1. The New TESTAMENT --Sitz Em LEben
(WCH) REL226:
The New Testament

2. Learning Objectives
Build familiarity with the Historical-Critical Method
Explore Archaeological Field Sites
Imagine the texts in their “setting in life.”

3. A LOOK AT THE KNOWN & UNKNOWN
Discovery
A LOOK AT THE KNOWN & UNKNOWN

4. A
Thought
Experiment

5. RECollecTIONs
WHAT CAN ARCHAEOLOGY TELL US?
WHAT CAN’T ARCHAEOLOGY TELL US?

6. Archaeology & The New Testament
GOOD FOR…
LESS GOOD FOR…
Learning about the World(views) of the Earliest Christians
Understanding Their Descriptions & Prescriptions
Defending their Moral Judgments & Faith Statements
Historical Instant Replay of Biblical Events

7. ARTIFACT WORLD TEXT Pottery Inscriptions Remains Dates Places Concerns
Arguments
Desires
Drama
TEXT
Reading IN SITU
THE HISTORICAL-CRITICAL METHOD

8. The Aramaean Capital city of Geshur.
Area A, Locus 1528, Chamber 4
BALK
STRATA
Mid-10th c. BCE
The Aramaean Capital city of Geshur.
Et-Tell [Bethsaida], 2003
METER STICK
Image: Rami Arav, Bethsaida Report on the Season of 2003, The Bible and Interpretation, May 2004.

9. Analyzing A Section
BALK
STRATA
p. 18, Reed
METER STICK

10. THE NEW TESTAMENT: Between TEXT & ARTIFACT
SITZ IM LEBEN
German: Setting in Life

11. “The House of the Fisherman/The Hunt”
READ THE FIFTH GOSPEL
Bethsaida
“The House of the Fisherman/The Hunt”
Find Map 13, C-2
Reed, 19-20
Go to Bethsaida on Canvas
Read Luke 9:1-6, 10-17
What do you learn about the Early Roman Period through this Artifact, World, & Text?

13. DIGGING DEEPER
WHAT SENSE CAN WE MAKE OF THE TIMELINE?
WHAT SENSE CAN WE MAKE OF THE GEOGRAPHY?