Slovo o biblijskoj arheologiji

Abstract

U radu je iznet predistorijat, sumirane su razvojne faze, precizno je definisan geografski i hronološki raspon i razrešeni osnovni terminološko-sadržajni elementi biblijske arheologije. Ukazano je na bazičnu teoretsku problematiku i glavne pristupe. Ponuđena je definicija biblijske arheologije, proširena je njena unutrašnja podela i ustanovljeno klasifikaciono mesto u okviru generalne arheologije.

Modern Biblical archeology is primarily a study of the material remains (including written sources) and associated context, directly or indirectly linked with the examination of the period and locations potentially treated by the Hebrew Bible, in the light of the Near Eastern cultural continuity in whole. Its main scope is Israelite culture, taking into consideration terminal Canaanite culture as well, framed by the neighboring contemporaries. There were/are three main approaches to Biblical archeology. The first and the most dogmatic is the 'arm chair' approach, termed apologetic, the second is so-called 'Albrigh school' which perhaps can be termed acegetic, and the third is the secular branch of Biblical archeology. Modern Biblical archeology has mostly overcome its dogmatic theological background, but still in minor segments seems to be threatened by some current political aspects. The terms Biblical archeology and Syro-Palcstinian archeology are hardly interchangeable. Biblical archeology is rather a chronologically and thematically limited component of Syro-Palestinian archeology, which itself is a branch of Near Eastern archeology, which in turn is a chapter of general archeology. Terms 'Archaeology of the Bible' or 'Archaeology of the Biblical Period/Lands' do not offer and particular terminological improvement. Since the term Bible has different connotation for Jews and Christians, it should be noticed that the main frame of Biblical archeology is established by the Hebrew Bible (the same text is encompassed by Orthodox Christian and Protestant Old Testament). Confusion can also be caused by the different canon, which makes the lower chronological limits of the Roman Catholic Old Testament different from the Orthodox Christian/Protestant version. A nominal chronological span of Biblical archeology might thus theoretically be from 'the beginning' to the second return of Nehemiah to Jerusalem 432/425 BC. Even if the tendency of few authors (cf. Mazar 1990:143-144) to interpret some parts of the Book of Genesis as an echo of the Early Bronze Age is generally considered highly hypothetical, the beginning of Genesis should perhaps be freely archaeologically understood as a remote symbolic Iraec of the foundation of the first societies, i.e. mythicized collective recollection of the formation of the first complex communities, animal and plant domestication and seventies. However, a practical time span of Biblical archeology is approximately from the Late Bronze Age IIB to Iron Age IIC (ca. 1300-586 BC). Central Palestine provides the geographic focus of Biblical archeology. The period encompassed by the New Testament, clearly falls under the scope of Classic archeology, or alternatively the 'Archaeology of the New Testament'.