Books by Ralph K . Hawkins
"In Josh 8:30–35, Israel constructs an altar on Mt. Ebal in fulfillment of the command of Deut 27... more "In Josh 8:30–35, Israel constructs an altar on Mt. Ebal in fulfillment of the command of Deut 27:1–8. This structure had very important social, political, and religious implications for Israel, for it was the first structure to be built after the people entered the land of Canaan. Once the altar was completed, sacrifices were to be offered on it, and a renewal of the covenant was to be carried out (patterned after the ritual of Deut 31:9–13). This covenant renewal was necessary to integrate the people into the covenant who had not been a part of the Sinai experience. The event was significant enough to establish nearby Shechem as the tribal league shrine, and it was the first political and religious ceremony that the Israelites undertook following their entry into the land. As a covenant ratification, it could be described as their ratification as a nation. The altar on Mt. Ebal and its concomitant ceremony were, therefore, according to the claims of the Hebrew Bible, of supreme importance in the life of ancient Israel.
In 1980, during the survey of the territory of Manasseh, Israeli archaeologist Adam Zertal discovered a site on Mt. Ebal dating to the period of Iron I, during which the Israelites began to sedentarize in the central hill country of Canaan. The site was excavated over eight seasons, from 1982 to 1989, under the auspices of the University of Haifa and the Israel Exploration Society. In 1985, Zertal published an article in which he suggested that the structure on Ebal may have been the altar of Josh 8:30–35.
In The Iron Age I Structure on Mt. Ebal, Ralph Hawkins reviews the excavation on Mt. Ebal and its results, including the scarabs, seals, and animal bones found there. He examines the architecture of the site in relation to Mesopotamian watchtowers, altars, and the descriptions of altars in mishnaic materials, Ezekiel, and Deuteronomic passages. This fascinating book examines the Mt. Ebal site using a comparative method for both the physical data and the textual data. The site and its artifacts are analyzed and then compared with alternative proposals and literary traditions. The site is placed in its broader regional context in order to determine how it might relate to the larger settlement picture of Iron Age I. The primary purpose is to examine the data with a view to determining the nature and function of the site and its possible relation to Josh 8:30–35. It is a compelling read for biblical and archaeological students and scholars, who will better be able to envision sites of past events."
Book Reviews by Ralph K . Hawkins
There are few sources, besides ceramics, for studying ancient foodways or how people related to f... more There are few sources, besides ceramics, for studying ancient foodways or how people related to food. Ancient cooking practices and gastronomy remain virtually unknown. Biblical texts that mention meals include many names for pots, epigraphic data about cuisine are often ambiguous, and drawings of feasting scenes rarely include detailed portrayals of the foods eaten on such occasions. In Ancient Cookware from the Levant: An Ethnoarchaeological Perspective, Gloria London explains that "the best available sources of information on how foods were processed and cooked come from excavated pottery and, if preserved, floral and faunal material found in pots, pits, hearths, dumps, or store rooms" (2). Since cooking pots were ubiquitous and, once fired, virtually indestructible, and since they are easily recognizable, they provide a rich resource for those wishing to study the connection between pots and daily life in antiquity. London explains that, "Although outwardly unappealing, these pots not only filled an indispensable need for preparing meals but also provided connections among the people who cooked the food, shared it, and passed those traditions to the next generation" (1). London wants "to narrow the gap between excavated sherds and our concept of ancient meals"; in order to do so, she adopts a perspective that "begins with how food was processed, preserved, cooked, stored, and transported in clay containers" (1). In order to study these topics in antiquity, London investigates cookware and cooking practices in contemporary traditional societies. Such a ceramic ethnoarchaeological study of traditional lifestyles illuminates the day-today human experience related to ceramics and food in antiquity.
The seeds for Michael Peppard's The World's Oldest Church were found in some images of the Dura-E... more The seeds for Michael Peppard's The World's Oldest Church were found in some images of the Dura-Europos house church that he had requested from the Yale University Art Gallery for use in teaching his very first university class. The images captured his interest, and his lectures developed into an article, a series of public lectures, more articles, and, eventually, the present volume. He had originally intended to spend time in Syria in order to see the site where the frescoes were found, but the tragic bombings at Aleppo University ensued at the exact time when he began his research. Fortunately, most of the artifacts from Dura-Europos were removed to museums decades ago, so that it was still possible for Peppard to study them firsthand. The book is dedicated to the people of Syria, which is so central to early Christian history.
Unearthing Jerusalem comprises chapters developed out of a 2006 conference at Brown University, t... more Unearthing Jerusalem comprises chapters developed out of a 2006 conference at Brown University, the goal of which was " to provide, insofar as it is possible, a balanced view of the scholarly discussions " of every period from the prehistoric to the Ottoman period. The goal was not to present a homogenous view but " to present various, and sometimes even opposing, views " (xiii). This volume seeks to bring due attention to neglected periods of Jerusalem's history, which have been overlooked because of the " preferential attention among scholars … given to the periods of the biblical kings, the Herodian era as well as the early days of Christianity " (xiii). The exploration and documentation of Jerusalem's history and archaeology " have been highly influenced by this selective interest. " This exclusivity has changed in recent decades, and Unearthing Jerusalem presents the cumulative data of both older and newer researches. The volume contains two introductory chapters. In " Unearthing Jerusalem: 150 Years of Archaeological Research, " Gideon Avni and Katharina Galor review the century-and-a-half of continuous excavations in and around Jerusalem, which probably come close to about 1,850 initiatives. Jerusalem is one of the most extensively explored sites in the world, and the excavation and exploratory activities there have " produced thousands of books and scholarly papers, covering almost every aspect of the history and material remains in Jerusalem and reconstructing its long sequence of more than 6,000 years of
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Books by Ralph K . Hawkins
In 1980, during the survey of the territory of Manasseh, Israeli archaeologist Adam Zertal discovered a site on Mt. Ebal dating to the period of Iron I, during which the Israelites began to sedentarize in the central hill country of Canaan. The site was excavated over eight seasons, from 1982 to 1989, under the auspices of the University of Haifa and the Israel Exploration Society. In 1985, Zertal published an article in which he suggested that the structure on Ebal may have been the altar of Josh 8:30–35.
In The Iron Age I Structure on Mt. Ebal, Ralph Hawkins reviews the excavation on Mt. Ebal and its results, including the scarabs, seals, and animal bones found there. He examines the architecture of the site in relation to Mesopotamian watchtowers, altars, and the descriptions of altars in mishnaic materials, Ezekiel, and Deuteronomic passages. This fascinating book examines the Mt. Ebal site using a comparative method for both the physical data and the textual data. The site and its artifacts are analyzed and then compared with alternative proposals and literary traditions. The site is placed in its broader regional context in order to determine how it might relate to the larger settlement picture of Iron Age I. The primary purpose is to examine the data with a view to determining the nature and function of the site and its possible relation to Josh 8:30–35. It is a compelling read for biblical and archaeological students and scholars, who will better be able to envision sites of past events."
Book Reviews by Ralph K . Hawkins
In 1980, during the survey of the territory of Manasseh, Israeli archaeologist Adam Zertal discovered a site on Mt. Ebal dating to the period of Iron I, during which the Israelites began to sedentarize in the central hill country of Canaan. The site was excavated over eight seasons, from 1982 to 1989, under the auspices of the University of Haifa and the Israel Exploration Society. In 1985, Zertal published an article in which he suggested that the structure on Ebal may have been the altar of Josh 8:30–35.
In The Iron Age I Structure on Mt. Ebal, Ralph Hawkins reviews the excavation on Mt. Ebal and its results, including the scarabs, seals, and animal bones found there. He examines the architecture of the site in relation to Mesopotamian watchtowers, altars, and the descriptions of altars in mishnaic materials, Ezekiel, and Deuteronomic passages. This fascinating book examines the Mt. Ebal site using a comparative method for both the physical data and the textual data. The site and its artifacts are analyzed and then compared with alternative proposals and literary traditions. The site is placed in its broader regional context in order to determine how it might relate to the larger settlement picture of Iron Age I. The primary purpose is to examine the data with a view to determining the nature and function of the site and its possible relation to Josh 8:30–35. It is a compelling read for biblical and archaeological students and scholars, who will better be able to envision sites of past events."