Biblical World Nomadism and Architectural Bias in Archaeology - Erez Ben-Yosef
Episode: In this episode, Kyle and Chris interview Erez Ben-Yosef (Tel Aviv University) concerning his work on the 11th through 9th century BC copper industry in the Arabah of Israel and Jordan. The discoveries of the last decade or so - in Timna and in Feinan - have revolutionized our understanding of ancient Edom and its relationship with Israel, Phoenicia, and Egypt. Erez has also argued that archaeologists have tended to reconstruct history with an "architectural bias" when in reality there existed complex societies that did not leave large-scale archaeological remains. This has massive implications for understanding the biblical account - particularly in the early Iron Age.
Resources:
* For the Vetus Testamentum paper on “The Architectural Bias in Current Biblical Archaeology” and other publications of Professor Ben-Yosef: https://telaviv.academia.edu/ErezBenYosef/Papers
* For his most recent edited book, Mining for Ancient Copper: Essays in Memory of Beno Rothenberg (Eisenbrauns 2018): https://www.eisenbrauns.org/books/titles/978-1-57506-964-7.html
* The Timna Valley Expedition website: https://www.tau.ac.il/~ebenyose/CTV/And on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CentralTimnaValleyProjectCtv