Lost and Found

My introduction to archeology began (and until recently) ended with the Indiana Jones movies. Most especially I was entranced by the idea that those places we heard about in Sunday School really existed.

Enter Hebrew Scriptures, a course I’m taking this quarter. We started out by reading about the stylistic differences between Homeric epics and Biblical narratives as explained by Erich Auerbach. You can read a summary of his argument here. (How was this not on the reading list of every Lit Trad. professor at UD?) 

Then we dove into The Bible Unearthed by Finkelstein and Silberman to get a sense of the historical and theological backdrop of Ancient Israel. (Luckily our professor throws in a few videos to mix it up.)

While searching for books on a paper I’m writing, I came across From Eden to Exile: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Bible by Eric H. Cline at the local public library.

Cline walks the reader through seven mysteries of the Bible, giving us an overview of not only the historical and archeological context, but a round-up of what current scholars in theology, archeology, and history have to say on the matter. With just enough maps, drawings, and photographs to break up the text, it really is quite readable. He asks (and to some extent gives a satisfactory answer):

Where was the Garden of Eden?

Can Noah’s Ark be found?

Did Sodom and Gomorrah exist?

Did the Exodus take place?

How did Joshua capture Jericho (if he did)?

Where is the Ark of the Covenant?

Where are the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel?

Now, about that Holy Grail...