Archaeology and the Bible Revisited: A Review Article

David and Solomon, a new book by Israel Finkelstein and Niels Asher Silberman, through their discussion of Palestinian archaeology's current understanding, proposes to provide evidence to prove the accuracy of Frank Cross's more than 30 year old revision of Martin Noth's theory of a “Deuteronomistic History.” The authors attempt to confirm the history of the redaction of the biblical narratives about Saul, David and Solomon, involving seven distinct oral and four written strata of tradition. Their argument moreover claims the warrant to assert the historicity of each of these legendary kings of Israel. The present article argues to the contrary that the “archaeological evidence” proposed does not support such a redaction history nor establish the historicity of either the biblical figures or their stories, but that the harmony of biblical and archaeological issues is circular and illegitimate by the standards of historical research. It argues, moreover, that the claim of an oral tradition, reflecting original memories of an historical David or Saul is an entirely unnecessary and unlikely explanation for the origins of both the figures and their tales in the stories of 1-2 Samuel and 1 Kings. It moreover argues that the hypothesis of a redaction history in a succession of four cumulative revisions, beginning in the eighth century and completed in the sixth to fourth century, BCE—lacking as it does reference to a readable text—is neither critical nor falsifiable. Finally, Finkelstein and Silberman's book is judged as an unsuccessful attempt to return to the methods of “biblical archaeology” that were legitimately impeached in the mid-1970s.     

Books Reviews

Abstract

The author underscores the uniqueness of the situation which produced a text but also the process of rewriting and interpretation which followed later applications of the same text. Laato's belief in seeking for historically fixable ideological contexts of prophetic texts is, however, unjustified in light of the unhistorical nature of this context as presented by the OT. Any recurrence to the tradition process of Mesopotamian epic texts in this connection is wrong, as the Mesopotamian tradition was very different from the Palestinian one. Instead of looking for a fixed redactional pattern for all prophetic texts, we should reckon each book to have its own history.     

Earthquakes and Petticoats: Maria Graham,Geology, and Early Nineteenth-Century ‘Polite’ Science

Re-visiting the controversy caused by the first female-authored report in the Transactions of the Geological Society, this article probes the gendered layers of the early nineteenth-century scientific community. Maria Graham's ‘Account of Some Effects of the Late Earthquakes in Chili [sic]’ (1824) had considerable influence, and was referred to by Charles Lyell and Charles Darwin. In 1834, however, George Greenough, President of the Geological Society, questioned the accuracy of Graham's observations. Graham in turn defended herself adroitly, in an acrimonious exchange which found an international audience. While this dispute has received some attention from historians of science, previous discussions assume that Graham was no geologist, but simply a traveller who witnessed events of great relevance to contemporary geology. Drawing on extensive archival research, this article demonstrates to the contrary that Graham had considerable interest and expertise in this branch of science. Using the dispute to shed light on the multiple milieux in which early nineteenth-century science took place, it explores the constraints and opportunities faced by women with scientific interests, and the rhetorical strategies required of them, as they negotiated the diverse modes of contemporary science. It also highlights little-known networks of friendship, correspondence and intellectual exchange between scientifically minded women.     

Some problems of regional planning in predominantly rural environments; the French experience in Corsica

Mortality data for ischaemic heart disease and lung‐bronchus cancer in the 29 metropolitan boroughs of London and the 37 electoral wards of Glasgow are standardised for age and sex relative to an all‐U.K. norm. The standardised mortality ratios (S.M.R.) obtained, when expressed in map form, reveal marked spatial inequalities. A relationship with social class and concomitant housing and living standards is indicated.     

‘She's always the person with a very global vision’: The Gender Dynamics of Migration,Narrative Interpretation and the Case of Jamaican Transnational Families

Migration and gender are two areas in which oral history and life story evidence has been recognised as having a special potential. The article begins with a review of social and historical research on migration, indicating that there has been a surprising lack of in‐depth research published on gender in migration. It then looks at the contribution of oral historians to this literature, and suggests that the focus on narrative styles may not always help us to understand the gender dynamics of migration. Next it presents a case study of Jamaican families who migrated to Britain and North America, showing how women were as often autonomous migrants as men, and that some women, unlike men, were activators of multiple family migration. In conclusion, it argues for more comparative research, using a broader methodological approach.