The Biblical Archaeologist - Vol.41, N.4

68 Pages·1978·15.64 MB·English

by  American Schools of Oriental Research

BIBLICAL
oo)
ARCHEOLOGIST
ISSN: 0006-0895
VOLUME 41 NUMBER 4
DECEMBER1 978
Tablets from ancient Ebla
t Dr. Kitchen... has assistedi n excavations in Egypt,
publishing a number of the texts found there. He has
also been able to study many of the extra-biblicald oc-
uments relating to the Bible through his competence
in the languages involved. In other words, he is some-
one of accepted authority in the areao f archaeologyi n
its relationshipw ith the Bible. ThirdW ay JI
.......... .
K. A. Kitchen makes direct use of primary sources from
the ancient biblical world, both archaeology and
texts, to enlarge and fill in our picture of the ancient context
of the biblical writers. He concentrates principally onh
the earlier periods and proceeds by biblical
chronology to the end of Solomon's reign. This is
the first book on Bible archaeology to make full use of
the spectacular discoveries at ancient Ebla in the 1970s.
Kenneth A. Kitchen is a lecturer at the School of
Archaeology and Oriental Studies, University of Liverpool.
168 pages, paper, 797-5, $3.95
Press
InterVarsity
Box F Downers Grove, Illinois 60515
1875 Leslie St., Unit 10 Don Mills, Ontario M3B2 M5
Divisiono f Inter-VarsitCy hristianF ellowship
David Noel Freedman is Professor of
Biblical Studies at the University of
Editor
Michigan and Vice-President (for Publica-
David Noel Freedman, The University of
tions) of the American Schools of
Michigan
Oriental Research. He has made
Associate Editor significant contributions toward our
Harry Thomas Frank, Oberlin College understanding of Hebrew poetry and
history. Presently, under his editorship,
Editorial Committee the Biblical Archeologist has been the first
Frank M. Cross, Harvard University in publishing new finds, such as Ebla.
John A. Miles, Jr., University of California
Press
Assistants to the Editor
Ronald D. Guengerich
Terrence M. Kerestes
Kenneth A. Mathews Valerie M. Fargo spent the 1976-77
Bruce E. Willoughby academic year in residence at the Albright
Institute in Jerusalem, doing research for
Graphic Designer her University of Chicago dissertation,
Rhonda De Mason "Settlements in Southern Palestine during
Early Bronze III." She was the Area
Supervisor at Tell el-Hesi in 1975 and
1977 and also has participated in
excavations at Gezer, Jenin, Idalion,
Credits
Chogha Mish (Iran), and Belice Valley
The First Two Seasons at Ma5?ebat-Sfip6n: (Sicily).
photo on p. 140 by courtesy of Mr. E. Eisen-
berg and the Israel Department of Antiquities
and Museums.
The Real Story of the Ebla Tablets: photos
on pp. 145, 149, 156, 157, 158 supplied by
author; photos on pp. 153, 160- 61, 164 are
from Science Year, The World Book Science Kevin G. O'Connell, S. J., Associate
Annual, Copyright @ 1978, Field Enterprise Professor of Old Testament at Weston
Educational Corporation. Used by permission School of Theology, has published The
of Field Enterprises Educational Corpora- Theodotionic Revision of the Book of
tion. Map on p. 148 by Kenneth Mathews Exodus, 1972. He has been Administrative
and Terrence Kerestes, Ann Arbor, MI; map Director of the Tell el-Hesi Expedition
on p. 150 by Terrence Kerestes, Ann Arbor,
MI. since 1973 (after serving there as a
Five Seasons of Excavation at Tell el-Hesi: volunteer in 1971) and is general editor
map on p. 168 by F. L. Koucky; photos on for the Expedition's final publication
pp. 167, 170, 172, 173, 174, 175 supplied by series. He has published articles in Israel
authors; drawings on pp. 169, 176, 179 by B. Exploration Journal, IDB Supplement,
Zoughbi; drawings on p. 176 by B. Zoughbi New Catholic Encyclopedia, among other
after original by L. E. Toombs; drawing on p. well-known journals.
178 by B. Zoughbi after original by K. G.
O'Connell; chart on p. 181 supplied by
authors.
Colophon: "This Place Rumord to Have BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGIST
Been Sodom" by Robert Duncan is from The
is published with the financial assistance of
Opening of the Field. Copyright ? 1960 by
Robert Duncan. Reprinted by permission of ZION RESEARCH FOUNDATION
New Directions. Boston, Massachusetts
A nonsectarian Protestant foundation
Composition by Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake,
IN 46590. Printed by Printing Services, The for the study of the Bible
University of Michigan.
and the history of the Christian church
Cover:T ablets from ancient Ebla-
modern Tell Mardikh-dated between
2600-2300 B.C.
DECEMBER 1978
VOLUME 41 NUMBER 4
David Noel Freedman The Real Story of the Ebla Tablets, Ebla and the 143
Cities of the Plain
One of the greatest archeological finds of the twentieth century
is discussed in a provocative and stimulating article, relating
information from the Ebla tablets to biblical history,
specifically the patriarchal period.
Valerie M. Fargo Five Seasons of Excavation at Tell el-Hesi 165
Kevin G. O'Connell, S. J. (1970-77)
A report on the recent archeological work with vivid
illustrations of Tell el-Hesi's importance during the biblical
period.
Biblical Archeologist is published quarterly Letter to the Readers 133
(March, June, September, December) by the
American Schools of Oriental Research. Its
purpose is to provide the general reader with Polemics and Irenics 134
an accurate scholarly yet easily understand-
able account of archeological discoveries and
their bearing on the biblical heritage. Notes and News 137
Unsolicited mss. are welcome but should be
accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed
envelope. The American Schools of Oriental op-ed 139
Research is no longer affiliated with the
Center for Scholarly Publishing and Services
at Missoula, Montana. Address all editorial Twenty-Five Years Ago 185
correspondence to Biblical Archeologist,
1053 LSA Building, The University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109. Address all Book Reviews 189
business correspondence to ASOR, 126
Inman Street, Cambridge, MA 02139. Lichtheim, The New Kingdom, Ancient Egyptian Literature, A
Second class postage paid at Ann Arbor, MI Book of Readings (Weinstein)
48106. Hayes and Miller, Israelite and Judean History (Flanagan)
Copyright @ 1978 American Schools of
Oriental Research. Annual subscription rate:
$12.00. Current single issues: $4.00. Colophon 192
The First Season of Excavations - 1962
ASHDOI D M. Dothan and D. N. Freedman
The definitive report of excava-
tions at Tell Ashdod in the Philistine
Plain of Israel during 1962 by a com-
bined expedition of Carnegie Museum of
Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Theological
Seminary, and the Department of Anti-
quities of Israel, ASHDOD I surprised us
all by becoming a bestseller and being
out-of-print by 1970.
Although evidence at the tell
proves occupation until modern times,
ASHDOD I deals particularly with the
periods from the Late Bronze, 14th
century B.C., through Hellenistic of the
late 3rd and early 2nd centuries B.C.
Number of copies at:
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Totala mounste nt TOTAL $7.00
The Second and Third Seasons
H and
ASOD II of Excavations: 1963, 1965
Soundings in 1967
Moshe Dothan and Others
Jerusalem 1971
CAtiqot: English Series. Volumes IX-X
Second in the series of major
reports on excavations at Tell Ashdod in
Israel by a combined expedition of
Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh, Pitts-
burgh Theological Seminary, and the
Department of Antiquities of Israel, this
work in two volumes (IX is text, X is
figures and plates) describes work and
significance of new evidence found
between the time of the end of the first
season, 1962 (reported in ASHDOD I),
and 1967.
ASHDOD II AND III deals
particularly with the periods from Middle
Bronze II c through Hellenistic of the late
3rd and early 2nd centuries B.C.
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In the 1970s much new evidence-archeological
and literary-has come to light. In particular, EB III
has emerged as just what Albright saw it to be; namely,
the culmination of EB culture. Excavations southeast
of the Dead Sea in Jordan and in southern Israel have
Letter to the Readers shown that Early Bronze urban life was hardly
restricted to the north as we once thought. Moreover,
they have suggested that many EB III cities in the
south met a sudden and violent end. The work of Paul
Lapp at Bab edh-Dhrac has been continued and
EB III and Abraham
expanded by Walter Rast and Thomas Schaub (see
The Early Bronze Age in Palestine has been among other things ASOR Annual 43, just issued).
something of an enigma to us. We tend to characterize This has reopened the question of the "Cities of the
it as distinguished by the appearance of the first heavily Plain" (Gen 14, 18 and 19) including the infamous
fortified cities, yet Paul Lapp correctly reminded us Sodom and Gommorah. Westward, the Joint Expedi-
that these cities were small islands in an agricultural tion to Tell el-Hesi, working at one of the most famous
sea. Unlike the cultures of EB Mesopotamia and sites in the country, has encountered extensive Early
Egypt, that of Palestine was not essentially urban- Bronze remains. These indicate a major settlement in
based. Civilization in Palestine which had been EB III and its destruction and/or abandonment at
relatively high in the Chalcolithic period rapidly fell roughly the same time as the destruction of the "Cities
behind. Writing, for example, which appeared among of the Plain."
the Sumerians well before 3000 B.c. and among the A comprehensive report of the archeological
Egyptians slightly later, does not seem to have come evidence from five seasons of work at Hesi is
into widespread use in Palestine until the second represented in this issue of BA in the article by Valerie
millennium. Fargo and Kevin O'Connell. The interpretation of this
Ernest Wright called the end of the Early difficult site-predominantly mudbrick with heavy
Bronze Age "a dark age" in Palestine: a period of erosion and all the attendant problems-provides new
cultural decay occasioned by the influx of large insight into southern Palestine, not only in the time of
numbers of seminomads who descended upon the land. the Hebrew monarchies and the Post-Exilic period, but
Somewhere in this movement of peoples were to be also in the Early Bronze Age.
found the historical beginnings of Israel in the person The article by D. N. Freedman, "The Real Story
of Abraham. Many other scholars rejected such of the Ebla Tablets," deals directly with literary
historical claims, however qualified, and insisted that evidence for EB III and its possible relation to Genesis-
Abraham and the other Patriarchs were "eponymous with striking results for our knowledge of Abraham.
heroes," a later projection of group ideals and Albright and others, such as E. A. Speiser who insisted
aspirations. upon the historicity of Abraham and the traditions
The simple fact seems to be that there really was associated with him, have been vindicated, but in a way
too little archeological evidence from the period (the they could not have guessed. The Ebla Tablets, says
deep EB levels were often not even reached in many Freedman, force us to place Abraham in EB III, as
excavations, and there was no contemporary, direct early as 2600 to 2400 B.c.! Moreover, the Cities of
literary evidence). But the debate raged on. On one the Plain can now be put into a known historical
hand the character of EB culture in Palestine and its context, as can the traditions underlying Genesis 14, 18
relation to what was going on in the Tigris-Euphrates and 19. "The reason that the story has never been
basin along the Nile was a vexing question. On the located historically is that scholars, all of us, have been
other those who wished to defend the historicity of the looking in the wrong millennium," says Freedman.
Patriarchal narratives by citing a clear historical Not only do we have an argument for placing
context were hard pressed. All who tried to do this Abraham in EB III, but for the first time new and
sought such a context in the second millennium, in the astounding information reveals that one of the Ebla
MB period. Meanwhile, some literary critics were Tablets mentions the name of the king of one of the
suggesting that the stories might have been created Cities of the Plain-is it sheer coincidence that a king
more or less out of whole cloth as late as the first of the same name is also mentioned in Genesis?
millennium. This issue of BA thus presents both new
All the while W. F. Albright steadily maintained archeological evidence adding to our knowledge of
that EB III (ca. 2800-2400 B.c.) "undoubtedly little known periods and areas, and also an analysis of
represents the culmination of Early Bronze culture in new literary evidence challenging old theories and
Palestine as well as Egypt." Furthermore, the historical putting the cat among the pigeons.
context for the patriarchs was a part of the lengthy
HARRY THOMAS FRANK
decline of this extraordinary EB III culture.
BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGIST 133
science fiction, the king who speaks in the first person
in text d is named in the Ebla texts, according to
Pettinato, as a king of Byblos. This name, HIu-ru-
Ba-'i-lu in Byblos Syllabic, had emerged during the
decipherment process at least ten years ago. Merely to
illustrate the wealth of information that has already
emerged from these texts, this name proves first of all
the great antiquity of Baal names (contrary to an
observation of Albright years ago), and also such
biblical names as Ben-Hur. Further, it proves that the
Polemics & Irenics South Canaanite Iron Age form bacal derives fom an
original verbal noun of qatil form, like malik, and
capir.
This reasonably secure redating of the Byblos
texts places Billigmeier's thesis in a new light. There are
some similarities between Byblos Syllabic signs and the
On the History of Writing Minoan scripts, to be sure, but purely formal
comparisons are most unconvincing in isolation. Much
The great ethnic, cultural, and linguistic more important is the fact that both writing systems
diversity that has constantly been characteristic of Near are very predominantly based upon signs that represent
Eastern civilizations from the remotest antiquity to the a consonant with following vowel, and therefore
present day is often obscured or glossed over by neither system can represent either closed syllables or
modern scholars whose ideas and attitudes are double consonants. Years ago I had found it necessary
determined by an increasingly dysfunctional depart- to conclude that certain vowels represented in the script
mental or disciplinary parochialism. A particularly were what Mycenologists have now long termed "dead
striking example is furnished in the report of a paper vowels." It is the systemic similarity that is far more
presented at the 1977 meeting of the Archaeological important than superficial, and probably misleading,
Institute of America (Biblical Archeologist, June 1978, formal similarities between individual signs of the two
p. 45). scripts. This is even more important since the Byblos
In a paper entitled "The Byblos 'Hieroglyphics' script illustrates a rather considerable variation in
as an Aegean Script," Jon Billigmeier made a series of individual forms of the same character.
statements that are unusually consistent in being So far as affinities are concerned, there can be
demonstrably wrong-an unhappy state of affairs that no reasonable doubt that the Byblos script was inspired
could have been easily avoided by someone that is by the Egyptian hieroglyphic system, as Dunand
knowledgeable about what is going on in Near Eastern correctly pointed out in the original publication. It is
studies. Since the subject is of very considerable now equally certain that this syllabic system antedated
importance to ancient and biblical studies, it seemed by half a millennium, and actually gave rise to, the
appropriate to furnish here a brief summary of what is Canaanite alphabet: virtually every Bronze Age
now known about and from these intriguing-and alphabetic form derives from an earlier syllabic
exasperating-texts. character where the chances of preservation and
First, it is not accurate to say that the texts decipherment have made a direct comparison possible.
remain undeciphered; after presenting progress reports Completely unexpected, however, is a very close
to various learned societies for nearly twenty years, I relationship to the old pre-Islamic Arabic alphabets, in
am now able to present a connected translation, spite of a mysterious gap of some fifteen hundred years
grammatical analysis, and even a juridical commentary in date. Not so surprising is an equally close
upon most of the texts, most of which are legal relationship to the Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions; in this
documents in a very broad sense of the term: a royal corpus some signs are more pictographic and seemingly
proclamation (text d), a marriage contract (text c), a archaic than their counterparts in the Byblos system,
very badly eroded building inscription (text a), and even though the Sinaitic inscriptions can hardly be
other categories including two far too fragmentary to older than ca. 1500 B.C.
yield anything of importance. Inconsistencies in the Byblos Syllabic system
Dating these texts to the 2nd millennium B.C. is itself, whether of forms, of signs, or even of spelling are
no longer possible. Over the years, I had been forced at least not incompatible with the thesis that the system
from internal evidence to date them earlier and earlier, was in use at Byblos for a period of several centuries
in recent years concluding for a date roughly and perhaps was known elsewhere as well. Since
contemporary with the First Intermediate Period of writing is everywhere in the early period a function of
Egypt, ca. 2100 B.C. Now, by the sort of incredible specialized classes-priests, merchants, lawyers, or
coincidence that ought not to exist outside the realm of bureaucrats-it seems that the system broke down with
134 DECEMBER 1978
the enormous disruptions that attended everywhere the The Uniqueness of the LB Temple
transition from the Early Bronze to the Middle Bronze at Tell Mevorak
Ages. Already far simpler than the cumbersome
cuneiform and hieroglyphic systems of Mesopotamia After having read E. Stern's article in Biblical
and Egypt, the syllabic system was further simplified in Archeologist 40 (1977) 89-91, I would like to make the
an elegant simplicity that could easily be mastered (and following comments.
garbled!) by anyone, since only some thirty consonant The general reader may well be misled by the
signs were involved. At the same time, in the Bronze somewhat overenthusiastic emphasis which E. Stern
Age alphabetic signs, all otiose strokes were dispensed places on the uniqueness of his discovery of an isolated
with; in contrast, the Minoan systems seem to represent LB temple at Tell Mevorak (cf. p. 91). This cultic
the opposite tendency toward enormous (aesthetic?) structure is not as "isolated" a phenomenon in the Late
elaboration, a phenomenon that can only be explained Bronze Age as Stern asserts.
on the basis of social structure and specialization, not Stern did not consider H. J. Franken's publica-
on the needs of a writing system. tion "Excavations at Tell Deir CAlla" I (Leiden 1969)
There can be no doubt whatever that the Byblos 19-20. Some sort of relationship to the Bronze Age
Syllabic system is a product of the ancient Near Eastern settlement at Tell el-Mazar, which is located approxi-
cultural complex, both because of its antecedents and mately 3 km north of Tell Deir cAlla, may well exist,
its descendants. The signs themselves derive largely but the nature of this relationship cannot be clarified at
from Egyptian prototypes, but wherever the sign present. Stern also did not mention the recent
represents a recognizable object, the phonetic value of discoveries at Tell Mfisa (cf. E. Eisenberg, Biblical
the sign is the first syllable of the name of the object Archeologist 40 [1977] 77-81, especially p. 80; already
represented, e.g., BA-yi-tu: "house." Furthermore, we Hadashot Arkheologiyot 54/55 [1975] 8-10, especially
know beyond question that all areas of the West p. 9; Qadmoniot 9 [1976] 105-9, especially p. 108).
Semitic language region had been familiar with writing These three isolated temple buildings in Palestine from
long before even the Byblos Syllabic. In all the justified the MB II and Late Bronze periods ought to be
excitement over the texts from Ebla, the fact has considered together. El-Meneciya (Timna) does not
escaped attention that at least three sites in the Upper apply here, since it is located in a completely different
Euphrates Valley in Syria and Turkey have yielded area, and the Amman Airport Building does not
written tablets in the "proto-literate" system a thousand appear to be a temple (cf. V. Fritz, Zeitschrift fiir die
years older than the Ebla tablets. Again, in sharp deutsche-paliistina Vereins 87 [1971] 140-52).
contrast the Minoan system, like Melchizedek, has no The temples at Tell Deir cAlla, Tell Mevorak,
forebears (and also no descendants), and scholars have and Tell Musa may well provide some additional
long sought some antecedent prototype that directly or information concerning the structures in nonurban
indirectly inspired it. As Billigmeier correctly has seen, Palestinian society during the LB period. It is,
we now have that prototype. however, too early at this point to make any definitive
We also have two sources for EB West Semitic statements since these finds have not yet been fully
writing and language, both of which have very close published. Additional discoveries are to be expected.
relationships to the much later South Canaanite
E. A. KNAUF
complex of dialects that have been preserved in the
Bible. Contrasts between the Byblos dialect and what Ttibingen, West Germany
has so far been made available from Ebla are so great
that there is no justification for terming Ebla dialect Response to E. A. Knauf
"Canaanite." In fact, my own preference would be to
restrict the term "Canaanite"t o linguistic materials from I wish to thank Mr. Knauf for his useful
the coastal area during the Middle Bronze through comment. What I have been trying to point out is that
Iron Ages. In consequence, the dialect of the Byblos the sanctuary at Tell Mevorak is unique (up to now),
Syllabic texts would be pre-Canaanite, for its closest by being isolated with no LB settlements in a radius of
linguistic affinities are with the Old South Arabic. 12-15 kms. This point seems to escape Mr. Knauf.
It is hoped that the publication of the decipher- The two examples brought by him (well known
ment may take place within the next two or three years. to me, and there are many more, to mention only the
Meantime, further discussion of this topic with a chart "Fosse Temple" at Lachish) are located close to a
of the signs may be found in the forthcoming contemporary settlement or connected to it in one way
Proceedings of the First International Symposium on or another.
the History of Arabia, to be published by the However, one can only join Mr. Knauf in his
University of Riyad, Riyad, Saudi Arabia. hope that "additional discoveries are to be expected."
GEORGE E. MENDENHALL
EPHRAIM STERN
The University of Michigan
Hebrew University
BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGIST 135