Introduction
The great American scholar, William Foxwell Albright was an American Biblical archaeologist, and is considered to by many to be the “father of Biblical archaeology,” because of his contributions to the archaeological historicity of the Bible. “More than any other scholar Albright’s astounding corpus of books, articles, and public lectures defined a new relationship between archaeology and Biblical studies.”
Professor Albright “introduced critical assessment of the historical context of scripture, instead of merely teaching it as Gospel, and his work helped establish the Bible’s value in historical studies.” Rachel Hallote wrote of Albright by stating,
“It is hard to think about the early years of American biblical archaeology without coming up with the name William Foxwell Albright. Albright’s career and influence are so fully associated with American archaeological scholarship that he is usually referred as the ‘father of biblical archaeology’”
He was considered an expert in many areas of study associated to the ancient Near East, particularly the Old Testament. “Albright’s most enduring legacy is his contribution to the establishment of a new paradigm of ancient Near Eastern Studies called biblical archaeology.” Furthermore, Albright was an authority on Near Eastern languages and became known in the archaeological world for his authentication of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
His archaeological excavation work not only helped with the authentication of the accuracy of the Bible, but it served as a guide for the scientific work performed on excavation sites. Despite his achievements, there are scholars who are suspicious with the Bible being used in archaeological studies and in more recent years h...
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...honor, the title “Nobleman of Jerusalem.”
Before his death in 1970, the American School of Oriental Research (ASOR) was renamed to honor its most renowned director as the W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research (AIAR) in Jerusalem. “It is the oldest American research center for ancient Near Eastern Studies in the Middle East.”
The Contributions
Professor Albright, while he was director of ASOR in 1948:
“He received an envelope postmarked Jerusalem. Inside was a pair of small photographs. He took up a magnifier and studied the images, which were fragments of the scrolls found by the boys. He recognized a passage from the book of Isaiah, rendered in an archaic Hebrew script, and grew excited. In a letter to John C. Trever, who had sent the photos from the American School of Oriental Research, he said, ‘…I should prefer a date around 100 BC.’”
The second question frequently asked regarding Schliemann’s legacy examines his motives and skill as an excavator: was Heinrich Schliemann a good archaeologist? This question has two sides. First, did Schliemann use the best techniques and technology available to him at time of his first excavation? Second, did he have the same values that other archaeologists have?
Fulcher of Chartres, A History of the Expedition to Jerusalem, 1095-1127, trans. Francis Rita Ryan, ed. Harold S. Fink, (Knoxville, 1969)
Ibn al-Athīr, in full Izz al-Dīn Abū al-Ḥasan Alī ibn al-Athīr, born May 12, 1160, in what is now Turkey, was an influential Arab historian whose chief work was a history of the world, al-Kāmil fī al-tārīkh (“The Complete History”), starting with the creation of Adam. He also wrote a work titled al-Bāhir, a history of the former Seljuq army officers, called atabegs, who founded dynasties, drawn from his own experience and from that of his father, who held office under the Zangids of Mosul. Ibn al-Athīr spent a scholarly life in Mosul, but often visited Baghdad, and was, for a time, with Saladin’s army in Syria, later living in Aleppo and Damascus, dying in Mosul, Iraq in 1233. Ibn al-Athīr, writing many years after the occurrence of the events that he describes, and long after the city of Jerusalem and be...
...ncyclopedia of Archaeology, Ed. Deborah M. Pearsall. Vol. 3. Oxford, United Kingdom: Academic Press, 2008. p1896-1905. New Britain: Elsevier, Inc.
Anson Rainey and R. Steven Notley are the authors of The Sacred Land Bridge, which is an Atlas of the biblical world and includes maps, pictures, and historical cementation as to the significance of this region. The biblical world that this atlas focuses on is defined as the eastern Mediterranean littoral, or more commonly called the Levant in modern archeological discussions. In my critique of this book I will be focusing on pages 30-34 which will define the boundaries and explain the importance of the Levant.
The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls has been hailed by people of many religious and cultural backgrounds as the greatest discovery of manuscripts to be made available to modern scholars in our time and has dramatically altered our understanding of the origins of Christianity. Perhaps the most fundamental reexamination brought about by the Scrolls is that of the Gospel of John. The Fourth Gospel originally accepted as a product of second century Hellenistic composition is now widely accepted as a later first century Jewish writing that may even contain some of the oldest traditions of the Gospels . The discovery of the scrolls has led to the discussion of undeniable and distinct parallels between the ideas of the society at Qumran and those present in the Gospel of John.
At the time of Edwards’ sermon, the height of the great awakening to Christianity had peaked (Farley ). Considering this period and his audience, Edwards use of the Bible as evidence for his arguments is practical. His cla...
Prader-Willi Syndrome, named after the doctors who described it in 1956, is a rare genetic mutation involving missing genes on chromosome 15. The syndrome has two distinct stages and affects the growth and development in patients diagnosed with the disorder. The most major symptom of this disorder is the irregular appetite causing severe weight gain. Prader-Willi syndrome is the most common genetic cause of life-threatening childhood obesity and affects a patient for their entire life span. The syndrome occurs in all races and equally between both males and females however it is not inherited in 99% of cases.
The normal human karyotype comprises 22 chromosomes from the mother, and 22 from the father. AS is caused by the loss of the normal maternal contribution to a region of chromosome 15, most commonly by deletion of a segment of that chromosome. However, if the paternal contribution to a region of chromosome 15 took place, it would be called Prader-Willi syndrome, the sister disorder of AS. Both disorders can result from deletion, uni-parental disomy, single gene mutation, and imprinting defects of chromosome 15. These two conditions contain both complex similarities and clinical distinctions. They both feature neurological, developmental, and behavioral phenotypes as well as other structural and functional abnormalities. However, symptoms of AS include seizures and ataxia, while PWS includes obsessive-compulsive symptoms and hypothalamic insufficiency.
Main Events in the history of Jerusalem. (n.d.). Retrieved May 8, 2011, from Century One Educational Bookstore: http://www.centuryone.com/hstjrslm.html
BibleGateway.com -. Web. The Web. The Web. 14 Mar. 2014.
"NOVA | The Bible's Buried Secrets | PBS." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 27 Sept. 2011.
The Oriental Institute featured an exhibit focused on the development of ancient Middle East Pioneers to the Past: American Archaeologists in the Middle East 1919–20 January 12 - August 29, 2010. And this was the exhibit I found most intriguing and most i...
Khan, Aneal. “Williams Syndrome.” Ed. Stuart Berger. Medscape. WebMD, 12 Mar. 2012. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. .
Millard, Allen. "How Reliable Is Exodus." Editorial. Biblical Archaeology Review July-Aug. 2000: n. pag. How Reliable Is Exodus. Biblical Archaeology Review. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.