Philip J. King

 

The late Philip J. King was a scholar of not only the Hebrew Bible, but also the archaeology of the ancient Near East. Over his long career, he excavated at several archaeological sites of biblical importance. He published extensively; his books delved into the wisdom of the Bible and some illuminated prophecy from an archaeological perspective. The Biblical Archaeology Society first published articles from Philip J. King in Bible Review, our publication that was dedicated to textual criticism, but he also appeared in BAR, and published two books with BAS<.

In this BAS Library special collection, you can appreciate Philip J. King’s scholarship by reading the work he shared with BAS readers over the years.

Scroll down to read a summary of these articles.

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“It has been said that the Bible is the best known but least understood book in literature.” In My View: Teaching the Bible and living its message, Philip J. King explains why the Bible is so important to him, and how we can understand its message through archaeology and the modern experience of the living word of the Bible.

Taking an example from the book of Amos, in The Marzeah Amos Denounces—Using Archaeology to Interpret a Biblical Text. Philip J. King illustrates how archaeology’s increased use of methods borrowed from the natural and social sciences can be applied to better understand a Biblical text.

In The Great Eighth Century, Philip J. King examines the eighth century B.C.E. and it’s critical role in biblical history, geopolitically as Israel and Judah became less powerful, and culturally; as religious reforms, feats of engineering, rising industries, increased literacy, and prophecy all changed the biblical world.

Valleys play a prominent role in the Bible, and are an enduring feature of the land in and around Jerusalem. In Bible Lands: Exploring the valleys of Jerusalem, Philip J. King examines the physical attributes, and the metaphorical significance of the valleys that are part of Jerusalem’s topography and its biblical story.

A recurring theme in the work of Philip J. King is that archaeology can enrich our understanding of the Bible. By showing us a glimpse of the shared reality of the people of the time of Jeremiah, we can better understand what the words of the Bible meant to those first experiencing it. Jeremiah’s Polemic Against Idols: What archaeology can teach us contains an examination of the artifacts of idols, and the materials they were made from, that archaeology has discovered from the time period when Jeremiah might have prophesied. This leads to greater understanding of Jeremiah’s message against idolatry.

“Ancient Israelite society was structured in a way that few of us in modern times experience.” In Of Fathers, Kings and the Deity: The nested households of ancient Israel, Lawrence E. Stager and Philip J. King explain what we know about that ancient agrarian society, how it was organized as patriarchal circles of family from the multi-generational family that shared a compound, to one’s lineage, to the tribal kingdom of the state, even unto the religious identity of the “children” of Yahweh. They dismiss modern class conscious analysis of biblical society as a poor fit for the circumstances.

Lachish was the second most important city in ancient Judah, after Jerusalem. Why Lachish Matters: A Major Site Gets the Publication It Deserves uses David Ussishkin’s book “The Renewed Archaeological Excavations of Lachish” as a jumping off point to examine the importance of Lachish, and delve into some of the history of the important archaeological work that has been accomplished there.

The ancient Israelites may have been unique in circumcising near birth, instead of at puberty, but many different groups practiced circumcision in the ancient near east. Philip J. King, in Circumcision: Who Did It, Who Didn’t and Why, surveys some of that history. He also tells the story of a pottery phallus he excavated at Tel Gezer, and what it taught archaeologists about the practice of circumcision in that biblical place and time.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem and lived in Nazareth, according to the gospels. In Biblical Views: Jesus’ Birthplace and Jesus’ Home, Philip J. King looks at biblical text to better understand what those places were like, as a clue to how the historical Jesus was influenced by his environment.