Article Title

The Debate over Biblical Archaeology

Authors

John Tvedtnes

Keywords

Biblical studies, Israel archaeological discoveries, Biblical archaeology, minimalists, maximalists, house of David

Abstract

There are two major camps among archaeologists studying biblical lands. The so-called "minimalists" tend to accept only a bare minimum of information from the Bible as historical fact, while the "maximalists," believe that much of it (although not all) is real history. The latter point to archaeological evidence such as the recently discovered eighth-century B.C. inscription mentioning "the house of David." The minimalists dismiss this and a number of other finds inscribed with biblical names as forgeries planted for archaeologists to discover.

Recommended Citation

Tvedtnes, John (1997) "The Debate over Biblical Archaeology," Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship: Vol. 17: No. 5, Article 7.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/insights/vol17/iss5/7