Insights from Archaeology

by David A. Fiensy

Each volume in the Insights series presents discoveries and insights into biblical texts from a particular approach or perspective in current scholarship. Accessible and appealing to today's students, each Insight volume how this method, approach, or strategy was first developed and how its application has changed over time; what current questions arise from its use; what enduring insights it has produced; and what questions remain for future scholarship. Archaeological exploration of Syria-Palestine and the ancient Near East has revolutionized our understanding of the Bible. In this volume, David A. Fiensy provides a brief survey of a discipline that was once called “biblical archaeology” and describes how the conception of the field has changed; recounts how key discoveries have opened up new understandings of Israel's own history and religion as well as the ancient Near Eastern and later Greco-Roman environments, and the impact on biblical studies and theology; discusses how archaeological study has shaped the task of biblical interpretation, with illustrative examples; analyzes specific texts through archaeological perspectives; and provides conclusions, challenges, and considerations for the future of archaeology and biblical interpretation.

189 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 15, 2017

About the author

After graduating from Duke University with a Ph.D. in New Testament and Second Temple Judaism, David Fiensy taught for seven years at Kentucky Christian University.

He then served a two-year tenure at the Institut zur Erforschung des Urchristentums in Tuebingen, Germany. Upon returning to the United States, he accepted a church pastorate for six years and then resumed teaching at Kentucky Christian University. He has participated in seven archaeological excavations and surveys and has otherwise traveled widely in the Mediterranean area and the Middle East.