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• Bible & Archaeology Fest XIII, November 19-21, 2010
  Could Mt. Ebal be Deuteronomy’s “Place of the Name”?
  A vexing irony inhabits the Book of Deuteronomy. On the one hand, the book makes exclusive worship at a single site chosen by Yahweh the defining criterion of community faithfulness. On the other hand, the book fails to tell the reader where that sanctuary actually is. Over the generations, the quest to resolve this conundrum has directed scholarly attention to Shechem, Shiloh, Bethel, Gilgal, Gerizim, and even Ebal—all sacred sites identified in the settlement traditions. But since the days of W. M. L. de Wette and Julius Wellhausen, the sanctuary at Jerusalem has eclipsed all other options. Certainly “the place of the name” became Jerusalem, and this is the inarguable stance of Israel’s larger history. But as Jerusalem is not named in the Book of Deuteronomy (nor in the settlement traditions as a whole) the intended deuteronomic identity of “the place” remains a debated question. This lecture will review the archaeological evidence associated with Deuteronomy’s “place” and demonstrate that new evidence offers a fresh entry into this longstanding discussion.

• Bible & Archaeology Fest XII, November 20-22, 2009
  The Israelites and the Environment: An Ancient Code Speaks to a Current Crisis
  This presentation considers the seemingly modern topic of environmentalism through a biblical theological lens, with particular attention given to the book of Deuteronomy. Biblical law grappled with many of the same issues with which we struggle today, and required behavior on the part of God’s people in every generation that recognized humanity’s role as steward of God’s land and creatures. The laws of land-tenure, agriculture, warfare, wild creatures, and animal husbandry are examined with an eye toward the larger biblical theological message of the Bible as well as the norms of Israel’s ancient society.