Saturday, May 07, 2011

Minimalism and Khirbet Qeiyafa

MINIMALISM AND KHIRBET QEIYAFA: Two recent, long articles deal with the minimalist-maximalist debate in biblical studies, with a special focus on Yosef Garfinkel's excavation at Khirbet Qeiyafa. The first is by Garfinkel himself in Biblical Archaeological Review: The Birth & Death of Biblical Minimalism. The second (HT Gerald Rosenberg) is by Asaf Shtull-Trauring in Haaretz: The keys to the kingdom. Garfinkel dismisses the minimalist approach as largely defunct whereas the Haaretz piece seems to be trying to present both sides impartially. The "Solomonic" gates at Gezer, Megiddo, and Hazor; the Tel Dan inscriptions that mentions "the house of David"; the tenth-century-BCE Tel Qeiyafa inscription, whose interpretation remains controversial; and much else are discussed in one or both of the articles.

There's more on discoveries at Khirbet Qeiyafa here and follow the links.