The Bible, like other great sources of religious literature, is a direct reflection of the cultures that produced it. As such, it contains a wealth of cultural data about these societies, and more specifically, data about their interaction with God. Anthropology can shed much light on the cultural history of the Bible by using the text as an ethnographic resource. By using the tools of anthropology, a scholar can extract from the pages of the Bible information that allows, to some extent, the reconstruction of certain socio-cultural elements.
So what is biblical anthropology and how is it used? These questions are best answered by taking a closer look at the application of the subdisciplines of anthropology to biblical questions. Therefore, the field itself is (or should be) a consequence of these methodologies. Anthropology is made up of four specialized fields: cultural anthropology, linguistics, archeology, and physical anthropology.
Cultural anthropology, or ethnology, is the study of human culture. All aspects of human social behavior, such as politics, kinship, religion, economics, gender, art, ethnicity, and identity, are central to the field. It doesn’t take long to realize how valuable this approach can be to the study of the biblical world. Normally, the anthropologist has the luxury of interviewing subjects, but scholars can use the text in the same way that an anthropologist would a transcript. Scholars such as Moses Finlay and W. Warde Fowler have already shown to a great extent how valuable anthropologically the Homeric and Roman literatures, respectively, can be. The Bible has come just as substantial in rebuilding culture. Consider the wealth of data on social laws and taboos contained in the Torah, and what they say about the Hebrews during the patriarchal period (c. 2000-1500 BCE).
Linguistics can be combined with the ethnological study of the Bible, and often is. In fact, some prior knowledge of a Biblical language or languages is often necessary to do valid work. In particular, ethnolinguistics and historical linguistics, concerned with identity and change respectively, are particularly useful for discerning important cultural artifacts. Languages that help the biblical anthropologist include Semitic languages such as ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac, Akkadian, Phoenician, Moabite, Edomite, Egyptian, and other related languages. For the interbiblical period, New Testament times, and early Christianity, a familiarity with Greek and Latin is also necessary. The rationale for language dominance is that language is the medium of culture, it is the vehicle that transports culture (since culture itself is abstract). As a secondary consideration of the linguistic study of the Bible, historical analysis and all its pertinent methodologies is a natural epiphenomenon of linguistic biblical anthropology, as the scholar works with texts from and related to the Bible, which are translated into ancient languages.
Archeology is undoubtedly the most popular aspect of Biblical anthropology. Through a myriad of media, magazines, and scholarly journals, the public is kept abreast of discoveries of the material remains of the biblical world. It certainly has a romanticism of its own, though the realities of fieldwork can (and often are) quite different from stories about shovel-wielding adventurous treasure hunters. Archeology and cultural anthropology have the same goals in the end: the reconstruction of cultural histories from relevant data. Biblical archaeology, of course, is concerned with the recovery of material remains from ancient sites of Biblical significance. These sites are in Israel and other lands associated with the Biblical narrative, such as Mesopotamia (Iraq), Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Greece, Italy, and other places in the Mediterranean basin (particularly in relation to early Christianity). ) . Temples, churches, dwellings, palaces, and other features are home to all kinds of artifacts that, when discovered and analyzed through the processes of archaeology, can provide considerable insight into ancient behavior and institutions.
Finally, physical anthropology is beneficial to the study of the Bible. Physical anthropology deals with the biological history and composition of humanity. In the context of Biblical studies, it is often done in conjunction with archaeology, under whose auspices the remains are likely to be found. This subfield can be useful in determining things like the health of populations, life expectancy, diet, and lifestyle.
Biblical anthropology is ultimately concerned with humanity’s relationship with God and how that relationship affected culture. It is varied, broad and interdisciplinary in its approach, and specific in its orientation. By looking at the Bible through the lens of anthropology, one can gain a greater appreciation of their cultures and the nuances of lifestyles. While I have repeatedly emphasized the need for certain scholastic tools in anthropological analysis of the biblical world, I in no way wish to dissuade the layperson from their study of biblical anthropology. Many peripheral texts exist in translation, making the study of Biblical cultures possible. In addition, there are countless study aids, commentaries, and reports to supplement your textual studies. By better understanding the societies of the biblical world, we have a firmer understanding of the Bible itself. This, I think, is good for both the scholar and the layman.
