Douglas R. Clark - Böcker

This book provides an up-to-date theologically balanced introduction to the Bible and its study, which takes biblical scholarship seriously and takes an affirming stance on faith. Its treatment of the New Testament literature attempts to provide a theologically balanced approach with attention to traditional concerns of introduction, plus a focus on issues of relevance and practical religious value in the study and interpretation of scripture. In doing so, the authors avoid the polemic tone of some of the more conservative introductions, as well as the more speculative and 'value-free' perspectives of more progressive readings. Each chapter relating to a biblical book is divided into the following categories: a brief overview of the book; background concerns; literary considerations; the message; value and relevance for today; issues for discussion and reflection; further reading. Under these rubrics, the volume explores a wide range of questions readers have put to the bible both historically and more recently.

This volume represents a guide to the background and study of the Old Testament that incorporates current scholarship with an affirming faith stance. The book's treatment of the Old Testament and intertestamental literature provides a theologically balanced approach with attention to traditional concerns of introduction plus a focus on issues of relevance and practical religious value. A comprehensive compilation that includes maps, charts and tables, a glossary, indices, and drawings, this work offers a significant contribution to the study and appreciation of the Old Testament.

The year 2008 marks the 40th anniversary of Mabada Plains Project archaeological research in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The Madaba Plains Project is one of the longest-lived, continuously running archaeological excavation projects in the Middle East. Spanning four decades, the project, with its beginnings at Tall Hisban in the late sixties, has engaged 1,500 participants, produced scores of publications and spawned a dozen other projects. Its legacy includes being one of the first major Near Eastern archaeology projects to adopt a multi-millennial, regional approach; to incorporate ethnoarchaeology and environmental studies; to construct data around a food-systems' approach; and to computerize procedures for archaeological data acquisition and analysis, thus helping advance both the theoretical underpinnings and the field methods of archaeology in the southern Levant and beyond. Madaba Plains Project directors, wishing to celebrate this major scientific and historical milestone, have produced this anniversary volume which: highlights the value of ongoing collaborative research across the region of central Jordan, attempting to explain life and survival from the Bronze ages through the Islamic and early modern periods and features the latest results from ongoing research; enlivens the discussion by hearing from major scholars in the field who, in the process of assessing the contributions of the project to the archaeology of the southern Levant, broaden the discussion in the context of ancient Near Eastern archaeological research; and, expands the horizons of the project's research by presenting the ever enlarging number and extent of projects conducted by dig directors once on staff with the Madaba Plains Project, thereby taking readers all over Jordan and beyond.

Modeled after previous seasonal reports, this ninth volume of the Madaba Plains Project’s excavations at Tall al-ʿUmayri, Jordan gives a detailed accounting of the artifactual finds from the 2004 season of the excavations, accompanied by hundreds of photos and supplemented with related research. The active fields in 2004 included Field A, the western citadel with Early Iron Age domestic structures; Field B, the western defenses and northwestern domestic quarters showcasing a rare Late Bronze Age temple and palace complex; Field H, the southwestern acropolis boasting an emerging Late Iron I courtyard sanctuary; and Field L, the southern edge with Iron I remains, limited Late Iron II architecture, and the now nearly fully exposed area of a Late Hellenistic agricultural complex. These chapters are supplemented by an article on sherds with incised marks or repair holes and another on the sixth Persian provincial seal impression found at ʿUmayri. The most impressive discovery of the season was the Late Bronze Age temple and palace complex in Field B. Although not completely cleared in 2004, the emerging structure has contributed significantly to information about an underrepresented period in central Jordan. With walls surviving to two and three meters high and five rooms—an entry hall with standing stones, a sanctuary enclosing a cultic niche with five standing stones, a “favissa” space for preserving cultic artifacts, and two rooms serving an as yet undetermined function—this structure helps to fill in a number of gaps in our understanding of the Late Bronze Age in the region. In addition to the editors, the contributors include David R. Berge, Kent V. Bramlett, David C. Hopkins, John I. Lawlor, and Gloria London.

This eighth volume of the Madaba Plains Project’s excavations at Tall al ʿUmayri covers the important finds of the 2002 season, updating and synthesizing the work that has been done to date.Accompanied by more than two hundred illustrations, it includes a summary of the cumulative results of all excavation seasons from 1984 through 2002, with a detailed description of the various levels that have been discovered. The contributions to this volume discuss at length the results of the 2002 season, specifically in fields B, H, and L, which helped to clarify the stratigraphy of the site and contributed to the long-term objectives of the excavation—in particular, the goal of elucidating the cycles of intensification and abatement of habitation and land use at and around the site, with a view to understanding how ‘Umayri influenced and participated in these processes.In addition to the editors, the contributors to this volume include John W. Betlyon, Kent V. Bramlett, Julie L. Cormack, Marcel den Nijs, David C. Hopkins, Gloria London, Kevin Nick, and Monique D. Vincent.

This volume is the tenth in a series of technical seasonal reports on the excavations of Tall al-ʿUmayri, Jordan, part of the Madaba Plains Project. It covers artifactual finds and related research from excavation fields active during the 2006 season: Field A, the western citadel with Early Iron Age domestic structures; Field B, the western defenses and northwestern domestic quarters showcasing a rare Late Bronze Age temple/palace complex; Field H, the southwestern acropolis boasting a Late Iron I courtyard sanctuary; and Field L, the southern edge with Iron I remains, limited Late Iron II architecture, and the now fully exposed area of a Late Hellenistic agricultural complex. This volume includes an important synthesis of the long-term data on repeating cycles of abatement and intensification of settlement population patterns, and the chapters are supplemented by an article on sherds with incised marks and another on coins found at ʿUmayri in 2006.In addition to the editors, the contributors to this volume include Robert D. Bates, David R. Berge, John W. Betlyon, Kent V. Bramlett, David C. Hopkins, and Gloria A. London.

This volume presents the official report of the 2008 excavation season at Tall al-ʿUmayri, a key settlement for understanding the Bronze and Iron Ages in western Jordan. Part of the long-running Madaba Plains Project, it documents the discoveries, methods, and personnel of that summer’s fieldwork while situating them within the project’s broader aim of tracing cycles of growth, decline, and adaptation in ancient settlement and land use.Combining technical rigor with comprehensive scope, the report serves as both a detailed catalog of finds and a permanent archive for future study. It publishes architectural remains, artifacts, environmental data, and specialized analyses spanning the Late Bronze Age through the Hellenistic period. Introductory chapters summarize major discoveries and the site’s occupational history across all seasons since 1984, while stratigraphic reports present the evidence layer by layer in its wider Near Eastern context. Substantial studies address pottery and ceramic technology (including the construction of pithoi), artifact assemblages, human skeletal remains, and the hinterland site of Drayjat, likely a strategic fortress. A typological study of collared pithoi traces the vessel form’s development from the Late Bronze / Iron I transition into the early Persian period.This report, eleventh in the series, marks a mature stage in the project’s development, reflecting large-scale collaboration and systematic integration of decades of accumulated data. Richly illustrated and data-driven, it will be an essential resource for archaeologists, historians of the ancient Near East, and advanced students seeking authoritative documentation of this pivotal site.

In celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Madaba Plains Project, this volume reflects on the decades of archaeological fieldwork experience at Tall Hisban, Tall al-`Umayri and Tall Jalul. In addition to lessons learned and issues addressed, the volume presents the backstories that represent the heart and soul of the MPP, focusing on those that illuminate the efforts to interpret and narrate these archaeological sites. Founding directors, co-directors, and a selection of the core staff and veterans explain the trajectory of their efforts to understand and narrate the place where they have been working by discussing their professional ties, sources of inspiration, personal aspirations and ambitions, regrets and triumphs, accumulative understandings, and remaining questions. They then offer reflective accounts of how their long-term interactions with the local communities have not only helped to build bridges of friendship and cooperation, but shape and inform their understanding of the goals and limitations of their scientific mission and future potential.

The year 2008 marks the 40th anniversary of Mabada Plains Project archaeological research in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The Madaba Plains Project is one of the longest-lived, continuously running archaeological excavation projects in the Middle East. Spanning four decades, the project, with its beginnings at Tall Hisban in the late sixties, has engaged 1,500 participants, produced scores of publications and spawned a dozen other projects. Its legacy includes being one of the first major Near Eastern archaeology projects to adopt a multi-millennial, regional approach; to incorporate ethnoarchaeology and environmental studies; to construct data around a food-systems' approach; and to computerize procedures for archaeological data acquisition and analysis, thus helping advance both the theoretical underpinnings and the field methods of archaeology in the southern Levant and beyond. Madaba Plains Project directors, wishing to celebrate this major scientific and historical milestone, have produced this anniversary volume which: highlights the value of ongoing collaborative research across the region of central Jordan, attempting to explain life and survival from the Bronze ages through the Islamic and early modern periods and features the latest results from ongoing research; enlivens the discussion by hearing from major scholars in the field who, in the process of assessing the contributions of the project to the archaeology of the southern Levant, broaden the discussion in the context of ancient Near Eastern archaeological research; and, expands the horizons of the project's research by presenting the ever enlarging number and extent of projects conducted by dig directors once on staff with the Madaba Plains Project, thereby taking readers all over Jordan and beyond.