Woah! A Philistine Cemetery!

Over the weekend, news hit major media outlets regarding the excavation of a Philistine cemetery just outside the ancient city of Ashkelon. You can find here the National Geographic, NY Times, Biblical Archaeological Review, and Haaretz releases. Ashkelon was one of the 5 major Philistine cities that populated the Coastal Plain during Biblical times, and excavations there have gone on now for over 30 years, thanks to the Leon Levy Expedition. It is one of the most important sites for understanding Philistine culture.

It goes without saying that the immediate importance of this find is that Philistine burial practices can now be examined in detail without the shadow of classification. Indeed, there have been other sites linked to Philistine burials, but they have also been disputed and questioned. Here, it's undeniable. We are dealing with a Philistine site that exhibits over 200 skeletons, of all ages. Consequently, the excavators can work with a little more certainty, analyzing these burial customs against known baselines to understand relationships and developments. So, for example, what does the material culture interned with the bodies tell us about their value and thought systems? What does it mean that the burial practices of the Philistines were significantly difference than their Canaanite neighbors?

However, in my opinion, the most interesting possibilities will come in the form of DNA analysis. Ever since the human genome was mapped in 2003, genetic analysis in the scientific community has exploded. Indeed, DNA sequencing has been around for sometime, but the ability to map out where human genes sit on our chromosomes has opened up a world of opportunity. Biblical archaeology needs to properly harness these genetic tools, for I think a new world awaits.

Most immediately, we may be able to put to bed the long debate of Philistine origins.Consider this, if the skeletons contain enough usable DNA (and from the suggestions of the articles, this may be the case), then they will likely be able to sequence the DNA. Whether it's the entire thing or just chunks of it, scientists may be able to use that sequence against known base lines to determine the relationships and developments of the Philistines. In a word, we may be able to identify whence they came. Burial customs are neat, and they are very important to understanding the thought-world of any culture. But sign me up for harnessing the implications of genetic analysis.

All of this is another example of how science is manifesting itself in new ways in the field of Biblical Archaeology, and, by implication, Biblical Studies. It will be very interesting to see how this all plays out over the next few months. Certainly, this will give the field plenty to talk about in San Antonio this coming November. I look forward to how our understanding of the Philistines will be rounded out through this site. This will in turn allow us to understand better the acidic relationship between the Israelites and the Philistines that informed so much of the Old Testament and ancient Israelite identity.

Harry Potter's Forbidden Forest and the Wilderness Concept in Scripture

The other day I found myself watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. You may ask “Why would you do that? Are you 12?”

I can understand that line of inquiry. But for the record....I like watching my favorite movies and movie series over and over because they always seem to give me something to notice. This time I found myself thinking about the Forbidden Forrest.

In the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry descends into the forest with a group of his friends, a dog, and one of his nemeses. They are on the hunt for something that has been killing off unicorns, and ultimately they find what they are looking for. In the process, Harry meets the spirit-form of Lord Voldemort, the one responsible for destroying his family and setting his life on particular path.

The Foribidden Forest is a recurring location throughout the Harry Potter saga, and so let’s tease this out for just a moment. To be overly abstract, the Forbidden Forest is a definable region that exists on the fringe of the Hogwarts grounds and is associated with concepts of disorder, chaos, danger, and sinister forces. It is distinct from other sections within the grounds that are orderly, hospitable, and largely safe. In a word, the Forbidden Forest is a type of “wilderness.”

Yet there is something important about this forest as one progresses through the Harry Potter saga. Harry can’t avoid the Forbidden Forest. No matter how much he wants to, he finds himself going back there again and again. Climactically, this is the location where he faces the biggest choice of his life—the sacrifice of his life to stop forces of evil.

So, this got me thinking. How does the “wilderness” function within the Biblical narrative?

For many of us, the wilderness is profoundly negative. It is the location of one of Israel’s greatest historical failures and the location of years of wandering and the death of an entire generation. Furthermore, there are very powerful voices in the New Testament that want the reader to remember those failings so that they are not repeated (for example, Paul in 1 Corinthians and the writer to the Hebrews). However, this perspective does not represent the entire picture painted by Scripture.

The reality is that there is a duality associated with the wilderness throughout Scripture. To put it crudely, it is both positive and negative. For example, it was indeed the place of Israel’s failures on their way to the Promised Land. But it was also the location of Israel's encounter with God at Sinai. [Remember that half of the Pentateuch is set in the Sinai Wilderness!] Indeed, the wilderness is a place of banishment and isolation, but in the case of Hagar and Elijah, it was also the place of personal provision and intimate encounter with God Almighty. Jeremiah remembers it as the place of Israel’s (short lived) innocence, and many prophets envision the wilderness as being a place that will reflect God’s future glory. Perhaps most importantly, the wilderness was a necessary place of preparation for Jesus. In the words of Randall Kohls, “The Gospel Begins in the Wilderness.”

Naturally, this begs the question. “What dictates a positive or negative experience associated with the wilderness?”

In many instances, it is choice.

It was the actions and choices of a generation that transformed a time of encounter and intimacy into a time of death and isolation. It was the persistent rebellion and inability of a people to look beyond their uncomfortable state of affairs that allowed them to forget their salvation and, in time, forfeit their future. It was unfaithfulness to God’s expectations that shattered what was supposed to be a time of innocence. And true to form, it will be our choices and actions that will dictate our experience with the gospel.

Potsherds, Computers, and the Composition of the Bible

This week, the National Academy of Sciences published a new type of study on some of the Arad Ostraca. The shock headlines have read something like, "New Evidence of when the Old Testament was Written!" Or, "Bible Written Earlier Than Thought!" It really appears to be an interesting article, and in light of a late night text message from my older brother, I felt compelled to register some of my knee-jerk reactions.

I posted them on a blog site for Wesley Biblical Seminary, which is a school with which I do some teaching. You can access it here.

The Bengals, Sports, and Character

I like sports, and I like competition. I grew up on it, played college athletics, and it taught me some of my most valuable lessons. I believe that competition breeds excellence in a way that very few things can. So...compete on!

Social media blew up over the weekend in response to the implosion of the Cincinnati Bengals when they played the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL's Wildcard Weekend. From what I can tell, the responses took a variety of forms, particularly from Bengals fans. Some were so dumbfounded with what they observed and could only communicate their frustrations through the briefest of commentary. Others took to online diatribes aimed at anyone who would listen and empathize.

Don't get me wrong. I am with all these people. I root for Cincinnati sports, and I have a particular dislike for all things Steelers. Ever since Kimo von Oehlhoffen rolled into Carson Palmer's knee...the gold and black irritates me.

Yet there is another reason why I like sports, whether playing them or watching them. For the sports fan, they often indict us. You see, for many sports have a unique way of triggering that slope of emotion that, more often than not, results in some of our worst moments. Whether it is a heated argument or just a sour disposition for an extended period of time, sports have the capacity of bringing out the worst in us. The game over the weekend and the reaction afterwords evince this.

So what am I trying to say?

People will form conclusions about you in your worst moments. Be conscious whence those moments come, and do your best to remove yourself from those moments. Also, when you find yourself in one of those moments, know that how you respond to getting yourself out of that moment will also be a powerful indictment on your character.