua didn't bring down the walls of
Jericho, and Solomon's kingdom was a small, tribal dynasty, an Israeli
archaeologist says in a new article.
Colleagues and critics accepted some of Zeev Herzog's evidence, but warned
that by targeting the accuracy of the Bible the research undermines the
national myths that are the basis of Jewish claims to the land of Israel.
Archaeological findings do not support and in many cases directly contradict
Biblical stories describing the birth of the Jewish people, Herzog of Tel
Aviv University writes in Thursday's Haaretz daily.
He reviews evidence now commonly accepted by most archaeologists showing
that there was no exodus from Egypt at the time the Bible says Jews left
Egypt en masse, and that Jericho fell in stages over an extended period and
not in a single raid led by Joshua.
More controversially, Herzog argues that the seeds of the Jewish state are
to be found in the 9th century B.C. when groups of shepherds who had settled
in hilltops established two rival states, Judah and Israel.
Excavations of cities from the supposedly majestic time of Kings David and
Solomon a century earlier, he says, reveal that the ''cities'' consisted of
scattered buildings and the kingdoms were small, provincial dynasties that
exercised no real claim over the land.
Herzog says Jerusalem, the majestic capital built by King David to rule over
a large empire, was at best a small fiefdom.
Fellow archaeologist Amnon Ben-Tor of the rival Hebrew University, a top
critic of Herzog and his post-modernist school of thought, says Herzog uses
archaeology to satisfy a political agenda, namely debunking the legends upon
which the Jewish state was founded.
Ben-Tor agrees that "there is a large measure of glorification in the
Bible," but says that inscriptions and excavations from the 10th century
B.C. show the ancient Hebrews had established a state ruled by David and
Solomon that was substantial, if not ma gnificent.
Herzog's article addressed archaeological discoveries from the last few
decades, when archaeologists in Israel broke away from seeking out physical
evidence for Biblical events.
Liberal Education Minister Yossi Sarid, who recently stirred controversy by
expunging from textbooks what he says are myths of modern Israeli history,
says Herzog's work deserves consideration.
"If it's interesting and well-founded, I don't see why it shouldn't be
presented in schools as an option," he tells Haaretz.
Associated Press, Copyright 1999
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