Approaching Biblical Archaeology

Anthony J. Frendo introduces biblical students and scholars alike to the discipline of archaeology by explaining how the mind of professional archaeologists works, by explaining what archaeologists seek, how they go about doing so, and how they interpret their data. Frendo shows those engaged in biblical scholarship how they can properly integrate biblical research with archaeological discoveries in a way that allows the bible and archaeology to be viewed and kept as distinct disciplines, the respective results of which, where relevant, may be integrated in productive discussion and history.

Frendo also examines how the archaeology of the ancient Near East (particularly that of the southern Levant) has an essential bearing on how scholars can better appreciate the text of the bible, including its religious message. Frendo examines such matters as artefacts (chapter 3), stratigraphy and chronology (chapter 4), and archaeological reasoning (chapter 5). He also shows in chapter 6 that whilst generally it is archaeology that casts light on the biblical text at points biblical interpretation can help archaeologists to understand certain data.