This article examines the Merneptah Stele and its role in recent efforts to reconstruct Israelite... more This article examines the Merneptah Stele and its role in recent efforts to reconstruct Israelite history and identity. Though necessarily concerned with the issues of translation and location as they relate to the entity named in the stele, this review is dominated by an assessment of the various ways in which biblical scholarship has related to this singular reference. To that end, issues of theory and method, both archaeological and anthropological, are prioritized as the review appraises the various attempts to isolate this entity as the Archimedean point of Israelite historical and ethnic development. Though certainly critical of what it perceives as the sterile reproduction of long-held beliefs, it is a review that, in its appeal to the work of Pierre Bourdieu, looks to identify prospects for further study of the stele, rather than foreclose the very questions that it raises.
Through an engagement with the dietary prohibitions of Deuteronomy 14, this article seeks to prov... more Through an engagement with the dietary prohibitions of Deuteronomy 14, this article seeks to provide a corrective to the dominance of constructivist perspectives within recent reconstructions of Israelite ethnic identity. Drawing upon research in the field of cognitive psychology and the work of Pierre Bourdieu, it argues that the Priestly vision of ascribed membership in the entity Israel is framed by an essentialist mode of ethnic cognition which was widely diffused within Israelite society. The identification and isolation of this particular brand of classificatory logic accounts not only for the persuasive potential of the dietary prohibitions themselves, but in the process challenges the theoretical status quo on ethnicity amongst biblical scholars.
THESIS 7371Within biblical archaeology the interpretation of ethnic groups has traditionally take... more THESIS 7371Within biblical archaeology the interpretation of ethnic groups has traditionally taken place within a narrative framework derived almost entirely from certain highly prized written sources, thereby reflecting the privileged status traditionally accorded to the written word over and above material culture in the study of historical periods. Such \u27historical determinism\u27 it is argued, frequently results in the circular, self-referential use of archaeological and documentary evidence, and an all too eager conflation of the material record with monolithic \u27ethnic categories\u27 extracted from historical sources
This article examines the Merneptah Stele and its role in recent efforts to reconstruct Israelite... more This article examines the Merneptah Stele and its role in recent efforts to reconstruct Israelite history and identity. Though necessarily concerned with the issues of translation and location as they relate to the entity named in the stele, this review is dominated by an assessment of the various ways in which biblical scholarship has related to this singular reference. To that end, issues of theory and method, both archaeological and anthropological, are prioritized as the review appraises the various attempts to isolate this entity as the Archimedean point of Israelite historical and ethnic development. Though certainly critical of what it perceives as the sterile reproduction of long-held beliefs, it is a review that, in its appeal to the work of Pierre Bourdieu, looks to identify prospects for further study of the stele, rather than foreclose the very questions that it raises.
Through an engagement with the dietary prohibitions of Deuteronomy 14, this article seeks to prov... more Through an engagement with the dietary prohibitions of Deuteronomy 14, this article seeks to provide a corrective to the dominance of constructivist perspectives within recent reconstructions of Israelite ethnic identity. Drawing upon research in the field of cognitive psychology and the work of Pierre Bourdieu, it argues that the Priestly vision of ascribed membership in the entity Israel is framed by an essentialist mode of ethnic cognition which was widely diffused within Israelite society. The identification and isolation of this particular brand of classificatory logic accounts not only for the persuasive potential of the dietary prohibitions themselves, but in the process challenges the theoretical status quo on ethnicity amongst biblical scholars.
Acknowledgement Abbreviations Introduction. Chapter One The Rise of the Concept of Race Social Ev... more Acknowledgement Abbreviations Introduction. Chapter One The Rise of the Concept of Race Social Evolution and Race Human Evolution and the Concept of Culture(s) Chapter Two: Archaeology and Evolution Archaeology and the Question of National Identity: Gustav Kossinna Archaeology and Culture: V. Gordon Childe Archaeology and the Identity of Israel Chapter Three: The Emergence of 'Ethnicity' Primordialism and Instrumentalism in the Study of Ethnicity Chapter Four: Cognitive Perspectives on Ethnicity and Identity Ethnicity as Cognition: Pierre Bourdieu Chapter Five: The Loss of Innocence New Archaeology and the Ethnic Interpretation of Style Style as Active Comunication The Archaeology of Practice Chapter Six: Biblical Archaeology and La Longue Duree Archaeology and Israelite Identity Israel in the Merneptah Stele 'Israel' as an Essentialist Category of Social Cognition Chapter Seven: Israelite Ethnicity and Biblical Archaeology Ethnic Sentiments in the Hebrew Bible The H...
Currents in Biblical Research Volume 13(3) , Jun 15, 2015
This article examines the Merneptah Stele and its role in recent efforts to reconstruct Israelite... more This article examines the Merneptah Stele and its role in recent efforts to reconstruct Israelite history and identity. Though necessarily concerned with the issues of translation and location as they relate to the entity named in the stele, this review is dominated by an assessment of the various ways in which biblical scholarship has related to this singular
reference. To that end, issues of theory and method, both archaeological and anthropological, are prioritized as the review appraises the various attempts to isolate this entity as the Archimedean point of Israelite historical and ethnic development. Though certainly critical of what it perceives as the sterile reproduction of long-held beliefs, it is a review that, in its appeal to the work of Pierre Bourdieu, looks to identify prospects for further study of the stele, rather than foreclose the very questions that it raises.
Through an engagement with the dietary prohibitions of Deuteronomy 14, this article seeks to prov... more Through an engagement with the dietary prohibitions of Deuteronomy 14, this article seeks to provide a corrective to the dominance of constructivist perspectives within recent reconstructions of Israelite ethnic identity. Drawing upon research in the field of cognitive psychology and the work of Pierre Bourdieu, it argues that the Priestly vision of ascribed membership in the entity Israel is framed by an essentialist mode of ethnic cognition which was widely diffused within Israelite society. The identification and isolation of this particular brand of classificatory logic accounts not only for the persuasive potential of the dietary prohibitions themselves, but in the process challenges the theoretical status quo on ethnicity amongst biblical scholars.
This article examines the Merneptah Stele and its role in recent efforts to reconstruct Israelite... more This article examines the Merneptah Stele and its role in recent efforts to reconstruct Israelite history and identity. Though necessarily concerned with the issues of translation and location as they relate to the entity named in the stele, this review is dominated by an assessment of the various ways in which biblical scholarship has related to this singular reference. To that end, issues of theory and method, both archaeological and anthropological, are prioritized as the review appraises the various attempts to isolate this entity as the Archimedean point of Israelite historical and ethnic development. Though certainly critical of what it perceives as the sterile reproduction of long-held beliefs, it is a review that, in its appeal to the work of Pierre Bourdieu, looks to identify prospects for further study of the stele, rather than foreclose the very questions that it raises.
Through an engagement with the dietary prohibitions of Deuteronomy 14, this article seeks to prov... more Through an engagement with the dietary prohibitions of Deuteronomy 14, this article seeks to provide a corrective to the dominance of constructivist perspectives within recent reconstructions of Israelite ethnic identity. Drawing upon research in the field of cognitive psychology and the work of Pierre Bourdieu, it argues that the Priestly vision of ascribed membership in the entity Israel is framed by an essentialist mode of ethnic cognition which was widely diffused within Israelite society. The identification and isolation of this particular brand of classificatory logic accounts not only for the persuasive potential of the dietary prohibitions themselves, but in the process challenges the theoretical status quo on ethnicity amongst biblical scholars.
THESIS 7371Within biblical archaeology the interpretation of ethnic groups has traditionally take... more THESIS 7371Within biblical archaeology the interpretation of ethnic groups has traditionally taken place within a narrative framework derived almost entirely from certain highly prized written sources, thereby reflecting the privileged status traditionally accorded to the written word over and above material culture in the study of historical periods. Such \u27historical determinism\u27 it is argued, frequently results in the circular, self-referential use of archaeological and documentary evidence, and an all too eager conflation of the material record with monolithic \u27ethnic categories\u27 extracted from historical sources
This article examines the Merneptah Stele and its role in recent efforts to reconstruct Israelite... more This article examines the Merneptah Stele and its role in recent efforts to reconstruct Israelite history and identity. Though necessarily concerned with the issues of translation and location as they relate to the entity named in the stele, this review is dominated by an assessment of the various ways in which biblical scholarship has related to this singular reference. To that end, issues of theory and method, both archaeological and anthropological, are prioritized as the review appraises the various attempts to isolate this entity as the Archimedean point of Israelite historical and ethnic development. Though certainly critical of what it perceives as the sterile reproduction of long-held beliefs, it is a review that, in its appeal to the work of Pierre Bourdieu, looks to identify prospects for further study of the stele, rather than foreclose the very questions that it raises.
Through an engagement with the dietary prohibitions of Deuteronomy 14, this article seeks to prov... more Through an engagement with the dietary prohibitions of Deuteronomy 14, this article seeks to provide a corrective to the dominance of constructivist perspectives within recent reconstructions of Israelite ethnic identity. Drawing upon research in the field of cognitive psychology and the work of Pierre Bourdieu, it argues that the Priestly vision of ascribed membership in the entity Israel is framed by an essentialist mode of ethnic cognition which was widely diffused within Israelite society. The identification and isolation of this particular brand of classificatory logic accounts not only for the persuasive potential of the dietary prohibitions themselves, but in the process challenges the theoretical status quo on ethnicity amongst biblical scholars.
Acknowledgement Abbreviations Introduction. Chapter One The Rise of the Concept of Race Social Ev... more Acknowledgement Abbreviations Introduction. Chapter One The Rise of the Concept of Race Social Evolution and Race Human Evolution and the Concept of Culture(s) Chapter Two: Archaeology and Evolution Archaeology and the Question of National Identity: Gustav Kossinna Archaeology and Culture: V. Gordon Childe Archaeology and the Identity of Israel Chapter Three: The Emergence of 'Ethnicity' Primordialism and Instrumentalism in the Study of Ethnicity Chapter Four: Cognitive Perspectives on Ethnicity and Identity Ethnicity as Cognition: Pierre Bourdieu Chapter Five: The Loss of Innocence New Archaeology and the Ethnic Interpretation of Style Style as Active Comunication The Archaeology of Practice Chapter Six: Biblical Archaeology and La Longue Duree Archaeology and Israelite Identity Israel in the Merneptah Stele 'Israel' as an Essentialist Category of Social Cognition Chapter Seven: Israelite Ethnicity and Biblical Archaeology Ethnic Sentiments in the Hebrew Bible The H...
Currents in Biblical Research Volume 13(3) , Jun 15, 2015
This article examines the Merneptah Stele and its role in recent efforts to reconstruct Israelite... more This article examines the Merneptah Stele and its role in recent efforts to reconstruct Israelite history and identity. Though necessarily concerned with the issues of translation and location as they relate to the entity named in the stele, this review is dominated by an assessment of the various ways in which biblical scholarship has related to this singular
reference. To that end, issues of theory and method, both archaeological and anthropological, are prioritized as the review appraises the various attempts to isolate this entity as the Archimedean point of Israelite historical and ethnic development. Though certainly critical of what it perceives as the sterile reproduction of long-held beliefs, it is a review that, in its appeal to the work of Pierre Bourdieu, looks to identify prospects for further study of the stele, rather than foreclose the very questions that it raises.
Through an engagement with the dietary prohibitions of Deuteronomy 14, this article seeks to prov... more Through an engagement with the dietary prohibitions of Deuteronomy 14, this article seeks to provide a corrective to the dominance of constructivist perspectives within recent reconstructions of Israelite ethnic identity. Drawing upon research in the field of cognitive psychology and the work of Pierre Bourdieu, it argues that the Priestly vision of ascribed membership in the entity Israel is framed by an essentialist mode of ethnic cognition which was widely diffused within Israelite society. The identification and isolation of this particular brand of classificatory logic accounts not only for the persuasive potential of the dietary prohibitions themselves, but in the process challenges the theoretical status quo on ethnicity amongst biblical scholars.
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reference. To that end, issues of theory and method, both archaeological and anthropological, are prioritized as the review appraises the various attempts to isolate this entity as the Archimedean point of Israelite historical and ethnic development. Though certainly critical of what it perceives as the sterile reproduction of long-held beliefs, it is a review that, in its appeal to the work of Pierre Bourdieu, looks to identify prospects for further study of the stele, rather than foreclose the very questions that it raises.
reference. To that end, issues of theory and method, both archaeological and anthropological, are prioritized as the review appraises the various attempts to isolate this entity as the Archimedean point of Israelite historical and ethnic development. Though certainly critical of what it perceives as the sterile reproduction of long-held beliefs, it is a review that, in its appeal to the work of Pierre Bourdieu, looks to identify prospects for further study of the stele, rather than foreclose the very questions that it raises.