Every new archaeological discovery in the Middle East bears further witness to the stature of ‘one of the most remarkable Old Testament scholars of modern times, ‘ as Hurman Gunkel is characterized by W.F. Albright in the introduction to this book. Relying on a highly developed sense of religious and aesthetic values, and a broad knowledge of literary forms, Gunkel found in the Patriarchal legends accurate memories of past happenings.
Gunkel recognized the influence of Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Canaanite elements and their transformation and integration into Hebrew thinking. He stood up against Wellhausen’s widely influential treatment of Genesis as a collection of primitive, unhistorical myths. He prepared the way for contributions from cultural anthropology to the understanding of the Biblical period.’ The parallels between the life of Genesis and the activities mentioned in contemporary extra-biblical sources are very far-reaching indeed, ‘ Albright declares, as he reminds us that ‘Abraham turns out to have been a caravan leader, and the very name ‘Hebrew’ refers to donkey caravaneering.’
About the author
William Foxwell Albright (1891-1971) was the dean of Twentieth-century Biblical Archaeologists. Albright published extensively, more than 800 books, pamphlets, and articles. He came to the public’s attention primarily as an authenticator. In 1948, he confirmed the authenticity of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were a thousand years older than any previously known Hebrew texts.Born in Chile to Methodist missionaries, Albright came to Johns Hopkins as a student in 1913 to work under Paul Haupt. He earned his Ph.D. and set to work in a career that would eventually encompass Semitic philology, archaeology, and ancient languages. After a decade of work in Jerusalem, Albright returned to Hopkins in 1929 and taught there for nearly 30 years.
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