Keywords

Tel-Megiddo, Solomonic gates, Mazar's Modified Chronology, Finkelstein's Low Chronology, Tel-Hazor, Omride dynasty

Abstract

In the polarized, post-enlightenment world of biblical studies, there is a need for measured approaches to scholarly debate which hold ample room for all possible realities. The timeline of the "Solomonic" gates at Tel-Megiddo has been debated for years, with Yiguel Yadin's conventional foundation coming into conflict with newer, more critical approaches such as Isreal Finkelstein's "Low Chronology". In this paper, it will be argued that in the polarized wreckage, Amihai Mazar and his "Modified Conventional Chronology" preserve the necessary lack of conclusion that current ambiguities call for. His work demonstrates that many explicit conclusions which polarize the debate are hypotheses at best, and should be approached with caution.