The Bible, Archaeology and Politics; or The Empty Land Revisited

Abstract

Since its inception with Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt in 1798, archaeology in the Middle East has always been involved in politics. Nowhere in the region is this more in evidence than in Palestine/Israel, beginning with the preliminary stage of mapping the land and renaming settlements and physical features taken over from the resident Arabs. A major expression of the political ideology underlying this activity has come to be known as ‘the myth of the empty land’. During the Hellenistic period, when interest in ethnic origins was running high, it provided justification for the initial Israelite occupation of and exclusive claim on the land. In this form, the myth appears to be a retrojection of the land claims of the dominant Judaeo-Babylonian elite during the early Persian period reflected in certain biblical texts. An examination of some recent writing on the archaeology of the region during the Neo-Babylonian period suggests that the myth still exerts its influence.

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