The stories of famous biblical characters in the Hebrew Bible like Abraham, Moses, and King David loom large in our collective cultural consciousness, but less well known is the archaeology of the biblical world. Who were the ancient Canaanites, Israelites, and Philistines? What was daily life like for these ancient cultures?

In this four-session seminar, we’ll examine the archaeology of the cultures that lived in the Near East from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. By unearthing material and textual evidence, we’ll explore how scholars approach the study of ancient history, especially when archaeological evidence tells a different story than Biblical narratives.
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This seminar is divided into four topics:
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• Methodology: How do archaeologists interpret ancient artifacts? What questions can archaeology answer? In this session, we’ll contextualize the Bible through its material worlds and lay the groundwork for future sessions.
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• Israelite Origins: The Hebrew Bible stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Moses become complicated with the earliest evidence of Israelites in the Levant.  We will examine the archaeological evidence and Canaanite culture during the late Bronze and early Iron ages.
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• The Kingdoms of Judah and Israel: This session explores the archaeological evidence of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, comparing King David with King Omri of Israel. We will highlight inscriptions that mention Israelite and Judahite kings, as well as archaeological sites that demonstrate the relative strength of the Kingdoms of Judah and Israel during the Iron Age.
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• ‍The Fall of the Kingdom of Judah: This session examines the archaeology of the fall of Judah to the Babylonians in 586 BCE, and how this event shaped biblical history.
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If you are interested in this event, be sure to consider another seminar covering similar topics applied to the New Testament here. Save $50 at checkout by purchasing both Archaeology of the Bible and Archaeology of the New Testament. If you purchase both seminars at the same time, you will automatically receive a $50 discount on your purchase.