Tyndale Fellowship Spotlight: Biblical Archaeology Study Group
News
28th May 2021
The Tyndale Fellowship Conference 2021 will take place this summer, from Monday 21 June to Friday 2 July. This annual conference brings together six discipline-based study groups over two weeks for lectures and discussion on the latest scholarly developments. This year, due to constraints on international travel, the conference will take place online.
The Biblical Archaeology Study Group, running on Wednesday 30 June, offers attendees a sweeping tour of current research into the geography and history of the Bible, surveying topics such as Ugarit, the Amorites, Babylonian literature, Egypt and Jewish identity in the New Testament.
The Biblical Archaeology Study Group provides an opportunity for researchers to present and engage with research on the historicity of Scripture. The group is breaking new ground in the study of the Amorite language (remember Sihon king of the Amorites in Num 21) and literacy in biblical times (recall how the king was to copy out the Torah and read it regularly according to Deut 17).
"By filling in knowledge like this, our work supplements the study of the text of the Bible (exegesis), so that the meaning of Scripture comes into sharper focus."
The chairs of the Biblical Archaeology Study Group are Prof Alan Millard and Dr Caleb Howard. They are impressed with this year’s line-up of papers. Dr Howard says, “Our work doesn’t just defend the reliability of the Bible’s claims about the past, it tries to fully reckon with the fact that the Bible is infused with the past, so that reading Scripture means in part coming to terms with the historical features of the Bible.”
Prof James Hoffmeier, a world-class Egyptologist, will deliver this year’s Biblical Archaeology Tyndale Lecture, entitled, The Hebrew Exodus from and Jeremiah’s Eisodus into Egypt in the Light of Recent Archaeological and Geological Field Work. Dr Howard shares that Prof Hoffmeier is an Egyptologist and biblical scholar who has conducted and led archaeological fieldwork in Egypt for decades. Prof Hoffmeier has been a leading voice arguing that there was a historical Exodus of Israelites from Egypt sometime in the second half of the second millennium BC, says Dr Howard. “His broad expertise uniquely positions him to assess not only the evidence bearing on the Exodus, but also other Egypt-related Bible issues. I am excited that he has extended his rigorous blend of archaeology and text to the study of the Judahites’ return to Egypt in Jeremiah. I have no doubt James’ paper will be illuminating.”
Prof Hoffmeier’s lecture will be online, free to attend and open to anyone, regardless of academic background or experience.
Register below for your place at the Study Groups or the Tyndale Lectures
If you have questions about the Biblical Archaeology programme, please contact Prof Alan Millard (Chair) at amillard@liv.ac.uk or Dr Caleb Howard (Co-chair) at caleb.howard@tyndalehouse.com.