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Dear BAS Library Member,
Their names are familiar to any reader of BAR--Albright, Kenyon, Yadin, Mazar. They are the founders of modern Biblical archaeology, scholars whose excavations and interpretations laid the groundwork for contemporary understandings of (and debates about) the Biblical past, from the historicity of the Patriarchs to the reality of the Israelite conquest of Canaan to the archaeological evidence for David and Solomon.
In the June 2011 issue of The BAS Library Explorer, we take a closer look at the lives and works of these pioneering archaeologists. Included among the articles are interviews with the great Israeli archaeologists Yigael Yadin and Benjamin Mazar, as well as early reviews by BAR editor Hershel Shanks of the works and achievements of British scholar Kathleen Kenyon and American archaeologist and Biblical scholar William Foxwell Albright, the venerated “dean” of Biblical archaeology. As a BAS Library Member, you will receive The BAS Library Explorer covering a new topic each month. We hope you enjoy this monthly guide to the vast array of material available in the BAS Library.
 Before delving into these selections about the founders of modern Biblical archaeology, I'd like to announce this month's members-only merchandise special, a substantial discount on the popular DVD lecture set Archaeology and the Bible. This 7-lecture collection is available to BAS Library Members only for $52.50 during June 2011 (original price: $104.95). Members, log in and click on Member Offers in the tan menu bar to order this engaging lecture set at this incredibly low price. And remember, BAS Library members can also take 10% off any regularly priced merchandise at the BAS Store, any time. Just log in to the BAS Library to see the monthly members discount code.
In BAR Interviews Yigael Yadin, which was published just a year before Yadin’s death in 1984, BAR editor Hershel Shanks speaks with Yadin about his extraordinary career and numerous archaeological accomplishments. In 1948, Yadin had commanded the Haganah, Israel’s pre-state army. From 1977 to 1981, he served as Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister. Before and after his time in office, Yadin was one of Israel’s most renowned archaeologists and Biblical scholars, having led major expeditions to key Biblical sites, including Masada and Hazor. He also figured prominently in Israel’s acquisition of the Dead Sea Scrolls and was responsible for publishing a three-volume edition of the Temple Scroll.
In Benjamin Mazar Reminisces, freelance journalist Bill Clark writes about his wide-ranging conversation with pioneering Israeli archaeologist Benjamin Mazar, a towering figure whose work and excavations laid the foundations for future generations, including his nephew Amihai Mazar and his granddaughter Eilat Mazar. During a career that spanned more than half a century, Mazar directed the excavation of a number of important sites, including Beth She’arim, Tel Qasile (the first project to be issued a permit by the state of Israel in 1949), Ein Gedi and, most famously, the excavations south of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. In the 1984 interview, Mazar (then 77) reminisced about Biblical archaeology in the pioneering days of the 1930s and 1940s, and also reflected on the growth of the discipline.
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Scholars on the Record: Insightful Interviews on Bible and Archaeology
edited by Hershel Shanks
Scholars on the Record brings together 11 intriguing and thought-provoking interviews from the pages of BAR and Bible Review. Spurred by the probing questions of editor Hershel Shanks, these interviews, featuring such prominent Biblical scholars and archaeologists as Israel Finkelstein, William Dever and David Noel Freedman, tackle the most critical issues of modern Biblical scholarship while also revealing the fascinating personalities and life stories of the scholars themselves.
Scholars on the Record (BAS, 2009), Hardcover, 256 pages, $14.97
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 Perhaps no scholar has been as central to the field of Biblical archaeology as William Foxwell Albright. As discussed in Hershel Shanks’s 1976 review of a biography of Albright written shortly after his death (A Life of Albright), Albright was one of the last great generalists, a scholar whose spectacular breadth and encyclopedic knowledge of the archaeological, Biblical and textual evidence allowed him to speak with authority on almost every aspect of Biblical history. In his review, Shanks writes about Albright’s early years, his major scholarly and archaeological achievements and his enduring legacy within the discipline.
 Finally, in a critical but thought-provoking 1975 review of the work of the great British archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon (Kathleen Kenyon’s Anti-Zionist Politics—Does It Affect Her Work?), Shanks asks why Kenyon’s archaeological interpretations so often differ from those of Israeli excavators. While Shanks admits that Kenyon (who died in 1978), the famous excavator of major Biblical sites such as Jericho and Jerusalem, is one of the “greatest living Biblical archaeologists” and a pioneer in the science of excavation, he asserts that Kenyon’s political beliefs have often affected her interpretation of important archaeological remains, particularly in the contested area of Jerusalem.
But don't stop reading after these articles! There are countless other articles in the BAS Library ready to engage and fascinate you. The powerful and easy-to-use search features can guide you even further through every article we have published in the past 35 years (6,600 and counting). Every photograph, more than 18,500 of them, is also fully viewable—along with the captions, of course. Plus, we've made it simple to delve deeper into this month's rich topic in the Famous Biblical Archaeologists, one of the many special collections offered in the BAS Library.
 The monthly video lecture for June is Recent Explorations in the Sinai: Implications for the Hebrew Exodus from Egypt by James Hoffmeier of Trinity International University. The Israelite exodus from Egypt is clearly the most important event in the Hebrew Bible, and yet there is presently no direct archaeological evidence to support the tradition, causing some scholars to question whether it was a historical event. Archaeology, however, can provide important background material that enables the events of the book of Exodus to be visualized, and discoveries at various sites in Egypt have made it possible identify some of the places mentioned Exodus. In this insightful hour-long lecture, Hoffmeier reports on such findings from his archaeological excavations at Tell el-Borg as well as geological work in Sinai, sharing images of Egyptian iconography and inscriptions, plans and other fascinating visual materials.
And, as a reminder, if you haven't already taken a look at them, I encourage you to explore the interactive digital editions of BAR from 2011 onward that are now available in the BAS Library.
Whether it's to research a paper, to prepare a sermon, to deepen your understanding of scripture or history, or simply to marvel at the complexity of the Bible--the most important book in history--the BAS Library is an invaluable tool that cannot be matched anywhere else. I promise, you won't be disappointed by the wealth of material you'll find there to enjoy, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Sincerely,
Sara Murphy, Web Editor
Biblical Archaeology Society
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