Is the Hebrew Bible a reliable source of information about ancient Israel? Does it contain true histories or just constructs? Archaeologist William Dever presents an overview of the controversy between the extreme skeptics (minimalists) and the more optimistic Biblical maximalists, highlighting the vital role of Hershel Shanks and BAR in that debate.

047 In response to Philip R. Davies’s brief article (“‘House of David’ Built on Sand,” BAR 20:04), a few observations are in order. Apart from the details of the Dan (and now the Mesha) inscriptions, there is a wider issue that concerns both...

055 First Publication: A Newly Discovered House Shrine Should We Ignore Unprovenanced Artifacts? A long, sometimes bitter debate has been going on in BAR as to whether Yahweh, the God of ancient Israel, had a consort. One of America’s most...

Is the Hebrew Bible a bunch of tales with no value to a historian? Does archaeology hold the keys to truth instead? What are the limitations of both sources of information? Is it even possible to write a comprehensive and honest history of ancient Israel? Focusing on King David as a case study, eminent archaeologist William G. Dever attempts to marry archaeology and the Bible—giving BAR readers a sneak-peak of his upcoming book.

051 It is time to clarify for BAR readers the widely discussed relationship between the habiru, who are well documented in Egyptian and Near Eastern inscriptions, and the Hebrews of the Bible. There is absolutely no relationship! The first...

040 Although Professor Dever objects to the use of the term “Biblical archaeology” (see “Should the Term ‘Biblical Archaeology’ Be Abandoned?” BAR 07:03), few are as articulate as he in describing what archaeology, and particularly Syro-...

037 We present here two reviews of Israel Finkelstein’s recently published The Forgotten Kingdom. The first review is by William G. Dever, one of America’s leading archaeologists. Finkelstein is one of Israel’s leading archaeologists. I am...

039 Research in the land of the Bible has suffered a heavy loss in the untimely death of Yohanan Aharoni, chairman of the Department of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University. To his associates he has bequeathed the task of continuing and summarizing...

052 The following article has been adapted from Recent Archaeological Discoveries and Biblical Research, by William G. Dever (Seattle: Univ of Washington Press, 1990). As a matter of principal Professor Dever does not write for BAR (see...

050 051 As readers of BAR may know, I have long maintained a principle of not writing articles for the magazine, although I remain good friends with editor Hershel Shanks, and I do assist with...

028 There are some who claim that the Bible contains little or no historical information about ancient Israel. I want to combat these “minimalist” or “revisionist” views of the history of ancient Israel by showing how archaeology can and does...

042 Can a folktale from the Middle Bronze Age provide us with information about the remote past that has eluded even extensive archaeological expeditions? The answer is yes. The Tale of Sinuhe,1 composed during Egypt’s Middle Kingdom, may help...

018 This is in response to your article in the March 1977 issue about alleged bama at Beer-Sheva (“Yigael Yadin Finds a Bama at Beer-Sheva,” BAR 03:01). There is not one scrap of evidence, Biblical or archeological, in favor of...

Forgotten Kingdom 038 It is impossible to summarize Israel Finkelstein’s latest book, The Forgotten Kingdom, in a brief review because its numerous errors, misrepresentations, over-simplifications and contradictions make it too unwieldy...

056 057 Cynical observers claim that when a discipline falls to questioning its name, it is already moribund. I would argue, however, that periodic (and even painful) reassessment is a sign of...

048 049 How does a site get lost? It happens. For nearly a decade—from 1867 to 1875—General Luigi Palma de Cesnola, a flamboyant Italian who served as both the American and Russian consul to...

056 In a brilliant piece of detective work entitled “3,200-Year-Old Picture of Israelites Found in Egypt,” BAR 16:05, Frank J. Yurco analyzes the reliefs on a wall of the Cour de la Cachette in the Karnak temple in Upper Egypt. But he points to...

045 Before they settled in the hill country of Canaan, where did the earliest Israelites come from and what was the nature of their society? The Bible is very clear. They were pastoral nomads who came from east of the Jordan. Much of the...