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The Relationship of Archaeology to the Bible

Leading students of the great William F. Albright reminisced, assessed, analyzed and explained during a full day of lectures and discussions entitled “Homage to Albright,” held on October 21, 1984, in Rockville, Maryland, under the auspices of the American Friends of the Israel Exploration Society.

It was a dazzling display of erudition, interspersed with moments of warmth and charm.

The participants included Frank M. Cross, Hancock Professor of Hebrew and Other Oriental Languages at Harvard University; Samuel Iwry, Professor of Near Eastern Studies at Johns Hopkins University; Gus Van Beek, Curator of Old World Archaeology at the Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution; David Noel Freedman, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Biblical Studies at the University of Michigan; and Delbert Hillers, W. W. Spence Professor of Semitic Languages at Johns Hopkins University. All were students of Albright at the Johns Hopkins University.

Of special interest to BAR readers were some remarks by Professor Freedman on the relationship of archaeology to the Bible: