SUMRIO TABLE OF CONTENTS Captulos Chapters I. ARQUEOLOGIA BBLICA (PERSPECTIVA HISTRICA) ....................................... 1 BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY (HISTORICAL OVERVIEW) .........................................

7 por Ruben Aguilar, Ph.D. II. CONTRIBUIES ADVENTISTAS DO STIMO DIA PARA A ARQUEOLOGIA BBLICA (PERSPECTIVA HISTRICA) ................................. 13 SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CONTRIBUTION FOR BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY (HISTORICAL OVERVIEW) ..................................................... 19 por Lloyd A. Willis, Ph.D. III. EXPERINCIAS PESSOAIS NO CAMPO ARQUEOLGICO (TESTEMUNHO PESSOAL) .... .......................................................................... 25 LIFE EXPERIENCES IN FIELD ARCHEOLOGY (PERSONAL TESTIMONY) ..................................................................................................... 35 por Paulo F. Bork, Ph.D. IV. MUSEU DE ARQUEOLOGIA BBLICA PAULO BORK: BREVE HISTRICO ........................................................................................................ 44 PAULO BORK ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM: A BRIEF HISTORY .................... 47 por Alberto R. Timm, Ph.D. V. COLEO DO MUSEU DE ARQUEOLOGIA BBLICA PAULO BORK (FOTOS E LEGENDAS) ..................................................................................... 50 PAUL BORK ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM COLLECTION (PHOTOGRAPHS AND CAPTIONS) ................................................................. 63 por Rodrigo P. Silva, Th.D. VII. A ARQUEOLOGIA E O EVANGELHO DE JOO: COMO RESTOS DO PASSADO PODEM AJUDAR A INTERPRETAO DA BBLIA NO PRESENTE ............................................................................. 75 ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE GOSPEL OF JOHN: HOW ANCIENT REMAINS CAN HELP MODERN INTERPRETATION OF THE BIBLE ................................................................................................. 88 por Wilson Paroschi, Ph.D.

Apndice Appendix
PAULO F. BORK (1924): RESUMO BIOGRFICO ......................................................... 100

CAPTULO I O DESENVOLVIMENTO DO ESTUDO DA ARQUEOLOGIA BBLICA por Ruben Aguilar natural no ser humano o desejo de conhecer a sua origem e o passado dos seus ancestrais. Para satisfazer esse desejo, as pessoas procuram preservar objetos dos seus antepassados, pesquisar sobre usos e costumes dos tempos anteriores, visitar lugares que foram cenrios de eventos importantes, remover escombros procura de vestgios de outras civilizaes, e outras atividades similares. Essa prtica deu origem cincia chamada Arqueologia. A composio etimolgica da palavra Arqueologia formada por dois vocbulos gregos: archaios: antigo e logos: estudo; isso permite defini-la como a cincia que estuda os vestgios e a interpretao histrica de civilizaes passadas. Esse estudo inclui a prtica de preservar todo objeto que fornece informaes do passado. Considerando a Arqueologia como uma prtica, verificamos que essa atividade j era desempenhada por governantes assrios e babilnios, alguns dos quais construram museus e bibliotecas onde preservaram esttuas, figuras votivas, documentos escritos em pedras ou argila e outros artefatos. O Despertar da Arqueologia Bblica Na poca do imperador romano Constantino (312-336 d.C.) surge o interesse por parte dos cristos, de conhecer os lugares sagrados localizados na Palestina, mediante peregrinaes de fiis. Dessa maneira comea o estudo que mais tarde denominou-se Arqueologia Bblica, ou seja, o estudo dos vestgios de povos e civilizaes antigas, cujos eventos histricos guardam relao com o registro bblico. Aqui cabe mencionar que os povos antigos, cujos nomes esto registrados na Bblia, tiveram algum tipo de relacionamento histrico ou social com o povo de Israel, o qual no texto sagrado considerado como povo de Deus. vasto o nmero de povos estrangeiros que tiveram contato de amizade ou de conflito blico com Israel, estabelecido geograficamente na regio da Palestina; mas as naes que mais sobressaram so: o Egito, no norte da frica; a Sria, ao norte da Palestina; Assria, na parte norte entre os rios Tigre e Eufrates, regio denominada Mesopotmia; a Babilnia que ocupava o sul da Mesopotmia; a Prsia, localizada alm do rio Tigre; a sia Menor, atualmente ocupada pela Turquia e a Grcia, no sul da Europa. Os peregrinos que desde a poca do imperador Constantino visitavam a Palestina o faziam sem ter um registro preciso dos lugares a serem visitados, nem contar com uma base de pesquisa histrica; mas, estimulados pela devoo e guiados pela superstio, afirmavam ter descoberto vestgios do passado do povo de Israel e de lugares relativos ao ministrio de Jesus que raramente eram confirmados. Um trabalho srio elaborado naquela poca foi o efetuado por Eusbio de Cesrea, que escreveu uma obra intitulada Onomasticon, na qual descreve pouco mais de mil lugares 1

considerados sagrados, dos quais uma boa parte j foi confirmada em escavaes efetuadas por arquelogos modernos. As peregrinaes de cristos sofreram severa interrupo quando a Palestina foi invadida pelas foras islmicas a partir do movimento religioso propiciado pelos seguidores de Maom. A ocupao islmica no somente determinou a diminuio do fluxo de peregrinos, mas tambm causou terror e destruio como as provocadas pelo califa Abu Ali Al Manzur (996-1020 d.C.), que mandou queimar a Igreja da Ressurreio e destruir o Santo Sepulcro e outros monumentos do cristianismo. Essa onda destruidora foi detida com a interveno dos exrcitos libertadores patrocinados pelo papado e denominados de Cruzadas. Depois de vrias derrotas sofridas pelos cruzados, firmou-se a paz entre o comandante da terceira expedio, o rei da Inglaterra Ricardo Corao de Leo e o sulto do Egito Saladino. Por esse acordo, permitia-se a visita aos lugares sagrados da Palestina a todo cristo que assim o desejasse. A permisso obtida possibilitou que nos anos seguintes aparecessem peregrinos com srias intenes de realizar estudos de pesquisa arqueolgica. Deve-se mencionar, por exemplo, o nome de Ciriaco de Pizzicolli (sculo XIV), um comerciante italiano interessado em moedas e objetos de arte, realizou cpias de documentos antigos, criando um mtodo sistemtico para classificar seus achados. No sculo XVI destaca-se Johann Zuallart, que realizou muitos desenhos das runas das cidades antigas ressaltando, conforme seu interesse, os diferentes estilos arquitetnicos. Outro pesquisador que deu sua contribuio ao estudo dos vestgios arqueolgicos foi o italiano Pietro della Valle, que aps visitar e observar lugares das civilizaes passadas, principalmente na Mesopotmia, publicou um relatrio das suas viagens na obra Viaggio de Pietro della Valle, il Pellegrino, editado em 1650. Na primeira metade do sculo XVIII, aconteceu um dos primeiros achados resultante de um trabalho que poderia ser chamado de escavao arqueolgica. Na regio de Npoles, perto da rea onde se ergue o imponente vulco Vesvio, acidentalmente haviam sido encontradas algumas estatuetas e imagens antigas que despertaram o interesse da rainha Maria Cristina, esposa do rei Carlos de Bourbon. A rainha solicitou que se fizessem trabalhos naquele lugar, procura de mais peas antigas. O resultado foi que aps efetuar escavaes, descobriu-se um corredor subterrneo no qual estava uma inscrio: Theatrum Herculanense. Era dezembro de 1738, quando as runas da antiga cidade de Herculano foram encontradas e, dez anos mais tarde, de Pompia, duas cidades romanas que haviam sido sepultadas pelas lavas do Vesvio, na erupo de 79 d.C. Vrios personagens com tendncias literrias propuseram-se a descrever os achados das runas daquelas cidades, mas sem a qualidade cientfica de que seria necessria. Em 1762, Johann J. Winckelmann, um poliglota por natureza, publicou a primeira obra descritiva Sobre as Descobertas de Herculano, complementada dois anos mais tarde. Mas sua obra prima foi a Histria da Arte da Antigidade, um relato sem precedentes da evoluo das caractersticas dos monumentos antigos. 2

 Revelado o Mistrio das Escritas Antigas No final do sculo XVIII, oficiais e soldados franceses do exrcito de Napoleo, que na ocasio invadiram o Egito, ficaram deslumbrados ao contemplar as imponentes pirmides de Saqqara, perto do Cairo; logo descobriram vrios monumentos e colunas de palcios e templos que venceram o tempo. Encontraram tambm relquias culturais do passado remoto dessa terra, sendo que esse acervo compreendia vrias esttuas, sarcfagos, fragmentos de cermica, documentos escritos; mas o que ressaltava era uma estela, pedra de formato triangular e faces lisas, com trs tipos de escrita: hieroglfico, demtico e grego. Esse objeto arqueolgico recebeu o nome de Pedra de Roseta. Em 1801, aps a capitulao do exrcito francs diante dos ingleses do general Nelson, esse valioso conjunto de peas foi entregue aos vencedores e conduzido Inglaterra, sendo seu destino final o Museu de Londres. Vrias cpias do contedo da Pedra de Roseta foram espalhadas pelos museus e bibliotecas da Europa. Uma dessas cpias foi utilizada por um jovem francs, Jean Franois Champollion (1790-1832), revolucionrio por convico, mas, erudito em lnguas antigas por vocao. O esprito genial de Champollion permitiu-lhe descobrir um mtodo de dar valor fontico e grfico aos sinais hieroglficos e dessa maneira poder interpretar a escrita sagrada do antigo Egito. Quase simultaneamente ao trabalho realizado por Champollion, outra escrita antiga era decifrada e sua interpretao era dada a conhecer. A escrita era o cuneiforme, chamada assim porque seus sinais so representados com traos semelhantes a cunhas. Quem criou um mtodo para interpretar essa escrita foi um jovem professor de escola, em Gttingen, chamado Georg Friedrich Grotefend (17751853). Grotefend trabalhou sobre cpias de textos cuneiformes de Perspolis e, baseado nos conhecimentos adquiridos na sua formao como professor, conseguiu diferenciar o cuneiforme persa do babilnico. Outro aporte ao conhecimento da escrita cuneiforme foi a de Henry Rawlinson (1810-1895), que passou grande parte da sua vida copiando, transcrevendo e traduzindo documentos antigos, mas o que o tornou famoso foi a interpretao do texto encontrado na rocha de Behistun, no territrio da Prsia. No fcil imaginar os alcances que a interpretao das escritas hieroglfica e cuneiforme vem outorgando ao conhecimento da Arqueologia. Sendo possvel ler documentos antigos, pode-se conhecer a organizao social, a economia, processos de transferncia de bens, formas de governo, costumes, leis sociais, ritos religiosos, crenas etc., dos povos do passado cuja histria compartilhada com a histria de Israel, e dessa maneira ter maior esclarecimento sobre os temas bblicos. Descobrindo Cidades nas Terras Bblicas O sculo XIX foi um perodo frtil para o conhecimento da Arqueologia Bblica, porque o interesse de pesquisadores e a contribuio financeira de instituies acadmicas fizeram com que fosse possvel desenterrar cidades antigas sepultadas debaixo de densas camadas de areia, recuperar monumentos, imagens sagradas, vestgios de palcios, documentos epigrficos e outros que estavam sumidos 3

aguardando o tempo do seu afloramento. Fazer uma lista desses achados tarefa difcil porque sempre ser incompleta ou simplesmente omissa, dependendo dos critrios que se adotem. Mas, apesar dessa deficincia, preciso mencionar alguns descobrimentos para se ter uma idia do avano e utilidade dos estudos da Arqueologia Bblica. Em 1811, Claudius James Rich visitou as runas da antiga Babilnia e ali realizou escavaes que lhe permitiram desenterrar vrios tabletes de argila com escrita cuneiforme, pedras com inscries e outros artefatos. Seus achados foram relatados no seu livro Memrias sobre as Runas da Babilnia. Essa obra estimulou outros pesquisadores a realizar escavaes no territrio das antigas civilizaes. O relato de C. Rich fazia meno a duas colinas localizadas na margem esquerda do rio Tigre, cujos nomes, segundo habitantes do lugar, eram Kuyunjik e Nebi-Yunus, esta ltima, relacionada, pelos nativos, com a pessoa do profeta Jonas. Em 1842, o mdico francs Paul Emile Botta, agente consular em Mosul, iniciou escavaes na colina Kuyunjik onde presumivelmente estariam as runas de Nnive, antiga capital assria. Como seus primeiros esforos no foram bem sucedidos, ele mudou seu projeto de escavaes para Dur Sharrukin, localizado 15 km mais ao norte, onde encontrou vestgios da antiga Khorsabad. Ali desenterrou as runas do palcio de Sargo II, importante rei assrio. Em 1845, Austen Henry Layard continuou as escavaes onde Botta havia abandonado e em pouco tempo achou indcios da cidade de Nnive. Pouco tempo depois, identificou as runas do palcio de Ashurbanipal II e muitos tesouros que logo foram transportados para o Museu Britnico. Em 1851, Hormuzd Rasham, assistente de Layard descobriu a biblioteca de Ashurbanipal, contendo milhares de tabletes com escrita cuneiforme cujos contedos so de valor incalculvel para o estudo da Arqueologia Bblica, entre os quais, os relatos da criao e o dilvio na viso mesopotmica. A partir dessa poca, muitos stios arqueolgicos foram estabelecidos permitindo o re-descobrimento de cidades antigas soterradas debaixo dos estratos de areia. Na regio da Mesopotmia: Nippur, Nimrode, Ur, Acade, Mari, Nuzi, Ashur, Eridu, etc. Na regio da Sria: a antiga cidade de Ugarite, na atual colina de Ras Shamra, onde foram encontrados milhares de tabletes com escrita de caracteres cuneiformes, mas, de significado parecido ao hebraico bblico; tambm foram descobertas as runas de Biblos, Tiro e Sidon; e recentemente as runas do antigo imprio de Ebla, na colina de Tell Mardique, cujo florescimento ocorreu no perodo patriarcal. Na regio da Palestina, embora muitas runas estivessem semidescobertas, no deixaram de ser objeto de escavaes e pesquisa, como: Jeric na colina Tell el Sultan; Ai, debaixo de Et Tel; Debir, em Tell beit Mirsim; os colossais monumentos de Beth Shan; D, em Tell el-Qadi; Gibeon, em Tell el Jib; Hazor, na colina Tell el Qedah, na regio norte da Galilia; Laquis, em Tell el Duweir; e muitos outros lugares do passado bblico. Registros Arqueolgicos de Eventos Bblicos As escavaes arqueolgicas realizadas nesse perodo, alm de possibilitarem o descobrimento das runas de cidades relacionadas com a histria 4

bblica, favoreceram tambm o achado de documentos que auxiliam na confirmao da veracidade dos relatos da Bblia. J fizemos meno aos tabletes encontrados na biblioteca de Ashurbanipal, em Nnive, entre os quais encontram-se relatos comparveis aos encontrados no livro do Gnesis. Outros documentos importantes so: as cartas de Tell el-Amarna que evidenciam a invaso das foras israelitas a Cana; a inscrio do fara Sisaque, relatando sua invaso a Palestina na poca do rei Roboo; os papiros de Elefantina, que permitem uma compreenso melhor do aramaico; a pintura encontrada em Beni Hasan, mostrando um semita de nome Ibsha, do perodo patriarcal, visitando o Egito; a lista de reis sumerianos escrita num prisma de pedra, incluindo os nomes de governantes pr e ps-diluvianos; o prisma Taylor, que contm os anais de Senaqueribe, no qual se verifica a invaso sobre Jerusalm na poca do rei Ezequias; o famoso Cdigo de Hamurabi, rei do antigo imprio Babilnico, com leis semelhantes s prescritas por Moiss; os tabletes de Mari e Nuzi, que relatam costumes e tradies semelhantes aos praticados pelos patriarcas hebreus; o obelisco de Shalmanassar III, no qual aparecem em baixo relevo as figuras de reis conquistados entre os quais est Je, rei de Israel; a pedra Moabita, que d maior contribuio ao perodo do rei Onri de Israel; o Cilindro de Ciro, que d pormenores sobre a destruio da Babilnia e decreto de retorno dos cativos judeus a Jerusalm. Com essa gama de documentos e vestgios das naes antigas, que se relacionaram de alguma maneira com Israel, a confirmao da veracidade Bblica se faz mais patente e ao mesmo tempo se fortalece a f nas Escrituras Sagradas. A descrio e interpretao dos achados, no entanto, requerem um processo metodolgico e diversas tcnicas que possibilitem uma melhor compreenso e anlise. Esses mtodos e tcnicas de pesquisa usados na arqueologia surgiram paulatinamente no transcurso dos estudos e escavaes efetuados por vrios pesquisadores vocacionados. Mtodos que Auxiliam o Estudo da Arqueologia Bblica As primeiras escavaes arqueolgicas foram realizadas mediante procedimentos pouco convencionais, utilizando mais a perspiccia do pesquisador e as sugestes dos seus assistentes e voluntrios que trabalhavam nessa tarefa. Entre esses mtodos podemos assinalar a perfurao de tneis, escavao de trincheiras e perfurao de corredores verticais. O sistema de perfurao de tneis foi uma tcnica praticada nas primeiras escavaes e, na atualidade, abandonada totalmente. Esse mtodo favorecia a extrao de objetos do interior de uma colina, da mesma forma como se extrai o rico mineral das profundezas de uma mina, porm, impedia o estudo da relao dos vestgios da cidade descoberta com o meio ambiente. Dessa maneira no podia ser efetuada a reconstituio das caractersticas da cultura ou civilizao representada nesses vestgios. O mtodo de escavao de trincheiras ainda utilizado em alguns stios arqueolgicos, dependendo das condies do lugar e das vantagens que esse mtodo oferece. A tcnica de perfurao de corredores verticais tambm est em desuso. Esse procedimento ajudava a preservar as caractersticas originais da colina e era til na recuperao de artefatos que estavam soterrados no seu interior. Mas, as vantagens 5

oferecidas pela utilizao dessa tcnica eram limitadas e assim foi necessrio idealizar outro mtodo de escavao. Uma tcnica que diminui as deficincias que os primeiros mtodos apresentam e oferece algumas vantagens para anlise e interpretao das caractersticas culturais de um stio o mtodo estratigrfico. Essa tcnica consiste na separao das camadas que conformam a estrutura de um stio arqueolgico permitindo dessa maneira a observao e anlise dos vestgios encontrados em cada nvel de ocupao. No entanto, ocorre uma deficincia no uso dessa tcnica, pois ao remover totalmente uma camada, no poder ser reconstituda para novo estudo. A soluo proposta para eliminar essa deficincia o uso do mtodo estratigrfico modificado, que consiste em remover parcialmente os estratos de uma colina, seguindo uma orientao vertical. Essa remoo semelhante ao corte de uma fatia de bolo, mas cuidando de manter os nveis de ocupao. Efetuando a separao de camadas dessa maneira, os nveis de ocupao so preservados em formas de degraus de uma escada lavrada na colina, permitindo a observao dos vestgios que caracterizam uma determinada civilizao. Outros recursos tcnicos tambm so utilizados e, para isso, o arquelogo precisa da assistncia de especialistas em diversas reas, de tal maneira a dar sua contribuio na descrio geolgica das camadas, na anlise das caractersticas arquitetnicas das runas, sistematizao dos restos de cermica, datao de objetos antigos por meio de mtodos de radiometria, anlise da composio qumica de materiais no comuns encontrados entre as runas e, principalmente, na documentao fotogrfica de cada parte do stio arqueolgico. Mas, para o pesquisador dedicado ao estudo da arqueologia bblica, o maior recurso que auxilia e d orientaes precisas para a interpretao das runas de civilizaes passadas a Bblia Sagrada. Durante dcadas tem sido a nica orientao para encontrar os vestgios das cidades antigas e a nica revelao dos costumes, tradies, leis e epopias do passado. O estudo da arqueologia bblica como desvendar a cortina que cobre o maravilhoso cenrio onde ocorreram os eventos da histria do povo de Deus. Entre nesse cenrio e faa parte dos eventos dessa histria.

CHAPTER I DEVELOPMENT OF THE STUDY OF THE BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY by Ruben Aguilar It is natural in the human being the desire to know its origin and the past of their ancestral ones. To satisfy that desire, the people try to preserve their ancestors' objects, to research on uses and habits of the previous times, to visit places that were scenery of important events, to remove debris in order to search of tracks of other civilizations, and other similar activities. That practice created the science of the Archeology. The etymological composition of the word Archeology is formed by two Greek words: archaios: "old" and logo: "study"; it allows defining it as the "science that studies the tracks and the historical interpretation of last civilizations". That study includes the practice of preserving every object that supplies information of the past. Considering the Archeology as a practice, we verified that activity was already carried out by Assyrian and Babylonians rulers, some of them built museums and libraries where preserved statues, votives figures, documents written in stones or clay and other workmanships. The Awakening of the Biblical Archeology At that time of the Roman emperor Constantine (312-336 A.D.) the interest appears on the part of the Christians, of knowing the located sacred places in Palestine, by pilgrimages of faithful men. In that way it begins the study that later was called: "Biblical Archeology", in other words, the study of the tracks of people and old civilizations, whose historical events keep relationship with the biblical registration. Here, is necessary to mention that the old people, whose names are registered in the Bible, had some type of historical or social relationship with the people of Israel, which are considered as "people of God" in the sacred text. Is vast the number of foreign people that they had contact of friendship or of warlike conflict with Israel, established geographically in the area of Palestine; but the nations that more they stand out are: Egypt, in the north of Africa; Syria, to the north of Palestine; Assyria, in the north part among the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, area denominated as Mesopotamia; Babylon that occupied the south of Mesopotamia; Persia, located besides the river Tigris; Minor Asia, now occupied by Turkey and Greece, in the south of Europe. The pilgrims that visited Palestine from emperor Constantine's time, made it without having a necessary registration text of the places to be visited, nor to count with a base of historical research; but, stimulated by the devotion and guided by the superstition, they affirmed to have discovered tracks of the past of the people of Israel and of relative places to Jesus' ministry that they were rarely confirmed. A serious work elaborated in that time, it was made by Eusebius of Caesarea, who wrote a work titled Onomasticon, where it describes little more than a thousand places considered sacred, 7

of which a good one leaves it was already confirmed in excavations made by modern archeologists. The pilgrimages of Christians suffered severe interruption when Palestine was invaded by the Islamic forces starting from the religious movement propitiated by the followers of Mohammed. The Islamic occupation not only it determined the decrease of the pilgrims' flow, but it also caused terror and destruction as provoked them by caliph Abu Al Manzur (996-1020 A.D.), who ordered to burn the Church of the Ressurrection and to destroy Sacred Sepulchre and other monuments of the Christianity. That destructive wave was stopped with the intervention of the armies liberators sponsored by the papacy and denominated of "Crusades". After several defeats suffered by the "crusaders", the peace was firmed between the commander of the third expedition, the king of England Richard Heart of Lion and Saladin's Egypt sultan. For that agreement was permitted the visit to the sacred places of Palestine to all Christians that wanted to do that. The obtained permission allowed that the following years appeared pilgrims with serious intentions of accomplishing studies of archeological research. It should be mentioned, for instance, the name of Ciriaco de Pizzicolli (XIV century), an Italian merchant interested in coins and art objects, accomplished copies of old documents, creating a systematic method to classify their discoveries. In the XVI century stands out Johann Zuallart, who accomplished many drawings of the ruins of old cities standing out, according to his interest, the different architectural styles. Another researcher that gave his contribution to the study of archeological tracks, was an Italian man Pietro della Valle, who after visiting and observing places of the last civilizations, mainly in Mesopotamia, published a report of his trips in a work titled: Viaggio of Pietro della Valle, il Pellegrino, edited in 1650. In the first half of XVIII century, one of the first discoveries was result from a work that could be called archeological excavation. In the area of Naples, close to the area where rises the imposing volcano Vesuvius, some statues and old images were found by accident, and they woke up the interest of the queen Mary Christina, married with king Charles of Bourbon. The queen requested the continuity of excavations in that place, searching for more old pieces. After making excavations, an underground corridor was discovered, in which was a registration: "Theatrum Herculanense". It was December, 1738, when it was found the ruins of Herculano's old city, and ten years later Pompeii, two Roman cities buried by the lavas of Vesuvius, in the eruption of the year 79 DC. Several peoples with literary tendencies intended to describe the discoveries of the ruins of those cities, but without the scientific quality that it would be necessary. In 1762, Johann J. Winckelmann, a polyglot by nature, published a first descriptive work "On Herculano's Discoveries, complemented two years later. But, his most important works was: "History of the Art of the Antique", a report unprecedented of the evolution of the characteristics of the old monuments. The Mystery of the Old Writings Is Revealed 8

In the century end XVIII, officials and French soldiers of Napoleon's army, that in the occasion they invaded Egypt, they were dazzled when contemplating the imposing pyramids of Saqqara, close to Cairo, soon they discovered several monuments and columns of palaces and temples that won the time. They also found cultural relics of the remote past of that earth. The collection understood several statues, sarcophaguses, ceramic fragments, written documents; but the one that emphasized was a "stele", stone of triangular format and flat faces, with three writing types: Hieroglyphic, Demotic and Greek. That archeological object, received the name of Rosetta Stone". In 1801, after the capitulation of the French army before the English of the general Nelson, that valuable group of pieces had to be given to the winners and driven to England, where their final destiny was the Museum of London. A numbers of copies of the content of the "Rosetta Stone" were dispersed for the museums and libraries of Europe. One of those copies was used by a French youth, Jean Franois Champollion (1790-1832), revolutionary for conviction but, erudite in old languages for vocation. The brilliant spirit of Champollion allowed to discover him a method of giving phonetic and graphic value to the hieroglyphic signs and of that he sorts out to interpret the sacred writing of old Egypt. Almost simultaneously to the work accomplished by Champollion, other old writing was deciphered and its interpretation was given to know. The writing was the cuneiform, called so because their signs are represented with lines similar to wedge. Who created a method to interpret that writing was a youth school teacher, in Gttingen, called Georg Friedrich Grotefend (1775-1853). Grotefend worked on copies of cuneiform texts of Persepolis and based on the acquired knowledge in his formation as teacher, got to differentiate the Persian cuneiform of the Babylonian. Another contribution to the knowledge of the writing cuneiform was Henry Rawlinson's work (1810-1895), who passed great part of his life, copying, transcribing and translating old documents, but what turned him famous it was the interpretation of the inscription found in the rock of Behistun, in the territory of Persia. It is not easy to imagine the reaches that the interpretation of the hieroglyphic writings and cuneiform is granting to the knowledge of the Archeology. Being possible to read old documents, the social organization, the economy, can be known processes of transfer of goods, government's forms, habits, social laws, religious rites, faiths, etc., of the people of the past whose history is shared with the history of Israel, and in that way to have larger explanation on the biblical themes. Discovering Cities in the Biblical Lands The century XIX went a fertile period to the knowledge of the Biblical Archeology, why the researchers' interest and the financial contribution of academic institutions made that it was possible to exhume old cities buried under dense layers of sand, to recover monuments, sacred images, tracks of palaces, epigraphic documents and others that were disappeared awaiting the time of its blooming. To do a list of those discoveries is difficult task because it will always be incomplete or simply omitted, depending on the criteria that are adopted. But, in spite of that deficiency, it is necessary 9

to mention some discoveries to have an idea of the progress and usefulness of the studies of the Biblical Archeology. In 1811, Claudius Rish visited the ruins of old Babylon and there he accomplished excavations that allowed to exhume several clay "tablets" with cuneiform inscriptions, stones with writings and other workmanships. Their discoveries were told in his book "Memoirs on the Ruins of Babylon". That work stimulated other researchers to accomplish excavations in the territory of the old civilizations. C. Rish's report made mention to two located hills in the left margin of the Tigris river, whose names according to inhabitants of the place, were Kuyunjik and Nebi-Yunus, this last one, related for the native ones, with prophet's Jonas person. In 1842, the French doctor Paul Emile Botta, consular agent in Mosul, began excavations in the hill Kuyunjik where presumably they would be the ruins of Nineveh, old Assyrian capital. As their first efforts were not well happened, it changed his project of excavations for Dur Sharrukin, located 10 miles to the north, where he found tracks of old Khorsabad. There it exhumed the ruins of the palace of Sargo II, important Assyrian king. In 1845, Austen Henry Layard, continue the excavations where Botta had abandoned and in little time digging he founded indications of the city of Nineveh. Little time later identified the ruins of the palace of Ashurbanipal II and many treasures that soon were transported to the British Museum. In 1851, Hormuzd Rasham, assistant of Layard discovered the library of Ashurbanipal containing thousands of "tablets" with written cuneiform whose contents are of incalculable value for the study of the Biblical Archeology, among the ones, the reports of the creation and the flood in the mesopotamian vision. Starting from that time many archeological ranches they were established allowing the reverse-discovery of old cities buried under the sand strata. In the area of Mesopotamia: Nippur, Nimrode, Ur of the chaldees, Acade, Mari, Nuzi, Ashur, Eridu, etc. In the area of Syria: the old city of Ugarith in the current hill of Rs Shamra, where they were found thousands of "tablets" with writing of cuneiform characters but, of similar meaning to biblical Hebrew; also the ruins of Biblos, Tyre and Sidon were discovered; and recently, the ruins of the old empire of Ebla, in Tell Mardick's hill, whose apogee happened in the patriarchal period. In the area of Palestine, although a lot of ruins were partly covered, they didn't stop being object of excavations and research, as: Jericho in the hill Tell el Sultan; Ai, under Et Tel; Debir, in Tell beit Mirsim; Beth Shan's colossal monuments; Dan, in Tell el-Qadi; Gibeon, in Tell el Jib; Hazor, in the hill Tell el Qedah, in the north area of Galilee; Laquis, in Tell el Duweir; and other many places of the biblical past. Archeological Documents of Biblical Events The archeological excavations accomplished in that period, besides making possible the discovery of the ruins of cities related with the biblical history, it also favored the discovery of documents that they aid in the confirmation of the truthfulness of the reports of the Bible. We already made mention to the "tablets" found at the library of Ashurbanipal, in Nineveh, among which are reports comparable to the found in the book of Genesis. Other important documents are: the Tell el Amarnas letters that evidence 10

the invasion of the Israeli forces to Canaan; the registration of the pharaoh Shishak, telling his invasion to Palestine at that time of king Rehoboam; the papyruses of Elephantine, that they allow better understanding of the aramaic; the painting found in Beni Hasan, showing a group of semites guided by a man named Ibsha, of the patriarchal period, visiting Egypt; the Sumerian King List written in a stone prism, including the names of rulers before and after the flood; the Taylor prism, that contains the annals of Sennacherib where the invasion is verified on Jerusalem at that time of king Hezekiah; the famous Code of Hammurabi, king of the old Babylonian empire, with prescribed similar laws them for Moses; the "tablets" of Mari and Nuzi, that tell habits and traditions similar to the practiced by the Hebrew patriarchs; the obelisk of Shalmanassar III, in low relief, where the figures of conquered kings appear, among them is Jehu king of Israel; the Moabite stone, that gives larger contribution to the king's Onri of Israel period; Ciro's Cylinder, that of the details on the destruction of Babylon and return ordinance of the Jewish prisoners to Jerusalem. With that range of documents and tracks of the old nations that they linked somehow with Israel, the confirmation of the Biblical truthfulness is made more patent and at the same time strengthens the faith in the Sacred Deeds. The description and interpretation of the discoveries, however, they request of a methodological process and of several techniques that make possible better understanding and analysis. Those methods and research techniques used in archaeology, they appeared gradually in the course of the studies and excavations made by several researchers of natural vocation to do that. Methods that Aid the Study of the Biblical Archeology The first archeological excavations were accomplished by procedures a little conventional, using more the researcher's perspicacity and their assistants' suggestions and volunteers that worked in that task. Among those methods we can mark the perforation of tunnels, excavation of trenches, and perforation of vertical corridors. The system of perforation of tunnels, was a technique practiced in the first excavations and at the present time, totally abandoned. That method favored the extraction of objects of the interior of a hill, in the same way as the rich mineral of the profundities of a mine is extracted, however, it impeded the study of the relationship of the tracks of the city discovered with the environment. In that way it could not be made the rebuilding of the characteristics of the culture or civilization acted in those tracks. The method of excavation of trenches, it is still used at some archeological ranches, depending on the conditions of the place and of the advantages that that method offers. The technique of perforation of vertical corridors is also in disuse. That procedure aided to preserve the original characteristics of the hill and it was useful in the recovery of workmanships that they were buried in its interior. But, the advantages offered by the use of that technique were limited and so, it was necessary to idealize another excavation method. A technique that the deficiencies that the first methods present decreases and offers some advantages for analysis and interpretation of the characteristics 11

cultures of a ranch, it is the stratigraphical method. That technique consists of the separation of the layers that conform the structure of an archeological ranch allowing of that sorts out the observation and analysis of the tracks found in each occupation level. However it happens a deficiency in the use of that technique, because when removing a layer totally, it cannot be reconstituted again for new study. The solution proposed to eliminate that deficiency is the use of the stratigraphical method modified that it consists of removing the strata of a hill partially, following a vertical orientation. That removal is similar to the cut of a cake slice, but taking care of maintaining the occupation levels. Making the separation of layers of that sorts things out, the occupation levels are preserved in steps shape of a stairway engraved in the hill, allowing the observation of the tracks that characterize a certain civilization. Other technical resources are also used and for this the archeologist needs the specialists' attendance in several areas, in such a way to give his contribution in the geological description of the layers, the analysis of the architectural characteristics of the ruins, systemization of the ceramic remains, dating of old objects through radiometrich methods, analysis of the chemical composition of materials no common found between the ruins and mainly the photographic documentation of each part of the archeological ranch. But, for the researcher dedicated to the study of the Biblical archeology, the largest resource that aids and gives necessary orientations for the interpretation of the ruins of last civilizations is the Sacred Bible. During decades it has been the only orientation to find the tracks of the old cities and the only revelation of the habits, traditions, laws and epic poems of the past. The study of the Biblical Archeology is as unmasking the curtain that copper the wonderful scenery where happened the events of the history of the people of God. Come in to that scenery and be part of the events of that history.

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CAPTULO II ADVENTISTAS DO STIMO DIA E A ARQUEOLOGIA por Lloyd Willis No incio do adventismo houve muitas outras preocupaes que impediram qualquer tipo de enfoque arqueologia. No entanto, j que este foi tambm um perodo dramtico no crescimento de teorias crticas questionando a inspirao e a exatido da Bblia, no surpreendente descobrir que publicaes adventistas comearam a mostrar maior interesse em artigos arqueolgicos por volta do incio do sculo 20. Tanto a anlise crtica do Pentateuco de Julius Wellhausen quanto a abordagem da Histria das Religies em relao s Escrituras de Hermann Gnkel, incluam pressuposies da teoria evolucionista de Darwin. A Arqueologia era vista como tendo algumas respostas para essas influncias, pois apoiava a idia de que a Bblia era historicamente precisa. Assim, artigos sobre arqueologia tornaram-se mais proeminentes em peridicos adventistas como a Adventist Review. Entre esses artigos arqueolgicos existiam tambm artigos ocasionais que tratavam indiretamente de temas da arqueologia, por simplesmente descrever as terras bblicas e adicionar contextos s histrias relatadas nas Escrituras. Esses primeiros artigos arqueolgicos incluam muitos que foram cedidos ou adaptados de outras fontes, pois no havia escritores adventistas com experincia nessa rea. No entanto, em 1933, W. W. Prescott, que naquela poca era sem dvida o mais qualificado para escrever sobre o assunto, publicou The Spade and the Bible: Archaeological Discoveries Support the Old Book. O caminho agora estava aberto para que outros adventistas obtivessem melhores qualificaes e contribussem ainda mais com a rea (a Prescott foi outorgado um ttulo de bacharelado e um de mestrado pelo Dartmouth College em estudos clssicos). Adventistas do Stimo Dia e o Preparo para a Arqueologia Profissional Os dois primeiros adventistas a receberem ttulos doutorais em arqueologia ou reas correlatas serviram como missionrios da igreja em outros pases. Lynn Wood (1887-1976), tambm formado em arquitetura, serviu na Austrlia e na Inglaterra antes de seus estudos na Universidade de Chicago o levarem Palestina, onde trabalhou como avaliador e desenhista em duas expedies ao Sul da regio. Edwin Thiele (1895-1992) passou 14 anos na China em trabalho editorial e de publicao antes de prosseguir com seus estudos, tambm na Universidade de Chicago. Sua tese doutoral exerceu grande influncia na rea de cronologia do Antigo Testamento. 13

Holger Lindsjo foi outro erudito com talentos similares e do mesmo perodo de Wood, mas aps alguns anos, ele deixou de ter vnculo empregatcio com a denominao. O prximo nome de destaque Siegfried Horn (1908-1993). Ele tambm teve a arqueologia como segunda carreira, aps servir como missionrio nas ndias Orientais Holandesas (hoje Indonsia). No entanto, Horn havia desenvolvido seu amor pela arqueologia e a Bblia muito antes disso, e foi diligente na busca desses interesses bblicos e profissionais durante os seis anos e meio em que esteve no internato (19401946). Aps esse perodo, fez um doutorado em Egiptologia, atuou como professor no Seminrio Teolgico Adventista, e teve perodos intensivos de estudo e viagens s terras bblicas. Ele conhecido como deo dos arquelogos adventistas, pois fez muito para inspirar e levar outros jovens a excelncia na arqueologia e estudo da Bblia. Alguns estudaram com ele, realizaram escavaes, outros foram inspirados por seus escritos e exemplo. Seria difcil estimar a influncia e as realizaes de Siegfried Horn. Ele foi diretor do Seminrio Teolgico de setembro de 1973 at sua aposentadoria em 1976. Escavou em Siqum (1960, 1962, 1964), e dirigiu as escavaes de Hesbom, na Jordnia, nas trs primeiras temporadas (1968, 1971, 1973). Ele regularmente passava tempo nas terras bblicas, e guiou trs visitas de pastores e professores ao Oriente Mdio (1957, 1959, 1966). O nmero de artigos escritos por Horn atingiu a marca de 250, e isso somente em ingls, sem contar os demais livros. O mais influente deles foi sem dvida o SDA Bible Dictionary (SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 8). Na realidade ele foi o editor da obra, mas escreveu grande parte do volume, alm de gastar um ano revisando a nova edio de 1979. Horn ainda estava envolvido ativamente em escavaes at o final de 1984 (em Tall al-Umayri) e continuou a escrever e lecionar at bem prximo de seu falecimento. Dentre os muitos ao redor do mundo que foram direta ou indiretamente inspirados por Horn esto Siegfried Schwantes e Paulo Bork, ambos brasileiros. Outro foi Daniel Dupuy, da Sua, e Amrica do Sul que teve sua f em Deus e nas Escrituras fortalecida tanto por suas apresentaes orais quanto escritas. Esses trs homens estudaram no Seminrio Teolgico Adventista. O crculo mais amplo de influncia de Horn em pases de lngua inglesa foi refletido por seus associados mais jovens que realizaram escavaes, estudaram e aprenderam com ele. Entre eles est Lawrence T. Geraty, que como sucessor de Horn, assumiu a direo das escavaes de Hesbom, e, quando o projeto se expandiu, do Projeto da Plancie de Madaba. Geraty escavou em diversos outros stios antes de Hesbom, e foi professor no Seminrio por aproximadamente 15 anos. Tanto nas escavaes quanto em sala de aula, Geraty passou adiante seu entusiasmo pela arqueologia e sua dedicao e mtodo meticuloso. Outro de seus discpulos foi William Shea, cujo amor pela pesquisa e pela publicao influenciou o mundo acadmico na rea bblica e do antigo Oriente Mdio. O manto tambm caiu sobre Oystein LaBianca, com um enfoque mais antropolgico no Projeto da Plancie de Madaba, alm de Randall Younker e David Merling, nas 14

escavaes de Tell Jalul.1 Larry Herr um arquelogo em tempo integral, pertencente ao Canadian University College. Desde 1984 ele tem sido o especialista em tipologia de cermicas do Projeto da Plancie de Madaba, e tem atuado como diretor do stio de Tall al-Umayri. Em grande parte, o crdito pelo instigante programa de escavaes e pela persistente e constante publicao dos perodos de escavaes e seus resultados, devido a sua superviso e participao, e tambm a de Lawrence T. Geraty e a equipe do Horn Archaeological Institute, da Universidade Andrews, Michigan. Douglas Clark, do Walla Walla College tem sido um hbil assistente de Herr e de muitas formas tem aliviado ele de alguns de seus compromissos. Entre os perodos de escavaes, Clark, do Walla Walla College e Herr do Canadian University College tm trabalhado na reconstituio de cermicas e em outros aspectos da publicao e pesquisa. Desde o incio, o mtodo arqueolgico utilizado em Tell Hesban e em todo o Projeto da Plancie de Madaba, tem sido de forma a lidar responsvel e completamente com cada perodo representado na colina escavada junto com seus arredores. Isso fez com que o trabalho nos nveis bblicos fosse lento, pois significava uma escavao sria e um registro de todos os nveis islmicos em Tell Hesban (e subseqentemente em outros stios), mas rapidamente se reconheceu que a eficcia desse mtodo poderia fazer desse stio um modelo de escavao para toda a Jordnia. Descobertas significativas foram feitas. Algumas vezes, um pequeno objeto impressionava os arquelogos, como o selo de Baalis descoberto em Tall al-Umayri em 1984. Este ltimo confirmou e deu evidncias contextuais, assim como proveu a forma correta do nome baalis de Jeremias 40:14. A equipe de escavao seguia pela abordagem contextual (conhecida atualmente como a nova arqueologia), pois se compunha de especialistas de diversas reas, como gelogos, botnicos, zologos e muitos outros, incluindo uma variedade de especialistas com interesses antropolgicos. LaBianca teceu os interesses antropolgicos numa complexa anlise e comparao entre os sistemas de alimentao e utilizao de recursos antigos e modernos, que formou o volume inicial da srie de 14 volumes de uma publicao detalhada sobre o trabalho em Tell Hesban. Dessa forma, todo o mtodo arqueolgico no ficou s na superfcie, mas envolveu todo o contexto, incluindo pistas dos habitantes do passado, assim como pistas dos atuais habitantes. A eficcia desse mtodo tem sido muito apreciada; o renomado arquelogo William G. Dever expressou em 1993 seu reconhecimento sobre o projeto em Tell Hesban, e mais amplamente, do Projeto da Plancie de Madaba. Ele escreveu que o projeto da plancie de Hesban-Madeba encontra-se nos padres mais elevados, provando seriedade onde outros foram frvolos; responsabilidade onde outros foram irresponsveis; perseverana onde outros desistiram (Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 290-291, maio-agosto de 1993, pp. 127-130). Principais Contribuies de Adventistas do Stimo Dia

Nota do tradutor: Utiliza-se o termo Tell (e mais recentemente Tall) quando a referncia a stios arqueolgicos com nomes rabes, e Tel para stios de nomes hebraicos.

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Os arquelogos adventistas contriburam claramente por meio de suas reas de pesquisa. Na Jordnia eles treinaram, no apenas geraes sucessivas de escavadores adventistas, mas tambm muitos dos principais arquelogos da Jordnia e membros do Departamento de Antiguidades da daquele pas. A organizao sempre foi aberta a participantes de outros pases e de outras denominaes religiosas, e isso tem sido extremamente enriquecedor. O envolvimento inter-religioso tem sido muito significativo para jovens adventistas e no adventistas. A expanso do conhecimento a respeito do contexto bblico e a experincia do contexto bblico tem sido de grande benefcio. O Projeto da Plancie de Madaba tem contribudo e muito nesse sentido, mas os jovens tambm tm feito desse projeto um trampolim para conhecer outros stios e pases vizinhos. Alm disso, os adventistas tm de tempos em tempos escavado em outros stios. Horn escavou em Siqum; Geraty, Younker e Merling em Gezer (em perodos diferentes); Herr trabalhou em vrios projetos em Israel, e um grupo de Loma Linda trabalhou em Cesaria por algumas temporadas. Outros indivduos obtiveram experincia em alguns outros lugares, e o impacto total sobre a denominao tem sido muito enriquecedora. Em lugares do mundo, como na Diviso Sul do Pacfico, os evangelistas tm utilizado tradicionalmente a arqueologia como porta de entrada. Eles apresentam descobertas para fortalecer a f nas Escrituras e depois ilustram outras palestras com um contexto mais espiritual. Ao longo dos anos, muitos evangelistas daquela Diviso tm feito viagens s terras bblicas e obtido ilustraes que utilizam nas reunies pblicas. Um evangelista, David Down, mesmo aps ter se aposentado, leva excurses ao Oriente Mdio e edita uma revista sobre arqueologia bblica. Suas palestras, assim como a de outros evangelistas, tm sido lanadas em vdeo pelo Centro de Mdia Adventista da Diviso Sul do Pacfico, o que causou um significativo impacto no preparo da igreja e como forma de alcanar o pblico em geral. A cronologia bblica sempre foi de especial interesse para os estudiosos adventistas, em razo de seu interesse pelas profecias e tambm porque eles tm um elevado conceito de inspirao das Escrituras. Entende-se que a preciso da Bblia como a Palavra de Deus extensiva a seus detalhes cronolgicos, e no surpreendente notar que os adventistas tm sido proeminentes no lanamento de bases para a compreenso da cronologia das descobertas antigas. Convicto da preciso da Bblia, Edwin Thiele props pesquisar a cronologia dos reis hebreus em sua dissertao de mestrado, mas seu professor o desencorajou. Mais tarde, ele pde mostrar que havia conseguido solucionar muitos dos problemas relacionados ao tema e trabalhou esse assunto em sua tese doutoral. Ele conseguiu demonstrar que os reis de Israel e Jud utilizaram dois esquemas diferentes para registrar as cronologias. Em Israel, assim como na antiga Babilnia, era utilizado o sistema de contagem onde o primeiro ano no completo de reinado no era computado. Mas em Jud, assim como no antigo Egito, o sistema de contagem computava o primeiro ano mesmo que fosse um perodo inferior a doze meses. Compreendendo essa diferena, e sabendo que ocorreram perodos ocasionais de co-regncia (onde o pai compartilhou o trono com seu filho antes de sua prpria morte, como no caso de Josaf e Jeoro, Acaz e Ezequias, etc.), Thiele foi capaz de resolver a maior parte dos 16

questionamentos sobre o perodo monrquico hebreu, como demonstrado na tese Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Monarchy (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1951). Incrivelmente, Siegfried Horn, do outro lado do mundo, em um campo de prisioneiros, chegou a concluses similares e at mesmo resolveu, com exceo de um, os problemas que Thiele ainda no havia solucionado. Em 1953, Horn adquiriu um tablete em Mosul que reconheceu como sendo uma lista de reis assrios. Horn foi responsvel por publicar essa lista junto com outra encontrada 20 anos antes (ver I. J. Gelb, Two Assyrian King Lists, JNES 13 (1954) 209-230). Embora os tabletes estivessem bastante danificados, os danos de cada um no eram no mesmo lugar, e assim eles se complementavam. O tablete publicado por Horn foi chamado de Lista de Reis do Seminrio ASD e essa descoberta foi de grande importncia para a compreenso dos reis assrios e sua cronologia, tornando possvel vrios sincronismos entre os reis hebreus e assrios. Esse mesmo interesse pela cronologia, tendo por base o conceito de preciso da Bblia, parece ter levado William Shea, em sua tese de doutorado, e tambm de forma mais especfica em um artigo, a esclarecer o assunto e sugerir solues para a data do xodo de Israel do Egito. O artigo foi publicado na edio revisada do International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (vol. 3, 230-238), e discutia as duas principais teorias para a data do xodo, a teoria do 15 e a teoria do 13 sculos, considerando as evidncias bblicas, egpcias e arqueolgicas. Shea era mais favorvel da teoria do 15 sculo, que tambm coincidia com a evidncia bblica de Juzes 11:26 e 1 Reis 6:1. Lynn Wood aparentemente era fascinado pela cronologia egpcia. Ele fez clculos baseados em antigas observaes astronmicas que o levaram a estabelecer o incio da 12 dinastia do Egito no ano de 1991 a.C. interessante notar que outro pesquisador, Richard A. Parker, confirmou a data de Wood, mesmo tendo descoberto dois erros de clculo em seu trabalho. Ele ficou intrigado em descobrir que um erro cancelava o outro. Essa data de 1991 a.C. ainda amplamente reconhecida como a mais antiga data fixada da histria. O livro sobre a cronologia de Esdras 7 era um pouco menos arqueolgico, e foi fruto do trabalho de Wood e Horn, com o auxlio de Julia Neuffer. As complexidades da cronologia desse perodo da histria persa a tornaram controversa. Apesar disso, sua importncia como fundamento para o clculo do incio das 70 semanas da profecia de Daniel 9 deu especial nfase no reinado de Artaxerxes I e o seu decreto do stimo ano. O resultado foi o livro The Chronology of Ezra 7 (Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1953; 2 ed. rev., 1970), que confirma a data do decreto de Artaxerxes. Em seu livro, The Spade Confirms the Book (Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1957; atual. e ampl., 1980) e no SDA Bible Dictionary (ed. rev., 1979, verbete Elephantine Papyri) Horn forneceu alguns detalhes dos papiros aramaicos de Elefantina, Egito, e a maneira pela qual eles esclareceram os sistemas de cronologia em uso no tempo de Esdras. Publicaes 17

Os vrios peridicos adventistas do stimo dia publicaram durante o sculo 20 artigos trazendo interpretaes arqueolgicas e atualizaes. As revistas Ministry e Advent Review publicaram com certa freqncia artigos e sries sobre ou envolvendo a arqueologia. Os vrios peridicos missionrios da igreja freqentemente tambm incluam artigos a fim de fortalecer a f nas Escrituras ou explicar aspectos da profecia. O Andrews University Seminary Studies publicou longos relatrios sobre as escavaes desde o incio dos trabalhos em Tell Hesban. Algo impressionante a grande quantidade de relatos detalhados das escavaes na Andrews University Press. O Instituto de Arqueologia e o Museu Arqueolgico Horn tambm publicam um peridico indexado relatando as recentes descobertas, detalhes das escavaes, fundos, e palestras. No entanto, escritores adventistas ao redor do mundo tambm publicaram muitos livros por editoras denominacionais ou particulares, e em diversas lnguas. Horn e Shea de forma acentuada, e outros como Herr, mais recentemente, tiveram seus artigos publicados em grandes peridicos da rea bblica e arqueolgica. Museus Arqueolgicos O maior museu arqueolgico da denominao o Museu Arqueolgico Horn, localizado na Universidade Andrews, Michigan. Outras instituies adventistas tm pequenos museus ou exposies, como o Seminrio de Zaoksky na Rssia, e a Southwestern Adventist University, nos Estados Unidos. O Southern Adventist University e a La Sierra University, tambm nos Estados Unidos, tm colees de objetos significativas e planos para exp-las brevemente. O Walla Walla College (Estados Unidos) e o Canadian University College, tm laboratrios para a reconstituio de cermica e outros projetos de pesquisa. importante ter objetos em exposio que sirvam como testemunhas visveis da importncia da Bblia e como um encorajamento para que os professores dem vida Bblia utilizando-se de cada meio disponvel. Talvez as mais significantes contribuies de adventistas foram por meio das publicaes e da influncia mundial de Siegfried Horn. Seus amigos e ex-alunos tambm tm feito um trabalho similar. As escavaes na Jordnia, em particular, produziram um forte impacto no conhecimento sobre o perodo bblico do incio da Idade do Bronze (perodo pr-abramico e abramico), Idade do Bronze Mdio (perodo de Jos, etc.), Idade do Bronze Tardio (provavelmente o tempo de Moiss e do xodo), a Idade do Ferro (do fim do perodo dos juzes em diante, por todo o tempo da monarquia em Israel), e o perodo persa (poca ps-exlica). Alm disso, o Projeto da Plancie de Madaba influenciou os mtodos arqueolgicos utilizados no mundo todo. Novos detalhes e respostas emergem de tempos em tempos e o trabalho sempre instigante, e com certeza, abenoado por Deus.

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CHAPTER II SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS AND ARCHAEOLOGY by Lloyd Willis In the early days of Adventism there were too many other concerns to allow much focus on archaeology. However, since this was also a period of dramatic growth of critical theories undermining the inspiration and accuracy of the Bible, it is not surprising to find that Adventist publications began showing more interest in archaeological articles by the early 20th Century. Julius Wellhausens critical analysis of the Pentateuch and Hermann Gunkels history of religions approach to Scripture both included presuppositions in Darwinian evolutionary theory. Archaeology was seen to have some answers to these influences. It supported the idea that the Bible was historically accurate, and so archaeological articles became more prominent in Adventist periodicals such as the Adventist Review. Scattered among these archaeological articles there were also occasional articles, which were indirectly archaeological, simply describing the Bible lands and adding some context to the Bible stories. These early archaeological articles included many that were borrowed or adapted from other sources, since Adventists did not have writers trained and experienced in the field. However, in 1933, W.W. Prescott, who at that time was undoubtedly the best qualified to write on the subject, published The Spade and the Bible: Archaeological Discoveries Support the Old Book. The stage was now set for other Adventists to attain better qualifications and contribute even more to the field (Prescott had been awarded a B.A. and an M.A. degree from Dartmouth College in classical studies). SDAs: Professional Training in Archaeology The first two Adventists to receive doctoral degrees in archaeology or related areas had both served the church as foreign missionaries. Lynn Wood (1887-1976), who had an architectural background, served in Australia and England before his University of Chicago studies took him to Palestine. There he served as surveyor and draftsman on two expeditions in the southern region. Edwin Thiele (1895-1992) spent 14 years in editorial and publishing work in China, before also working on his advanced studies in Chicago. His doctoral dissertation was to have wide influence in the field of Old Testament Chronology. Holger Lindsjo was another scholar of similar attainments at the same time as Wood, but after a few years he dropped from denominational employment. The next name of prominence is Siegried Horn (1908-1993). He also came to archaeology as a second career after serving as a missionary in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). However, Horn had developed a love for archaeology and biblical 19

studies much earlier and was diligent in pursuing these biblical and professional interests during six and a half years of internment (1940-1946). His internment was followed by work on a PhD in Egyptology, professorship at the SDA Theological Seminary and intensive periods of study and travel in the Bible lands. He may be referred to as the Dean of Adventist Archaeologists because he did so much to inspire and train other young men and women to excellence in archaeology and biblical studies. Some studied under him or dug with him, others were inspired by his writings and example. It would be hard to overstate the influence and accomplishments of Siegfried Horn. He was Dean of the Theological Seminary from September 1973 to his retirement in 1976. He excavated at Shechem (1960, 1962, 1964) and was director of the Heshbon (Hesban) excavations in Jordan for the first three seasons (1968, 1971, 1973). He regularly spent time in the Bible lands and led three tours of the Near East for ministers and teachers (1957, 1959, 1966). The number of articles written by Horn reached about 250 written in English alone! This was in addition to his books. The most influential book was undoubtedly the SDA Bible Dictionary (SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 8). He was the editor, but in fact he wrote about five-eighths of the volume himself and spent a year revising it for the new edition of 1979. Horn was still actively involved in excavation as late as 1984 (at Tell el-Umeiri) and continued some writing and lecturing until near the end of his fruitful life. Among many around the world who received direct or indirect inspiration from Horn were Siegfried Schwantes and Paul Bork, who were both born in Brazil. Another was Daniel Dupuy of Switzerland and South America who built up faith in God and Scripture through both oral and written presentations. All three of these men studied at the Adventist Theological Seminary. The widest circle of Horns influence in the English speaking world is reflected in his younger associates who dug with him, studied with him, and learned from him. This includes Lawrence T. Geraty, who as successor of Horn assumed direction of the Heshbon excavations and as that project expanded, the Madeba Plains Project. Geraty dug at several other sites before Heshbon, and he taught at the Seminary for about 15 years. Both in field work and at the seminary, Geraty passed on his enthusiasm for archaeology and his meticulous method and dedication. Another younger associate of Horn is William Shea whose love for research and prolific writing have impacted the entire field of biblical and Ancient Near Eastern scholarly interests. The mantle has also fallen on Oystein LaBianca with anthropological emphasis in the Madeba Plains Project and Randall Younker and David Merling digging at Tell Jalul. Larry Herr is a full time archaeologist based at Canadian University College. Since 1984 he has led out in the pottery typology for the entire Madeba Plains Project and has been the Field Director at Tell el-Umeiri (Tall al-Umayri). Credit for the exciting ongoing program of excavation and the persistent publication of the seasons of excavation and their results without long delay has been largely due to his supervision and participation, and the extensive contributions of Lawrence T. Geraty and the team of scholars at the Horn Archaeological Institute at Andrews University in Michigan. Douglas Clark at Walla Walla College has been an able assistant to Herr and in many ways has 20

relieved him of some responsibilities. Between excavating seasons Clark at Walla Walla and Herr at Canadian University College have worked on pottery reconstructions and other aspects of the publishing and research. From the very beginning the archaeological approach at Tel Hesban and throughout the Madeba Plains Project has been to deal responsibly and extensively with every period represented in the tell being excavated together with its environs. This made the approach to biblical levels slower since it meant serious excavation and recording of all of the Islamic levels at Tell Hesban (and subsequently at the other sites), but it was quickly recognized that the thoroughness of this approach could make the site a model for excavation throughout Jordan. Significant discoveries have been made. Sometimes a small treasure has almost overwhelmed the archaeologists as with the tiny Baalis Seal impression found at Tell el-Umeiri in 1984. The latter gave confirmation and contextual evidence, as well as the original spelling of the name of Baalis of Jeremiah 40:14. The excavating team reflected the broad range approach (now known as the new archaeology) since it contained experts from many disciplines such as geologists, botanists, zoologists, and many others including a variety of specialists with anthropological interests. LaBianca wove the anthropological interests into a complex analysis and comparison of ancient and modern food systems and resource utilization which formed the initial volume of the 14 volume series of detailed publication on the work at Tell Hesban. Thus the entire approach to archaeology was not superficial but involved the entire context, including clues from the ancient inhabitants as well as clues from the modern surviving inhabitants. This thoroughness has been greatly appreciated. In fact, renowned archaeologist William G. Dever gave impressive commendation of the Tell Hesban Project and the wider Madeba Plains Project in general in 1993. He wrote that the Hesban-Madeba Plains Project measures up to the very highest standards, having proven serious where others have been frivolous; responsible where others have been irresponsible; perseverant where others have given up (in Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 290-291, May-August, 1993, pp. 127-130). Major SDA Contributions Adventist archaeologists have clearly made a major contribution through their field work. In Jordan they have trained not only succeeding generations of Adventist excavators but also many of the national leaders in excavation and members of the Jordanian Department of Antiquities. The organization has always welcomed participants from other ethnic and denominational backgrounds, and this has been extremely and mutually enriching. Its ecumenical impact has therefore been significant and enrichment to Adventist and non-Adventist young people of college age and younger has also been of importance. The increase of knowledge concerning Bible backgrounds and the experience of the biblical context have been of great benefit. The Madeba Plains project has contributed the most in this way, but young people have also made that project a springboard for acquainting themselves with other sites and neighboring countries. In 21

addition Adventists have from time to time dug at other sites as well. Horn dug at Shechem; Geraty, Younker and Merling at Gezer (in different periods), Herr has worked on various projects in Israel and a group from Loma Linda worked at Caesarea for some seasons. Other individuals have also gained experience in other places, and the over-all impact on the denomination has been greatly enriching. In some parts of the world, such as the South Pacific Division, evangelists have traditionally used archaeology as an entering wedge. They have thus featured discoveries to build faith in the Scripture and at the same time have illustrated other lectures with a more contextual feel for the Bible messages. Over the years many evangelists from the division made tours of the Bible lands and acquired illustrations that they used to advantage in public meetings. One evangelist, David Down, even past retirement, takes tour groups to the Middle East and personally edits a magazine on Biblical archaeology. His lectures as well as those of some other evangelists have been issued in video format by the Adventist Media Center of the South Pacific Division and these have had a significant impact in educating the church and in reaching out to the public. Biblical chronology has always been of particular interest to Adventist scholars. This may be because of their interest in prophecy and also because of their high concept of inspiration of Scripture. The accuracy of the Bible as Gods Word was believed to extend to its chronological details, and so it is not surprising to note that Adventists have been prominent in laying the foundation for understanding and appreciating the chronological side of ancient discoveries. Under conviction of biblical accuracy, Edwin Thiele proposed working on the chronology of the Hebrew kings at Masters level, but he was deliberately discouraged by his professor. Later, he was able to show that he had already solved many of the problems involved and so worked on the project for his doctoral dissertation. He was able to demonstrate that the kings of Israel and Judah used two different schemes for recording their chronology (the accession year system in Israel, as in ancient Babylon where the first incomplete year of a king was not counted as his first year, and the nonaccession year system in Judah as in ancient Egypt where the first year was counted even though less than a calendar year). With this understanding and with the recognition of occasional coregencies (where a father shared the throne with his son before his own death, as with Jehoshaphat and Jehoram, Ahaz and Hezekiah, etc.) Thiele was able to solve most of the chronological questions of the Hebrew monarchy period, as demonstrated in his Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Monarchy (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1951). Amazingly, Siegfried Horn, on the other side of the earth, and in a prisoner of war camp, came to similar conclusions and even solved all but one of the problems still confronting Thiele. In 1953, Horn discovered a tablet in Mosul which he recognized as an Assyrian King list. He was instrumental in having the list jointly published together with another list found twenty years before (See I. J. Gelb, Two Assyrian King Lists, JNES 13(1954) 209-230). Although each tablet was badly damaged, the damage to each did not completely coincide so that they complemented each other. The tablet found by Horn was named the SDA Seminary King List and the discovery was of great 22

importance in that it enabled the understanding of the Assyrian kings and their chronology and thus made possible various synchronisms between Hebrew and Assyrian kings. This same interest in chronology based on the concept of biblical accuracy seems to have prompted William Shea in his PhD. dissertation and eventually in a more specific way in an article, to clarify the issues and suggest the solutions to the dating of the Exodus of Israel from Egypt. The article was published in the revised edition of the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (vol. 3, 230-238), and canvassed the two main theories for the exodus date, the 15th and 13th Century theories, considering the biblical, Egyptian and archaeological evidences. Shea eventually made a reasonably strong case for the 15th Century dating which also coincided with the biblical evidence of Judges 11:26 and 1 Kings 6:1. Lynn Wood was apparently fascinated with Egyptian chronology and made calculations based on ancient astronomical observations which led him to locate the beginning of the 12th Dynasty of Egypt in the year 1991 B.C. It is intriguing to note that another scholar, Richard A. Parker, confirmed Woods date, even though he discovered two errors of calculation in Woods work. He was intrigued to discover that the two errors cancelled each other out. The date 1991 is still quite widely recognized as the earliest fixed date in history. A book on the chronology of Ezra 7 was less directly archaeological. It was the work of Wood and Horn, with the assistance of Julia Neuffer. The complexities of the chronology of this period of Persian history have made it controversial. Nevertheless, its importance as the basis for the calculation of the commencement of the 70 week prophecy of Daniel 9 called for special focus on the reign of Artaxerxes I and the decree of his seventh year. The result was the book, The Chronology of Ezra 7 (Washington, DC: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1953; 2nd rev ed, 1970), which reaffirms 457 B.C. as the date for Artaxerxes decree. In his book, The Spade Confirms the Book (Washington, DC: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1957; Updated and enlarged, 1980), and in the SDA Bible Diction (rev ed, 1979, article Elephantine Papyri) Horn gave some of the details of the Elephantine Aramaic Papyri from Egypt and the manner in which they clarified the dating systems in use at the time of Ezra. Publications The various journals of the Seventh-day Adventist Church have included archaeological interpretations and updates quite frequently through the 20th Century. Ministry magazine and the Adventist Review have frequently carried articles and series about or involving Archaeology. The various missionary journals of the church have frequently included articles to bolster faith in Scripture or explain aspects of prophecy. Andrews University Seminary Studies has given lengthy reports of the excavations ever since the commencement of the work at Tell Hesban. Most impressive have been the large volumes of detailed reports of excavation from the Andrews University Press. The Institute of Archaeology Horn Archaeological Museum also publishes a Newsletter which contains news items of recent discoveries and details of excavations, funds, and 23

lectureships. However, Adventist writers around the world have also published many books both denominationally and privately and in a number of languages. Horn and Shea on a large scale, and others such as Herr more recently have been able to have their articles published in major journals of the biblical and archaeological world. Archaeological Museums The largest archaeological museum in the denomination is Horn Archaeological Museum located at Andrews University, in Michigan. A number of other Adventist institutions have smaller museums or display cabinets in class rooms. These include such institutions as Zaoksky in the Russian Federation, and Southwestern Adventist University. Southern Adventist University and La Sierra University have significant collections of objects and plans to put them on display soon. Walla Walla College and Canadian University College have workrooms or laboratories for reconstruction of pottery, and other research projects. It is regarded as important to have objects on display as a visible witness to the importance of the Bible and as an encouragement to the teachers to bring the Bible to life through every available medium. Perhaps the most significant contributions of Adventists have been through the writings and worldwide influence of Siegfried Horn. His friends and proteges are also doing a similar work. The excavations in Jordan in particular have made a strong impact on our knowledge of the biblical periods from the Early Bronze Age (pre-Abraham and Abrahamic period), Middle Bronze Age (time of Joseph, etc.), Late Bronze Age (probable time of Moses and the Exodus), Iron Age periods of the late judges and on through the monarchy periods of Israel), and the Persian period (post-exilic period). In addition, the Madeba Plains Project has influenced archaeological methods around the world. New details and answers emerge from time to time and the work is always interesting and has certainly been blessed by God.

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CAPTULO III EXPERINCIAS DE VIDA NUMA ESCAVAO ARQUEOLGICA Paulo F. Bork Durante minha infncia, meus pais incutiram em mim um grande amor pela Bblia e interesse pelos seus eventos histricos. Em 1939, quando ingressei no ginsio, no Colgio Adventista Brasileiro, o estudo das lnguas fascinou-me. Em nossa casa, falvamos portugus e alemo, e na escola aprendemos latim, ingls e francs. A professora, Albertina Simon, nos ensinou a ver a relao entre essas lnguas, o que deixou uma profunda e durvel impresso em minha mente. Mais tarde estudei grego e hebraico na Universidade Andrews e hierglifo na Universidade de Londres. Outra influncia, ainda no ginsio, que muito contribuiu para meu interesse pelos estudos histricos, foram as aulas de Geografia, dadas pela professora Ruth Oberg Guimares, e de Histria da Civilizao, pelo professor Renato Oberg. Estes talentosos professores tinham a habilidade de trazer vida a esses assuntos. E, mesmo sequer tendo ainda ouvido falar do termo arqueologia, estas influncias de minha infncia conduziram-me para este destino. maravilhoso olhar para trs e ver como Deus conduz nossas vidas! Foi apenas mais tarde, quando tive aulas sobre Histria da Bblia e Arqueologia Bblica na Universidade Andrews, que tudo comeou a se encaixar. Apaixonei-me por esta rea cientfica, na qual empenhei-me durante toda a minha vida. Mas algo que deve ser lembrado que estudar Arqueologia e trabalhar em um stio arqueolgico so duas reas completamente diferentes. A dvida que estava perante mim agora era como eu poderia algum dia tomar parte em escavaes arqueolgicas, uma experincia que me revelaria a histria da Bblia, e mais tarde tambm aos meus alunos? Ento um dia, enquanto estava lendo em um peridico sobre algumas escavaes que estavam ocorrendo no Oriente Mdio, deparei-me com um artigo do arquelogo William Dever, que estava conduzindo exploraes em Tell Gezer, Israel. O assunto fascinou-me, e eu desejei tomar parte naquela empreitada. Escrevi uma carta para o professor Dever explicando-lhe que gostaria de fazer parte da equipe no local das escavaes. Ele respondeu-me, oferecendo uma subveno do Instituto Ford e um convite para que eu me unisse a ele no stio bblico-arqueolgico em Gezer, em 1971. No fiz pergunta alguma, apenas respondi sim. A Escavao em Gezer Quando cheguei no stio em Gezer, descobri que fazia parte de uma equipe de mais de cem voluntrios e profissionais vindos de diferentes pases. Eu era o nico 25

brasileiro/americano, mas no era o nico adventista. A maior parte da equipe era de estudantes e professores universitrios. Juntamente com arquelogos profissionais, havia paleontlogos, botnicos, gelogos, zologos, entomlogos, fotgrafos, pesquisadores. Tnhamos tambm o auxlio de alguns bedunos, que viviam em tendas prximas ao local. O dia-a-dia numa escavao muitas vezes primitivo. Moramos em tendas e, apesar da simplicidade, temos fartura de alimentos. As aulas so ao ar livre, e os banheiros no so nada sofisticados. O clima geralmente muito quente, h muita poeira, e o trabalho rduo. As atividades se iniciam s cinco da manh, com uma parada para o desjejum s oito horas; depois disso, o trabalho prossegue at uma da tarde, quando o almoo servido. Aps um descanso, nos reunimos para discutir as descobertas, estudar os artefatos que possam ter sido encontrados, como lmpadas, armamentos, ossos, sementes, etc. s vezes, quando temos muita sorte, podemos encontrar um jarro com alas que contenha alguma inscrio, ou um tablete de barro, no qual um estudante possa ter praticado alguma forma de escrita no passado. Aps uma cuidadosa avaliao de todos os achados significativos, eles so registrados, catalogados e guardados para futuros estudos. noite, h palestras de especialistas e discusses em torno do assunto. O trabalho num stio arqueolgico no feito com escavadeiras, mas normalmente com ps, esptulas, e escovas e at mesmo instrumentos ortodnticos. um trabalho meticulosamente lento e feito com grande cuidado, porque uma vez destruda, a seo no pode mais ser refeita. Gezer, que um dia foi uma prspera cidade, agora um local desabitado, exceto por alguns bedunos e seus rebanhos. localizada numa colina entre Jerusalm e o Mar Mediterrneo, no muito longe da cidade de Tel Aviv, e prxima ao Vale de Saron, onde antigas caravanas costumavam viajar do Egito para os pases do norte e leste, como a Fencia, Sria, Assria e Babilnia. Gezer foi uma das cidades mais antigas da regio (Js 10:33). Permaneceu sob o domnio dos cananitas por um grande perodo depois da conquista da terra por Israel (Jz 1:29). Era uma cidade extremamente bem fortificada, com muros slidos e que desafiavam qualquer exrcito. Quando Salomo casou-se com a filha do Fara do Egito, o governante egpcio decidiu destruir a cidade e d-la como presente de casamento (1Rs 9:16 e 17). Tempos depois dessa conquista, a Bblia relata que Salomo reconstruiu, no s Gezer, como diversas outras cidades. Do ponto de vista arqueolgico, esse fato muito importante, pois nos ajuda a traar um paralelo no que se refere ao desenho arquitetnico. Por causa do seu tamanho, posio estratgica, significado histrico, e os longos perodos em que esteve sob a mo de invasores, Gezer tem sido escavada por muitos anos. R. A. S. Macallister conduziu escavaes peridicas em Gezer de 1902 a 1909. Quando trabalhei nesse stio arqueolgico, de 1971 a 1973, estvamos escavando em nveis de ocupao que datavam dos sculos 10 a 13 antes de Cristo. Outras reas escavadas da cidade sugeriam perodos de ocupao que datavam de vrios sculos antes. 26

Ao trabalhar numa escavao, voc desenvolve um grande senso de camaradagem. Os muitos adventistas que trabalharam em Gezer deram uma contribuio significativa. O diretor das escavaes do stio arqueolgico, professor Dever, tornou-se bem familiarizado conosco e com o sistema educacional adventista. Mais tarde, ele visitou a Universidade Andrews, ficando muito impressionado com a instituio e com o Museu Arqueolgico Siegfried Horn, localizado naquele campus. Por causa de seu interesse, alguns estudantes da Andrews escolheram continuar sua graduao orientados pelo professor Dever, na Universidade Estadual do Arizona. Os trabalhos em Gezer tm produzido abundantes informaes sobre os perodos cananita e israelita. Apenas para mencionar alguns exemplos: Macallister descobriu alguns aspectos referentes fortificao da cidade, seus muros, defesas e tcnicas de construo. Essas informaes ajudaram a compreender o porqu Israel hesitou em atacar esta cidade. Ele tambm escavou as fontes de gua usadas. Para uma cidade como Gezer, construda numa colina, a disponibilidade de gua sempre foi um elemento crtico para a sua sobrevivncia. Embora a populao local dependesse em grande parte de gua pluvial, a mesma era insuficiente, j que a mdia pluviomtrica de 15 ml por ano. Por essa razo, a populao de Gezer cavou fundo em busca de gua. Macallister localizou um tnel cavado na rocha que leva a um poo de aproximadamente 40 metros de profundidade abaixo da superfcie, e que era a fonte adicional de gua de Gezer. Outra significativa descoberta de Macallister o que agora chamamos de Calendrio de Gezer, uma placa de calcrio contendo informaes sobre o cultivo da terra e os perodos de plantio e colheita, que data do sculo 10 antes de Cristo, ou do tempo de Salomo. Escavaes arqueolgicas geralmente no so realizadas em todo o conjunto de uma antiga cidade. Visto que Macallister estudou uma parte da rea, 60 anos depois Dever trabalhou em outro local diferente. A no ser que a nova equipe queira encontrar informaes adicionais no antigo stio, deve ser levado em conta que uma vez a rea tendo sido escavada, ser inutilizada para o estudo com objetivos histricos, pois no poder nunca mais ser recomposta, conforme o original. Para o propsito deste estudo, descreverei apenas dois achados feitos durante a nossa expedio arqueolgica, uma cananita e uma do perodo de Salomo. Os aspectos religiosos dos cananeus so com muita freqncia citados no Antigo Testamento. Um aspecto muito importante o que se refere adorao nos lugares altos. Ao se entrar em Gezer, voc imediatamente nota um conjunto de altas pedras dispostas na vertical, com aproximadamente 2 a 3 metros de altura e com quase 1 metro de largura. Em frente a essas pedras h uma plataforma tambm de pedra, que era provavelmente o altar onde os sacrifcios eram oferecidos. Essas pedras apresentam sinais de fogo, e ao redor da base foram encontrados ossos queimados de animais e seres humanos. Isso sugere que tanto animais quanto seres humanos poderiam ter sido sacrificados ali, assim como mencionado na Bblia (Ez 20:27-31). Uma segunda descoberta, que at mais imponente do que a primeira, foi o porto de Salomo. necessrio lembrarmos que nos tempos bblicos o porto de uma cidade era muito mais que uma simples porta. Era normalmente uma grande estrutura, 27

bem fortificada, e que servia no somente como uma das entradas principais da cidade, mas tambm tinha outros propsitos. A estrutura do complexo do porto de Gezer tinha alguns cmodos, provavelmente utilizados por soldados que guardavam a entrada, e outros onde os ancios da cidade se encontravam para discutir negcios concernentes prpria cidade, e onde as decises importantes eram tomadas. A Bblia relata muitas passagens referentes a esse costume (Am 5:10-15; Dt 22:15; Jr 39:3 etc.). Podemos claramente identificar o porto como tendo sido construdo por Salomo, por causa da notvel similaridade com outros portes reconhecidos por terem sido construdos ou reconstrudos por ele (ver 1Rs 9:17 e 18). Muitas outras descobertas feitas em Gezer lanaram luz sobre passagens da Bblia, como costumes funerrios, materiais blicos, muralhas da cidade, casas. Outros itens tambm foram encontrados, como armamentos, diferentes tipos de cermica, local e importada, vegetao, sementes e plen, restos humanos, ossos de animais domesticados e selvagens da regio, e a descoberta de doenas humanas por meio da anlise dos ossos. Escavaes em Jerusalm Outra fascinante experincia arqueolgica da qual tive o privilgio de tomar parte, foi uma das escavaes na parte antiga de Jerusalm, uma das mais antigas cidades da Histria. As exploraes que foram conduzidas em Ebla, tambm chamada de Tel Mardihk, na Sria, revelaram que Ebla tinha laos comerciais com Jerusalm (Ursalima) j em torno de 2.300 anos antes de Cristo. Jerusalm, e, por conseguinte, toda a terra de Israel est entre as reas mais intensamente escavadas. Desde o princpio da minha carreira como professor, eu decidi que no iria me aprofundar na arqueologia sozinho, mas iria tambm envolver tantos dos meus alunos quanto possvel, tornando a experincia rica tanto para o professor como para os alunos. No final da dcada de 1970, fiz parte de um pequeno grupo dirigido por Magen Broshi, curador do Santurio do Livro, no Museu de Israel, e do Instituto de Arqueologia. O propsito era certificar-se onde os muros de Jerusalm estavam nos vrios perodos da histria da cidade. Infelizmente, em razo de minhas atividades como professor nos Estados Unidos, no pude acompanhar os grupos at o fim das atividades. Mesmo assim, aprendi muito sobre os muros de Jerusalm, sua construo e destruio, seus pontos fortes e fracos. Jerusalm foi destruda e reconstruda 17 vezes fazendo com que o estudo de suas muitas camadas e demais partes dos muros seja um importante registro. Em Jerusalm, assim como em outras cidades antigas, os muros eram quase sempre destrudos quando o inimigo no queria que a cidade fosse reconstruda. Mas, s vezes, como no caso do perodo de Neemias, o povo retornou e reconstruiu os muros. O profeta menciona que foi uma tarefa extremamente difcil, e o povo era lento na execuo do trabalho. Nesse caso, ao invs de reconstruir no mesmo local, os muros eram levantados de acordo com o nmero da populao e sua habilidade para realizar a tarefa. A remoo das enormes pedras pertencentes aos muros anteriores and its ruble era algo quase impossvel de ser realizado, visto que algumas pesavam 28

quase 200 toneladas. Essas pedras enormes poderiam ser removidas, ou mesmo incorporadas no novo muro. Em alguns lugares, esses muros atingiam 30 metros de altura e 6 metros de largura. No incio da dcada de 1980, realizei o sonho antigo de dar a meus alunos a oportunidade de participar em uma escavao arqueolgica em Jerusalm. Os planos foram cuidadosamente preparados junto ao Pacific Union College, na Califrnia, onde eu era professor, em cooperao com a Universidade Hebraica e o Instituto de Arqueologia. O arquelogo israelense Yiigal Shiloh estava naquela poca conduzindo uma das maiores escavaes j realizadas na cidade velha, tambm conhecida como cidade de Davi, e fui convidado a fazer parte do grupo junto com meus alunos. Nosso grupo, formado por 12 estudantes, se alojou na Misso Adventista, prxima cidade velha, onde os locais para hospedagem eram limitados. O professor Shiloh teve um maior contato com o nosso grupo. Ele visitou a Misso, explicou os objetivos e procedimentos nas escavaes e ento ajudou nossos alunos a se encaixarem na equipe que somava mais de 100 arquelogos voluntrios e profissionais. Essa experincia foi to bem recebida e apreciada por nossos alunos que ns decidimos repeti-la com outros grupos de estudantes durante vrios anos. Nossos alunos no apenas aprenderam mtodos e procedimentos de escavao, mas tambm se envolveram na recuperao de detalhes sobre a histria da antiga Jerusalm. A Bblia tornou-se viva para esses jovens de uma forma vital e pessoal. Para uma cidade que foi tantas vezes destruda e reconstruda como Jerusalm, raro um momento de tdio para quem a escava. Cada camada de destruio e reconstruo contribui com informaes valiosas. Infelizmente, quando Davi e Salomo construram a capital de Israel, a antiga cidade jebusita havia sido totalmente demolida, e os arquelogos tm procurado algum vestgio dela. Essa falta de evidncias to impressionante que os crticos dizem que tal cidade nunca existiu. E o triste que a escavao na cidade de Davi novamente no conseguiu resgatar nenhuma evidncia histrica conclusiva. Todo arquelogo aprende que nem todas as escavaes produzem todos os resultados esperados. No entanto, uma das histrias de sucesso de nossa escavao veio quando encontramos as runas de uma casa que aparentemente pertencia a uma rica famlia cananita, que vivia fora, mas adjacente ao muro da cidade. Ela tinha vistas para o Vale de Cedrom e o Monte das Oliveiras. A casa foi destruda durante a invaso babilnica a Israel e a destruio total de Jerusalm em 586 a.C. Como sabemos a poca em que essa casa foi destruda? Porque no encontramos nenhum objeto datvel depois de 586 a.C. Mas, de forma estranha, quando estudamos os muros da cidade naquele local podemos dat-lo em um perodo pr-salomnico. Assim, era ele jebusita? Possivelmente. Mas so necessrias mais escavaes para que surjam evidncias mais claras e conclusivas. Outra tarefa interessante em que meus alunos e eu nos empenhamos era na reparao e reconstruo. Como mencionado anteriormente, uma cidade construda sobre um monte, como a maioria das cidades antigas, deveria preocupar-se com um suprimento de gua suficiente em caso de ataque de inimigos; e Jerusalm no era exceo. Quando o rei Ezequias governou sobre Jerusalm, ele enfrentou uma invaso 29

assria e um suprimento de gua suficiente tornou-se uma grande preocupao. Havia gua em abundncia na fonte de Giom, mas ela estava fora dos muros da cidade. Os arquitetos de Ezequias o incentivaram a construir um tnel sob a cidade de Jerusalm que pudesse levar gua para dentro da cidade (2Rs 20:20). Esse tnel que ele construiu tinha aproximadamente 600 metros de comprimento. A forma como essa incrvel faanha se realizou foi gravada na parede dentro do tnel. Parte da parede com a inscrio foi retirada e est hoje num museu arqueolgico em Istambul. O tnel ainda existe e possvel caminhar por ele. Nos dias de Davi, e at mesmo antes, no perodo jebusita, foi feita a canalizao da gua da mesma fonte (fonte de Giom) por uma extenso de 10 metros sob o muro e a ligao a um poo, a fim de que as pessoas que estivessem mais acima pudessem utilizar a gua em caso de necessidade. Davi devia estar familiarizado com este tnel e com o poo, e seu valor estratgico no caso dele precisar entrar na cidade quando os portes estivessem fechados. E isso aconteceu, quando ele tentava conquistar a cidade dos jebusitas. Ele ordenou a um de seus soldados para que entrasse na cidade pelo tnel, subisse o poo, e abrisse os portes para que seus soldados entrassem (2Sm 5:8). Foi um sucesso. Por que eu contei esta histria bem conhecida? Esse famoso tnel e poo ainda existem e os jerusalemitas tm orgulho disso, pois um smbolo da proeza de Davi ao conquistar a cidade da mo dos jebusitas. Se um dia voc visitar Jerusalm, no deixe de conhecer o tnel e o poo. Ele foi maravilhosamente renovado e seguro conhec-los, ao contrrio do que era antes. Lembre-se, os estudantes adventistas ajudaram a restaur-lo. Isso o que chamamos de restaurao arqueolgica. Em Busca da Terra de Sab Por sculos, historiadores e outros eruditos relegaram a histria bblica da rainha de Sab categoria de lenda, concebida na mente frtil dos israelitas da idade de ouro. No entanto, nos ltimos 50 anos, esses estudiosos comearam a atribuir mais credibilidade histria, pelo fato da arqueologia revelar dados interessantes que do subsdio ao relato. Uma das razes para a demora em apontar o local da famosa terra da rainha porque a mesma dentro de uma rea de instabilidade poltica e quase inteiramente fechada para exploraes cientficas arqueolgicas. At meados do sculo 20, muitos estudiosos acreditavam que o norte da Arbia deveria ser o misterioso domnio da rainha, mas suas buscas por evidncias conclusivas foram mal sucedidas. Aps 1950, as exploraes concentraram-se no sul da Arbia. Arquelogos agora acreditam estarem no rastro da terra de Sab, e, possivelmente, tambm da cidade onde a rainha governava. Em 1981, minha esposa e eu decidimos fazer uma viagem de explorao ao Imen, no sul da Arbia, onde arquelogos da Universidade Johns Hopkins e do Instituto Smithsoniano de Washington, DC, afirmavam haver feito algumas descobertas impressionantes sobre a localizao da terra de Sab. Terra esta que foi por algum tempo governada por uma rainha no identificada que visitou Salomo. Eles tambm 30

achavam ter localizado a cidade de onde a rainha governava, as runas da antiga cidade de Marib. Isso coincide com a informao encontrada no Coro, e que tambm menciona que o nome da rainha era Bilkis. Infelizmente, o Coro est separado no tempo de Salomo por aproximadamente 1.500 anos, levando os estudiosos a questionar sua dependncia. Essa no uma viagem de frias comum que se faz para o Canad ou Europa. Naquele tempo, o Imen era um pas dividido em dois, o Imen do Sul com um regime comunista, e o Imen do Norte, nosso destino. Para entrar no Imen do Norte precisvamos de um passaporte, de um visto e a recomendao de algum naquele pas que pudesse se responsabilizar por ns. Fomos alertados de que estaramos por nossa conta e que os riscos eram considerveis. Isso seria suficiente para desencorajar a maioria das pessoas. Mas, arquelogos so normalmente pessoas que assumem riscos, e sendo assim, fomos para aquele pas. Viajamos pela companhia area que voava naquela poca, a Yemeny Airlines, que nos levou do Cairo para Saana, a capital do Imen do Norte. Embora apreensivos, tudo ocorreu bem. Estranho, mas bem. Mas no havamos antecipado que chegaramos durante o ms sagrado do Ramad, e que os cidados do Imen na sua maioria mulumanos chiitas levavam muito a srio a regra de no comer nem beber nada entre o nascer e o pr do sol. Soubemos que eles tambm esperavam que seus convidados, ns, segussemos esse costume, pelo menos em pblico. Tambm descobrimos que, para nossa consternao, os transportes pblicos e outros servios aos visitantes estavam paralisados. Assim, com tempo nas mos, decidimos explorar a fascinante cidade de Sanaa. Alguns prdios, em torno de cinco, que o povo do Imen diz serem os primeiros arranha-cus do mundo, so singulares, e no se pode comparar uns com os outros. Todos eles tm janelas muito decoradas. Nos disseram que o vidro dessas janelas no exatamente vidro, mas uma fina camada de alabastro. Ela foi projetada para deixar os cmodos claros pela luz do sol, mas, ao mesmo tempo, manter o calor dos raios de sol do lado de fora, deixando os cmodos frescos do lado de dentro. As ruas so estreitas e tm pequenas lojas nas quais uma grande variedade de objetos exposta. O povo muito amigvel. Mulheres com vus carregam seus bebs, se orgulham em mostr-los, e gostam muito quando se d ateno a eles. Passamos um tempo muito agradvel e recompensador com esses descendentes de Abrao. Se havia qualquer indagao em nossa mente se de fato estvamos na terra da rainha de Sab rainha Bilkis essa dvida logo se dissipou. Havia hotis com o seu nome, restaurantes, lojas, caminhes de entrega, e at mesmo uma montanha recebeu o seu nome. O povo parecia orgulhoso de sua antepassada real de trs mil anos. Mas, nosso objetivo era conhecer as runas de Marib, indicada como a cidade real de Sab, a cerca de 150 km a leste de Sanaa. Nosso problema era como chegar l. Durante o Ramad no havia nenhum meio disponvel de transporte. Como ltimo recurso, tentamos obter auxlio da Embaixada Americana. A princpio, eles foram muito desencorajadores. Aquela era uma zona de conflitos tribais e era conhecida por ser especialmente perigosa para estrangeiros. No entanto, quando demonstrei meus 31

parcos conhecimentos da lngua rabe, eles deixaram a deciso por nossa conta. De forma hesitante, eles nos apresentaram uma famlia americana que possua um jipe, e assim pudemos seguir nosso rumo. A viagem foi fascinante. As rodovias construdas pelos comunistas chineses eram estreitas, havia pequenas vilas pitorescas no alto de ngremes colinas cultivadas que tambm eram cultivadas em terraos. Lindos castelos no topo de montanhas, fazendeiros cuidando de suas plantaes. Que pas maravilhoso! Alguns a chamam de Sua da Arbia. Os romanos a chamavam de Arabia Felix ou Arbia Feliz. Finalmente, aps alguns dias de viagem chegamos a Marib onde guardas armados pararam nosso veculo. Esses guardas eram garotos de 14 anos que impunhavam orgulhosamente armas russas. Ficamos apreensivos, mas tentamos no demonstrar. Dissemos a eles que ramos visitantes da Amrica e que viajamos uma longa distncia para conhecer sua bela cidade. Depois de mais algumas palavras elogiosas, e sentindo que no tinham nada a temer, eles baixaram suas armas e, demonstrando uma tpica hospitalidade rabe, nos convidaram a tomar Coca-Cola morna. Estvamos no local considerado a capital de onde a rainha de Sab governaria. Embora a atual cidade de Marib no tivesse um aspecto majestoso, logo percebemos que a antiga cidade real se estendia alm da pequena cidade que visitvamos. Mas podamos ver por quilmetros ao redor runas brotando da areia, o que mostrava que no passado estas foram parte de uma magnfica metrpole. Foi aqui que, em 1950, arquelogos cavaram at serem impedidos de continuar e convidados a se retirar. O governo temia que eles pudessem levar embora tesouros enterrados. Atualmente, sob um rigoroso controle, um novo grupo de arquelogos internacionais, financiados pela Universidade de Calgary, Canad, est escavando esta antiga cidade. Eles tambm parecem convencidos de que esta realmente a antiga capital do reino de Sheba. As evidncias descobertas indicam que a cidade tem em torno de 3.500 anos (1500 a.C.), e que j existia num perodo anterior aos dias de Salomo, que governou no dcimo sculo antes de Cristo, estando, dessa forma, dentro do perodo da cronologia bblica para a visita da rainha a Salomo. Poderia esse deserto rido ser realmente o local de uma cidade e um reino to rico, como descrito na Bblia por meio dos presentes da rainha a Salomo? (1Re 10; 2Cr 9) Algo como 120 talentos de ouro (4 toneladas e meia), mais especiarias e pedras preciosas que juntos dariam o valor em torno de muitos milhes (talvez bilhes?) de dlares em moeda atual? O sul da Arbia tem um dos mais ridos desertos do mundo. Partes do Imen so extremamente secos nos dias de hoje. claro que no sabemos onde ficavam as fronteiras da terra de Sab. Existem algumas evidncias de que elas se estendiam ao longo de toda a regio costeira do sul da Arbia, incluindo o que hoje Om, e que alcanava, alm do Mar Vermelho, o que hoje a Etipia, conhecida no passado como Cuxe e Pute. A rainha Hatshepsut, que governou o Egito por volta do sculo 15 antes de Cristo, 500 anos antes de Salomo, tinha em seu templo morturio cenas de navios viajando para essa rea em busca de incenso e perfume. Essa regio ainda hoje produtora de especiarias, olbano e mirra. A tradio etope tambm menciona que um dos resultados da visita da rainha de Sab a Salomo foi a gerao e nascimento de um filho dela e de Salomo, que se tornou o rei da Etipia. 32

Tambm interessante que o povo de Sab era formado por hbeis hidrlogos. Runas muito elaboradas ainda existem prximas a Marib, revelando como essas pessoas projetavam e construam enormes barragens capazes de represar grandes quantidades de gua. As paredes das barragens foram construdas de forma inteligente com enormes pedras que se interligavam. No havia rios prximos a Marib; as barragens guardavam a gua pluvial que caa no curto perodo chuvoso. A gua acumulada poderia ser ento solta lentamente, regando assim os grandes campos quando necessrio e tambm suprindo a populao com gua potvel. Um mtodo similar de conservao de gua era tambm usado na cidade edomita de Petra (Sela), localizada na atual Jordnia. Tanto Petra como Marib recebem uma escassa quantidade de chuvas, em torno de 10 a 20 cm por ano, o que significa que tinham que conservar cada gota de chuva e guardar at quando fosse necessrio. Evidncias adicionais sugerem que o povo de Sab era um povo mercador. Seu pas situava-se estrategicamente prximo s antigas rotas comerciais tanto terrestres como martimas. Mercadores da China, Mesopotmia, ndia, Egito, frica e outros pases passavam pela regio. Como Sab estava situada na estreita entrada do Mar Vermelho, esse pas tinha uma enorme vantagem comercial, e certo que esse povo no perdeu essa oportunidade de ouro. Salomo, um perspicaz homem de negcios, tambm parece ter reconhecido o valor comercial da regio. Ele se apressou em construir uma frota que cruzava as guas do Mar Vermelho (1Rs 9:26-28). A competio desenvolvida entre esses dois pases poderia ter tornado desejvel e at mesmo necessria a visita da rainha a Salomo? Os habitantes de Sab tambm eram bem conhecidos por sua pompa. Diodorous Siculus, um historiador do primeiro sculo antes de Cristo, descreve em detalhes os dispendiosos hbitos desse povo. Plnio, o Velho, do primeiro sculo depois de Cristo, descreve os habitantes do sul da Arbia como a raa mais abastada do mundo. Ele tambm queixa-se que metade do dinheiro de Roma era gasto em exticas mercadorias rabes, como incenso e perfume. No apenas Roma, mas tambm Grcia, Egito, Israel e outras naes usavam olbano e mirra para uso pessoal ou religioso. Eles eram usados tambm como remdio e, em caso de morte, nos sepultamentos. E se voc desejar, eles ainda hoje esto disponveis na terra de Sab, por um preo salgado! A viagem de visita da rainha a Salomo no foi pequena. Deve ter sido uma exaustiva jornada no dorso de camelos. A distncia de ida e volta de Marib a Jerusalm algo em torno de 3.000 km e deve ter durado no mnimo trs meses. Uma caravana real, trazendo no apenas a rainha, os dispendiosos presentes, mas tambm todas as provises, deve ter sido composta por centenas de camelos e centenas de soldados e servos necessrios para a viagem em meio a um territrio difcil e perigoso. A viagem foi aparentemente um grande sucesso. Aps testemunhar as glrias de Jerusalm e da corte de Salomo, o templo e o seu povo, a rainha exclamou: Bendito seja o Senhor, teu Deus! Essa declarao deve ter sido significativa para o povo de Sab, pois eles eram adoradores do deus Lua. No sabemos quanto tempo durou sua estada, mas sabemos que ela no retornou de mos vazias. A histria termina dessa maneira: O rei Salomo deu rainha de Sab tudo quanto ela desejou e 33

pediu, afora tudo o que lhe deu por sua generosidade real. Assim, voltou e se foi para a sua terra, com os seus servos (1Rs 10:13).

34

CHAPTER III LIFE EXPERIENCES IN FIELD ARCHEOLOGY by Paulo F. Bork During my childhood my parents instilled in me a love for the Bible and an interest in its historical background. In 1939 when I entered secondary school (ginsio) at the Colgio Adventista Brasileiro the study of language fascinated me. At home we spoke Portuguese and German. In school we learned Latin, English and French. Albertina Simon taught us to see the relationship of these languages which made a deep and lasting impression on me. Later on, I studied Greek and Hebrew at Andrews University, and hieroglyphic at the University of London. Another influence, still on the secondary level (ginsio), which added enormously to my interest in historical studies were classes in Geography taught by Ruth Oberg Guimares and World History (Histria da Civilizao) by Renato Oberg. These talented teachers had the ability to make these subjects come alive. And, although I had never yet heard of the term archeology these early influences were leading me in that direction. It is marvelous to look back and see how God leads in our lives! It was not until later, when I started taking classes in biblical backgrounds and biblical archeology at Andrews University, that it all started to fall in place. I fell in love with an area of studies that I pursued for the rest of my life. But it must be remembered that studying archeology and working as a field archeologist are two very separate areas. The question now before me was how could I ever become personally involved in archeological excavations, an experience that would open up the history of the Bible to me? And from me to my students? It was while I was reading professional journals on excavations taking place in the Middle East that I came across an article by archeologist William Dever who was conducting excavations at Tell Gezer in Israel. It fascinated me and I longed to become part of it. I wrote a letter to Professor Dever and explained to him my great desire to be part of a team to do field work. He called me, offered me a Ford Foundation grant, and extended an invitation for me to join him in the excavation of the biblical site of Gezer in 1971. I asked no questions. I said Yes. The Excavation of Gezer When I arrived at the biblical site of Gezer I found that I was part of a team of over one hundred volunteers and professional personnel coming from several countries. I was the only Brazilian/American, but not the only Adventist. For the most part the team consisted of students and university professors. Along with professional archeologists 35

they were paleontologists, botanists, geologists, zoologists, entomologists, photographers, surveyors. We also had some Bedouins helping us. These lived in tents in adjacent fields. Life on a dig is sometime primitive. We live in tents, food is plentiful but simple, classrooms are in the open air, and bathrooms are unsophisticated, to say the least. The weather is usually very hot, conditions are dusty, and the work is hard. Work starts at five in the morning, at eight we stop for breakfast, and continue our work until one oclock when the cooks call us for lunch. After a rest we get together to discuss our finds and study the artifacts we may have found, such as lamps, ballistics, bones, seeds etc. Sometimes, if we are lucky, we may find a jar handle with an inscription or a students clay tablet on which he practiced writing. After evaluation and careful drawings of all significant finds they are then recorded, catalogued and stored for future study. In the evenings there are professional lectures and discussions. Work on a dig is done, not with bulldozers, but usually with dustpans, trowels, brushes and even dentists tools. It is painstakingly slow and is done with great care, for once a section is destroyed it can never be reconstructed again. Gezer, which once was a thriving city is now an unoccupied site except for a few roaming Bedouins and their flocks. It is located on a hilltop between Jerusalem and the Mediterranean caravans traveled between Egypt and northern and eastern countries such as Phoenicia, Syria, Assyria and Babylon. Gezer was one of the oldest cities in that region (Josh. 10:33). It remained in the hands of the Canaanites long after the conquest of the country by Israel (Judges 1:29). It was a strongly fortified city with massive walls that defied any army. When Solomon married an Egyptian princess her father the Pharaoh decided to destroy the city and give it to her as a wedding present (I Kings 9:16, 17). Later, after this conquest, the Bible speaks of Solomon rebuilding not only Gezer but several other cities. This is very important from an archeological point of view for it help us to compare the architectural design. Because of the large size of Gezer, its strategic position, historical significance and long periods of occupation it has been under excavation for many years. R. A. S. Macalister conducted excavations in Gezer periodically from 1902-1909. When I worked there from 1971 to 1973 we were excavating levels of occupation dating back from the tenth to thirteenth centuries BC. Other excavated areas of the city suggested periods of occupation dating back several centuries earlier. When you work on excavations you develop a strong camaraderie. The several Adventists who worked at Gezer made a significant contribution. Professor Dever, the director of the excavation, became well acquainted with us and with the Adventist system of education. He later visited Andrews University and was very impressed with the institution and with the Siegfried Horn Archeological Museum located there. Because of his interest some students from Andrews chose to pursue graduate study under Professor Dever at Arizona State University. Excavations at Gezer have produced abundant information of the Canaanite and Israelite periods. Let me mention a few examples: Macallister brought to light aspects of the strongly fortified city, its walls, ramparts, and building techniques. This 36

helped explain why Israel hesitated to attack this city. He also excavated the sources for water the people used. For, a city built on a hill, such as Gezer, the availability of water was always a critical element for survival. Although people there depended heavily on rain water for their subsistence, it was rarely enough and was not always sufficiently dependable as the average rainfall is about eight inches (15cm) per year. For this reason the people of Gezer dug deep into the ground to find water. Macallister located a tunnel, cut through rock, leading a well at a depth of about 120 feet (40 meters) below the surface. This was Gezers source of added water. Another one of Macallisters significant finds was what we now call the Gezer Calendar. This is a plaque of limestone rendering advice on farming operations, such as the times of the year for planting and harvesting. It dates back to the 10th century BC, or Solomonic times. Archeological excavations usually do not take place on the whole site of the former city. Whereas Macallister worked in one area, sixty years later Dever worked in a different area. That is, unless the new team wishes to find additional information from the old site. It must always be remembered, though, that once as area has been excavated, it is thus destroyed for historical study. It can never be reconstructed again. For the purpose of this study I will describe only two finds of our archeological expedition. One Canaanite and one Solomonic. The Cannaanite religion is often times spoken of in the Old Testament. One major aspect of it is referred to as worship at the high place. As one enters Gezer today one immediately notices a set of tall standing stones about eight feet tall (2 to 3 meters), and about three feet (1 meter) wide. In front one of these stones is a stone platform with was probably an altar upon which sacrifices were offered. These stones bear signs of fire. Around these stones, at their base, were found charred bones, of animal and human source. It suggests that not only animals but humans may have being sacrificed here, even as the Bible suggests (Ezekiel 20:27-31). A second finding, and even more imposing, was the Solomonic gate of the city. It must be remembered that in biblical times a city gate was much more than a door. It was often an enormous structure, strongly fortified, that served not only as one of the main entrances into the city but had many other purposes as well. The Gezer "gate" complex had several adjacent rooms probably used for soldiers guarding the entrances and also rooms where the city elders met to discuss city business and where important matters were decided. The Bible has several references to this custom (Amos 5:10, 15; Deut. 22:15; Jer. 39:3, etc.). The reason we can quite clearly identify this as a Solomonic gate is that the architecture is strinkingly similar to other gates in cities known to have been built or rebuilt by Solomon (see 1 Kings 9:17, 18). Many other findings at Gezer have shed light on biblical passages, such as burial customs, warfare, city walls, houses. Other items were also found as ballistics, different types of local and imported pottery, vegetation, seed and pollen, human remains, bones of domesticated and non-domesticated animals of that region, diseases affecting people as noticed on bones. Excavations at Jerusalem 37

Another fascinating archeological experience I was privileged to be part of was one of the excavations in the old city of Jerusalem; one of the oldest cities in existence. Excavations carried on at Ebla, also known as Tel Mardihk, in Syria, have revealed that Ebla had commercial ties with Jerusalem (Ursalima) as early as 2300 years BC. Jerusalem, and, for that matter, the whole country of Israel is among the most intensely and thoroughly excavated areas. Currently about 20 archeological excavations take places in Israel each year. Early in my teaching experiences I decided not only to become immersed in archeology myself but to involve as many of my students as possible; a rich rewarding experience for professor and students alike. Late in 1970s I joined a small team directed by Magen Broshi, curator of the Shrine of the Book, Israel Museum, and the Institute of Archeology. The purpose was to certify where the walls of Jerusalem were in the various periods of the city history. Unfortunately, due to my teaching responsibilities in the Unites States, I was not always able to stay with a team until the completion of its task. Nevertheless I became well acquainted with the wall of Jerusalem, their construction and destruction, their strengths and weakness. Jerusalem was destroyed 17 times and rebuilt as many times making the study of its many layers and locations of its walls an important record. In Jerusalem, as in other ancient cities, walls were usually destroyed when the enemy did not want the city to be rebuilt. But, sometimes, as in the case of Nehemiahs days, the people would return and rebuild the walls. The prophet admits that it was an incredibly difficult task, and the people were slow to respond. At such times rather than rebuild in the same place, walls would be built according to the size of the population and their ability to perform the task. Removal of the enormous stones of the previous walls and its ruble was an almost impossible task as some of the stones weighed as much as 200 tons. These enormous stones would have to be moved, or if so desired, be incorporated in the new wall. In some places these walls reached a height of 100 feet (30 meters) and 20 feet (6 meters) wide. In the early 1980s I realized the dream I had had for years, that of giving my students the opportunity to participate in an archeological excavation at Jerusalem. Plans were carefully laid with Pacific Union College, in California, where I taught, in cooperation with Hebrew University and the Institute of Archeology. Israeli Archeologist Yiigal Shiloh was at that time conducting one of the largest excavations ever carried out in the Old City, called The City of David, and I was invited to join his team with my students. Our group of 12 students took up the residence at the Adventist Mission near the Old City where limited housing was available. Prof. Shiloh became well acquainted with our group. He visited at the Mission, explained the goal and procedures of the excavations and then helped our students to fit in with the team which numbered over 100 volunteers and professional archeologists. This experience so well received and appreciated by our students that we decided to repeat it with other student groups over several years. Our students not only learned excavations methods and procedures but became personally involved in retrieving details about the history of old Jerusalem. The Bible came alive for these young people in a vital and personal way. 38

For a city that has been destroyed and rebuilt as often as Jerusalem was there is rarely a dull moment for the excavator. Each layer of destruction and rebuilding contributes valuable information. Unfortunately when David and Solomon built the Israelite capital the old Jebusite city had been so totally demolished that archeologists are at a loss to find anything at all. So amazing is this lack of evidence that critics say that such a city never existed at all. Sadly, the City of David excavation again failed to produce any conclusive historical evidence. Every archeologist learns that not every excavation produces all the desired results. However, one of the success stories of our dig came when we found the ruins of a house which apparently belonged to a wealthy Canaanite family who lived outside, but adjacent to, the city wall. It overlooked the Kedron Valley and the Mount of Olives. The house was destroyed during the Babylonian invasion of Israel and the total destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC. How do we know when this house was destroyed? Because we failed to find any datable objects beyond 586 BC. But strangely enough when we studied the city wall in that place it could be dated back to pre-Solomonic times. So, was this Jebusite? Possibly. But more excavation needs to be done so that clear, convincing evidence may be produced. Another interesting task in which my students and I engaged was repair and reconstruction. As mentioned before, a city built on a hill, as most cities were in antiquity, must always be concerned with an adequate supply of water in case of enemy attack; Jerusalem was no exception. When King Hezekiah ruled over Jerusalem he was faced with an invasion by the Assyrians and sufficient water became a major concern. Plenty of water was available at the Gihon Spring, but it was outside of the city wall. In a hasty manner Hezekiahs architects urged him to build a tunnel under the city of Jerusalem that could bring the water to a place inside of the city (2 Kings 20:20). This tunnel which he built was almost 1800 feet long (600 meters). The manner in which this remarkable feat was accomplished was recorded on the wall inside the tunnel. This inscription was chiseled out and is today in the archeological museum at Istanbul. The tunnel is still there and it is possible to walk through it today. In the days of David, and even before in the Jebusite period, water from the same source, that is, the Gihon Spring, was channeled for about 30 feet (10 meters) under the wall and linked up with a well so that people at a higher level could let their buckets down to bring water up in case of a necessity. David must have been familiar with this channel and the well, and its strategic value in case he needed to penetrate the city when the gates were closed. For, when he was trying to conquer the city from the Jebusites, he urged one of his soldiers to enter the city through this channel, climb up the well, and open the gate for his soldiers to enter (2 Sam. 5:8). It was a success. Why do I tell this well known story? This famous channel and well are still there and present-day Jerusalemites are very proud of it as a symbol of Davids prowess when conquering the city from the Jebusites. If you should ever go to Jerusalem dont miss seeing this channel and well. It is beautifully renovated and it is safe to see. It was not always so. Remember, Seventh-day Adventist students helped to restore it. This is what is called restorative archeology. 39

In Search of the Land of Sheba For centuries historians and others scholars relegated the biblical story of the queen of Sheba to the category of a tale conceived in the fertile minds of Israels golden age. In the last fifty years, however, scholars have begun to attribute more credibility to it, as archeology has unfolded interesting facts that seem to substantiate the account. One reason facts have been slow in coming is that the modern setting of the famous queens land is within an area of political instability and almost entirely closed to scientific archeological exploration. Until the middle of the twentieth century many scholars believed that North Arabia might be the setting of the mysterious Queens domain, but their search for tangible clues was unsuccessful. After 1950 explorations concentrated in South Arabia. Archeologists now believe that they are on the track of, not only finding the country of Sheba, and possibly also the city where the Queen ruled. In 1981 my wife and I decided to make an exploration trip to the country of Yemen in South Arabia where archeologist from Johns Hopkins University and the Smithsonian Institute of Washington, DC, claimed to have made some startling discoveries in locating the land of Sheba, or Saba, which at one time was ruled by a nameless Queen who visited Solomon. They also felt that they had located the capital city from which the queen ruled, the ruins of the ancient city of Marib. This coincided with the information found in the Koran and which also mentions that the name of the queen was Bilkis. Unfortunately the Koran is separated, in time, from Solomon by about 1500 years, causing scholars to question its dependability. This was not the usual vacation trip one takes to Canada or Europe. Yemen at that time was a country divided in two parts, South Yemen which had a Communist regime, and North Yemen, our destination. To enter North Yemen we needed a passport, visa and recommendation by someone in that country who would vouch for us. We were warned that we would be entirely on our own and that the risks were considerable. This would be enough to discourage most people. But, archeologists are usually people who are willing to take risks, so we went. We traveled with the only airline serving the country at that time, Yemeny Airlines, which took us from Cairo to North Yemens capital of Sanaa. Although apprehensive all went well. Strange but well. What we had not anticipated was that we would arrive during the holy month of Ramadan which Yemeny citizens mostly Shiite Moslems take very seriously eating and drinking nothing between sunrise and sundown. We learned that they also expected their guests, us, to follow this custom, at least in public. We also found out, much to our dismay, that public transportation and others visitors services came to a virtual standstill. So, with time on our hands, we decided to explore the fascinating city of Sanaa. The four and five storied buildings, which the people of Yemen claimed were the worlds first skyscrapers, were unique each one seemed to defy comparison with the other. They all had highly decorated windows. The glass in these windows, we were told, was not actually glass, but a thin pane of alabaster which was designed to keep the hot sun rays out and to keep the rooms cooler, while still permitting the sun light to 40

brighten the inside. The streets were narrow with little shops where the most varied goods were displayed. The people were friendly. Veiled women carrying their babies were proud to exhibit them and were appreciative of any attention we gave them. We had an interesting and rewarding time with these descendants of Abraham. If there had been any question in our mind as to whether we were indeed in the land of the Queen of Sheba Queen Bilkis this was quickly dispelled. Hotels were named for her. Fast food restaurants displayed her name prominently. Stores and delivery trucks and even mountains bore her name. The people seemed proud of this famous royal lady of nearly three thousand years ago. But, our goal was to go to the ruins of Marib, claimed to be Shebas royal city about one hundred miles (150 km) to the east of Sanaa. Our problem was how to get there. No mode of transportation seemed open to us during Ramadan. As a last resort we tried to get the help of the American Embassy. At first they were very discouraging. This was a zone of tribal rivalry and was designated as especially dangerous for foreigners. But when I displayed my, though limited, knowledge of Arabic, they left the decision up to us. They, hesitatingly, introduced us to an American family who had a jeep, and we were on our way. The trip was fascinating. Narrow roads built by the Communist Chinese, tiny picturesque villages clinging to steep, terraced cultivated hills, beautiful castles on mountain tops, farmers tending their crops. What a delightful country! Some call it the Switzerland of Arabia. The Romans called it Arabia Felix or Happy Arabia. Finally, after about half a days journey we arrived at Marib where armed guards stopped our vehicle. Fourteen-year-old boys proudly displayed their Russian-made weapons. We were apprehensive, but tried not to display it. We told them that we were visitors from America and that we had come a long distance to see their beautiful city. After a few more pleasantries, seeing that they had nothing to fear, they put their guns down, and displaying typical Arab hospitality, they invited us in for warm bottles of Coca Cola. We were now in what is believed to have been the royal capital from which the Queen of Sheba may have ruled. Although the present city of Marib does not display a majestic appearance it quickly becomes clear that the old royal city extended much beyond the smaller, cramped city of today. For miles around we were able to see ruins protruding from the sand that hint that this was once a magnificent metropolis. It was here that archeologists in 1950 worked until they were asked to leave. It was feared that they might carry away buried treasures. Today, under stricter control, a new team of international archeologists, sponsored by the University of Calgary, Canada, is excavating this old city. They too seem convinced that this is indeed the ancient capital of the land of Sheba. Uncovered evidence traces the city back 3500 years (1500 BC) long before the days of Solomon who ruled in the tenth century BC. So, well within the period of biblical chronology for the Queens visit to Solomon. Could this barren desert indeed be the place of a city and a kingdom as rich as the Bible portrayed by the Queens gifts to Solomon? (1 Kings 10; 2 Chronicles 9) 120 talents of gold (4 tons), plus spices and precious stones all of which may have amounted to many millions (billions?) of dollars in todays value? South Arabia has 41

some of the most barren deserts on earth. Parts of Yemen are extremely dry today. Of course we dont know where all the borders of the land of Sheba were. There is some evidence that they extended over the whole coastal region of South Arabia including todays country of Oman and that they reached over the Red Sea into the country of Ethiopia which was anciently known as Cush and Punt. Queen Hatshepsut who ruled over Egypt at about the fifteenth century BC, five hundred years before Solomon, had depicted on her mortuary temple scenes of ships traveling to this area in search of incense and perfume. This area still produces spices, frankincense and myrrh today. Ethiopian tradition also claims proudly that as the result of the Queen of Shebas visit to Solomon a son was born to her fathered by Solomon and that this son became the king of Ethiopia. It is also of interest that the people of Sheba were ingenious hydrologists. Elaborate ruins remain near Marib that reveal how the people engineered and built enormous dams capable of holding back great quantities of water. The walls of the dams were ingeniously built of huge interlocking stones. There are no rivers near Marib; the dams held back rivers of rain water which fell in the short rainy season. The dammed up water would then be released slowly and efficiently watering large fields when needed and also supplying the population with drinking water. A similar method of water conservation was also used in the Edomite city of Petra (Sela) located in todays country of Jordan. Both Petra and Marib have a scant rain fall of about 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 cm) per year, meaning that they had to conserve every drop of rain and hold it in storage until needed. Further evidence suggests that the Sabeans were great merchants. Their country was ideally situated to take advantage of ancient trade routes whether by land or sea. Merchants from China, Mesopotamia, India, Egypt, Africa and other countries traversed the region. Situated at the narrow entrance of the Red Sea, as Sheba was, the country had an enormous commercial advantage. It is certain that the Sabeans did not miss this golden opportunity. Solomon, a shrewd and wise businessman, also seemed to have recognized the commercial value of the region. So he hastened to build a navy to traverse the waters of the Red Sea (1 Kings 9:26-28). Could competition have developed between these two countries and thus made it desirable and even necessary for the Queen to pay a royal visit to Solomon? The Sabeans were well known for their wealth. Diodorous Siculus, a historian of the first century BC goes into great detail when describing the wealthy habits of these people. Pliny the Elder of the first century AD described the inhabitants of South Arabia as the wealthiest race in the world. He also complains that half of Romes budget was spent on exotic Arabian merchandise such as incense and perfume. Not only Rome, but Greece, Egypt, Israel and other nations used frankincense, and myrrh for personal and religious purposes. They were also used as medicine as well as in death and for burial. And, if you wish, it is still available in the land of Sheba today, for a hefty price! The Queens trip to visit Solomon was no small undertaking. It must have been an exhaustive trip on the back of a camel. The distance from Marib to Jerusalem and back measures well over two thousand miles (3000 km) and must have taken at least three months. A royal caravan, carrying not only the Queen, enormous wealth, plus 42

all the provisions must have been composed of hundreds of camels and hundreds of soldiers and servants needed for the trip through difficult and dangerous territory. The trip was apparently a great success. After witnessing the glories of Jerusalem and Solomons royal court, the temple and its people, the Queen exclaimed: Blessed be the Lord thy God! this statement may have been significant for Shebas people, for they were worshipers of the Moon God. We do not know how long her visit lasted. We do know that she did not return empty handed. The story ends in this manner: King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she wanted, whatever she asked, besides his gifts to her from his royal bounty. So she returned to her own country, she and her servants. (1 Kings 10:13).

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CAPTULO IV MUSEU DE ARQUEOLOGIA BBLICA PAULO BORK Breve Histrico por Alberto R. Timm O Museu de Arqueologia Bblica Paulo Bork o primeiro ncleo adventista brasileiro destinado a colecionar e expor achados arqueolgicos relacionados com o mundo da Bblia. Composto por cerca de 200 peas, ele , sem dvida, um importante smbolo do compromisso da Igreja Adventista no Brasil com a autoridade normativa das Escrituras. Mas por trs desse projeto h uma histria que merece ser conhecida. Nos idos de 1924, Edgar J. Banks, ex-diretor de campo da expedio babilnica da Universidade de Chicago, ofereceu a Benjamin L. House, professor de Teologia do Pacific Union College (PUC), na Califrnia, a venda de uma valiosa coleo de tabletes babilnicos. Dois deles, do perodo patriarcal (ca. 2200-2000 a.C.), acabaram sendo adquiridos pelo PUC, para fins didticos. Como a PUC no possua um museu arqueolgico, as dois tabletes foram dados posteriormente ao doutor Paulo F. Bork (1924- ), arquelogo adventista brasileiro, nascido em Cristina, Minas Gerais, e, por muitos anos, diretor do Departamento de Religio do PUC, e que j vinha colecionando objetos arqueolgicos. O doutor Bork foi ampliando sua coleo, ao longo dos anos, por meio de doaes arqueolgicas, bem como de aquisies de vendedores de objetos antigos. Mas por anos, o doutor Bork acalentava o sonho de contribuir com o Instituto Adventista de Ensino (IAE) nessa rea, em reconhecimento por tudo o que a instituio fez por ele durante o tempo em que ele estudou (1939-1945). Referindo-se ao perodo em que foi aluno do Curso Ginasial daquela escola, o doutor Bork declara: "De especial importncia para mim foram as classes da professora Albertina Simon, que me inspiraram na compreenso do processo de formao de palavras e das lnguas; da professora Ruth Oberg Guimares, em Geografia; e do professor Renato E. Oberg, em Histria. Essas classes proveram a motivao inicial para a carreira acadmica que depois eu seguiria." Em 1993 o pastor Walter Boger, diretor geral do IAE Campus 2 (IAE-C2), encontrou-se nos Estados Unidos com o doutor Bork, que Ihe falou a respeito de sua inteno de doar ao IAE-C2 a maior parte de sua biblioteca tcnica em arqueologia, bem como a sua coleo pessoal de objetos arqueolgicos. As negociaes prosseguiram, e j no ano seguinte (1994) cerca de 200 livros e aproximadamente 110 peas chegaram ao IAE-C2. Os livros foram logo incorporados ao acervo da Biblioteca Universitria Dr. Enoch de Oliveira, enquanto que os objetos foram guardados na caixa forte do Centro de Pesquisas Ellen G. White, aguardando o tempo oportuno para serem expostos. Nessa mesma poca, o pastor Boger encarregou o pastor Ruben Aguilar Santos, professor de Arqueologia Bblica do IAE-C2 e exmio desenhista, de elaborar o projeto de um museu de arqueologia, onde os referidos objetos pudessem ser expostos visitao. No incio de 44

1996, uma sala do Centro de Comunicao Dr. Milton Afonso foi designada para o museu, e o professor Aguilar comeou o demorado processo de desenhar os mveis, de acordo com as medidas da sala, e com base em idias colhidas em suas visitas a museus de Israel, Egito e outros pases. Quando os desenhos dos mveis estavam quase prontos, o professor Aguilar foi informado de que a sala no seria mais a mesma, e sim outra com dimenses menores. Diante disso, ele preparou, no apenas novos desenhos para os mveis, mas tambm desenhos minuciosos de cada uma das peas a serem expostas, com suas respectivas dimenses. Em julho de 1997, os desenhos estavam prontos, e o projeto foi encaminhado ao doutor Flavio Pasini, que, em consulta com o pastor Boger (que j se estava hospitalizado), aprovou a sua execuo. Os desenhos dos mveis foram ento entregues ao chefe da marcenaria do IAE-C2, senhor Deusdedith Dantas Muniz, que com sua equipe dispuseram de toda a sua habilidade para confeccionar os respectivos mveis. Ao v-los prontos, o professor Aguilar no pode conter a sua imensa satisfao. "Pela beleza dos seus contornos e o atrativo das suas formas", diz ele, "senti alegria incontida. Imaginei que o mesmo sentimento seria expresso pelo pastor Boger, se em vida; e pelo doutor Paulo Bork, se presente." Para que o projeto original fosse concludo, seriam necessrios ainda a colocao de veludo, luzes, vidros e trancas nos mveis; a elaborao de suportes e placas identificativas para as peas; e a contratao de uma secretria de tempo integral para cuidar da visitao ao museu. Mas algumas dificuldades, especialmente de ordem financeira, acabariam postergando a concluso do projeto. A coleo do futuro museu contava, nessa poca, com as 110 peas doadas originalmente pelo doutor Bork, bem como com vrias moedas, do tempo de Cristo, e dois vasos e uma lmpada, do tempo de Moiss, doadas pelos doutores Siegfried J. Schwantes e Milton S. Afonso. Mas em julho de 1998, o pastor Rodrigo P. Silva, professor da Faculdade de Educao do IAE-C2, recebeu a doao de 46 peas de cermica e quatro de metal do Museu Rockefeller de Jerusalm, que enriqueceriam o acervo do futuro museu de arqueologia do IAE-C2. No final de 1999, surgiu a idia de que o projeto do museu poderia se transformar mais facilmente em realidade, se tanto sua implantao quanto sua manuteno fossem coordenadas pelo Centro de Pesquisas Ellen G. White Brasil, uma vez que esse Centro responsvel tambm pelo museu do Centro Nacional da Memria Adventista (estabelecido em 1988). Assim, a administrao do IAE-C2 decidiu nomear ao diretor do Centro White, o doutor Alberto R. Timm, como diretor/curador tambm do futuro museu de arqueologia; e aos professores Ruben Aguilar, Rodrigo Silva e Reinaldo W. Siqueira, como curadores adjuntos. A fase final de implantao do museu contou com a participao e o apoio, no apenas dos curadores acima mencionados, mas tambm de vrias outras pessoas. Merecem destaque especial os pastores Daniel Baia e Lauro Grellmann, respectivamente diretor vicepresidente e diretor financeiro do IAE-C2, pelo apoio administrativo-financeiro; ao doutor Elias Visotto e sua equipe, pelas instalaes eltricas; a professora Edna de Oliveira Bergold, diretora do Centro de Comunicao Dr. Milton Afonso, pela contribuio na parte de decorao do ambiente; ao senhor Darci Jose Bertoni, da Carisma Comrcio e Indstria de Brindes e Presentes, de Limeira, pela confeco dos suportes de acrlico e placas de identificao das peas; a Knia Ismara Alves, secretria do Centro White, pela colaborao no preparo das etiquetas de identificao das peas; e a professora Ruth Bork Castellani, coordenadora do Curso de Tradutor 45

e Intrprete do IAE-C2, cujos prstimos foram indispensveis para tornar possvel a presena do doutor Bork e de sua esposa, doutora Norma Bork, nesta cerimnia de inaugurao do museu. Foi em 14 de maio de 2000, durante a celebrao do 17 aniversrio do Centro Universitrio Adventista de So Paulo Campus 2 (o antigo Instituto Adventista de Ensino Campus 2), que o Museu de Arqueologia Bblica Paulo Bork foi oficialmente inaugurado. A cerimnia iniciou-se na sala de estudos do Centro de Pesquisas Ellen G. White, com algumas palavras de abertura e uma orao por Daniel Baa, seguido por um breve histrico do museu e algumas palavras de agradecimento por Alberto R. Timm. Dbora Siqueira, secretria desse Centro de Pesquisas, leu uma pequena biografia de Paulo Bork que, por sua vez, apresentou o discurso inaugural. Knia I. Alves expressou algumas palavras honrosas a Paulo e Norma Bork. Aps algumas instrues dadas por Ruben Aguilar, os convidados especiais foram at a entrada do museu, onde Andr M. Pasini, tesoureiro da Unio Central Brasileira dos Adventistas do Stimo Dia, e Paulo Bork, cortaram a fita inaugural. Nevil Gorski, reitor do Centro Universitrio Adventista de So Paulo, fez a orao de dedicao, e Ruben Aguilar e Rodrigo Silva coordenaram a visita ao museu. Desde sua inaugurao em 2000, o museu tinha sua coleo disposta nas seguintes cinco regies geogrficas do mundo antigo: Mesopotmia, Sria, Israel, Egito e Roma. Algumas outras peas foram acrescentadas posteriormente coleo por meio de doaes de alguns amigos daquela instituio de ensino. Mas em abril de 2002 as peas foram reordenadas de uma disposio geogrfica para uma seqncia mais cronolgica. Rodrigo Silva tem coordenado de forma entusiasmada a maioria das visitas de grupos ao museu e ajudado a tornar o museu conhecido fora do Centro Universitrio Adventista. Os visitantes do museu incluem no somente professores e estudantes do prprio campus e outras instituies de ensino, mas tambm muitas outras pessoas de diferentes contextos religiosos e culturais. A despeito de seu pequeno nmero de peas, o museu impressionou positivamente seus visitantes pelo conhecimento que obtiveram com a exposio. Digno de meno o fato de que o museu tem recebido ateno da mdia brasileira. A cerimnia de inaugurao foi noticiada em um artigo intitulado Quando as pedras clamam, na Revista Adventista (Brasil), de julho de 2000, onde apareceu tambm uma entrevista com Paulo F. Bork. A edio de maro de 2002 da Eclsia, a mais popular e prestigiosa revista evanglica brasileira, trouxe um artigo de quatro pginas sobre o museu, com fotografias coloridas de vrias peas. Em de dezembro de 2001, a Rede Globo de Televiso, a maior rede de televiso brasileira, transmitiu nacionalmente uma entrevista que o apresentador J Soares fez com Rodrigo Silva, no talk-show Programa do J. Uma outra entrevista com Rodrigo Silva sobre o museu foi transmitida em de abril de 2002, pela EPTV, uma filial local da Rede Globo na regio de Campinas, So Paulo. Tais notcias e entrevistas chamaram a ateno de muitas pessoas que vieram visitar o museu. Cristo declarou, em Lucas 19:40: "Asseguro-vos que, se eles se calarem, as prprias pedras clamaro." O doutor Paulo Bork contribui significativamente para que as descobertas arqueolgicas falassem aos seus alunos, tanto em sala de aula como em suas escavaes nos prprios stios arqueolgicos das terras bblicas. E temos a certeza que o Museu de Arqueologia Bblica Paulo Bork h de se tornar, pela graa de Deus, um testemunho eloqente em favor das Escrituras. 46

CHAPTER IV PAULO BORK MUSEUM OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY A Brief History por Alberto R. Timm The Paulo Bork Museum of Biblical Archeology, located at the So Paulo Adventist University College Campus 2 (formerly known as Brazil Adventist College), is the first Brazilian Adventist depository to collect and display archeological findings related to the world of the Bible. Comprising more than 200 pieces, this museum is a symbol of the commitment of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Brazil to the normative authority of the Scriptures. But there is a worthwhileknowing history behind this project. Back in 1924, Edgar J. Banks, former Field Director of the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Chicago, offered for sale to Benjamin L. House, Professor of Theology at Pacific Union College (PUC), California, a valuable collection of Babylonian tables. Two of those tables, from the Patriarchal period (ca. 2200-2000 B.C.), were purchased by PUC for didactic purposes. Since PUC did not have an archeological museum, the tablets were given eventually to Paulo F. Bork (1924- ), an Adventist archeologist born in Cristina, Minas Gerais, Brazil, who chaired for several years the Religion Department of PUC and who was already collecting archeological objects. Bork expanded his private collection over the years through donations received as a reward for his work in archeological diggings, as well as through acquisitions from antiquity salesmen. But for many years Bork was dreaming about the possibility of contributing to Brazil Adventist College in the area of Archeology, as a honorarium for what that institution had done for him during the time he studied there (1939-1945). Referring to the period he attended the former Gymnasium of that institution, Bork declared, "Of special significance for me were the classes of Albertina Simon, which helped me to understand the formative process of words and languages; of Ruth Oberg Guimares, in the area of Geography; and of Renato E. Oberg, in the field of History. Those classes provided me the initial motivation for the academic career I would pursue later on." In 1993 Pastor Walter Boger, President of Brazil Adventist College Campus 2, met in the United States Dr. Bork, who told him about his personal intention of donating to that College the majority of his technical library in the area of Archeology, as well as his private collection of archeological artifacts. Discussions went on, and in the next year (1994) Bork sent about 200 books and around 110 pieces to Brazil College. While the books were added to the stakes of the Enoch de Oliveira University Library, the pieces were kept in the vault of the Brazilian Ellen G. White Research Center, waiting for the right time to be displayed. Meanwhile, Boger asked Ruben Aguilar Santos, Professor of Biblical Archeology at Brazil College and an outstanding drawer, to prepare the project of an archeological museum where those pieces could be displayed for the public. In early 1996, a room of the Milton Afonso Communication Center was set apart to hold the museum, and Aguilar began to process of drawing its furniture, according to the shape of the room and some basic ideas he got from visiting several museums in Israel, Egypt, and other countries. When the drawing process was almost done, Aguilar 47

was informed that the room for the museum would no longer be the same, but reader another one smaller in size. So, he had to prepare new drawings for the furniture. Besides this, he reproduced the basic shape of each of the archeological pieces to be displayed. In July 1997 the drawings were ready and the whole project was sent to Flvio Pasini, Administrative Assistant of Brazil College Campus 2, who in consultation with Boger (who was already at the hospital in his final illness), approved the project. The drawings were then taken to Deusdedith Dantas Muniz, manager of the Joinery of that campus, who with his team of workers make the furniture. When Aguilar saw the furniture, he was much satisfied. "For the beauty of their outline and the attractiveness of their shapes," he stated, "I felt unlimited happiness. I imagined that the very same feeling would take over Pr. Boger if he would still be alive, and by Dr. Bork if he would be here." But in order to implement the original project there was still the need of adding velvet, spot lights, glasses, and padlocks to the furniture; of preparing stands and identifying labels to the pieces to be displayed; and of hiring a full-time secretary to supervise the visits to the museum. Yet, some difficulties, mainly of a financial order, would postpone the conclusion of the project. The original collection of the future museum comprised at that time only the 110 pieces donated by Paul Bork, as well as several coins from Christ's days and two vases and a lamp from the time of Moses, donated by Siegfried J. Schwantes and Milton S. Afonso. But in July 1998, Rodrigo P. da Silva, Professor at the School of Education of Brazil College Campus 2, received 46 pieces of clay and 4 of metal from the Rockfeller Museum of Jerusalem, which he donated to enrich the future Paulo Bork Museum of Biblical Archeology. Time went on and by the end of 1999 it was suggested that the project of the museum could be carried out more easily if both its implementation and its maintenance would be coordinated by the Brazilian Ellen G. White Research Center, for that center was already responsible for the National Adventist Heritage Center (established in 1988). So the Administration of Brazil College Campus 2 choose Alberto R. Timm, Director of that Research Center, as coordinator/curator of the future archeological museum; and Ruben Aguilar Santos, Rodrigo Silva, and Reinaldo W. Siqueira, as adjunct curators. The establishment of the museum had, in its final phase, the participation and support not only of the above-mentioned curators but also of several other people. Of special help were Daniel Baia and Lauro Grellmann, respectively Vice-President and Financial Manager of Brazil College Campus 2, for the administrative-financial support; Elias Visotto and his team, for the electric wiring; Edna de Oliveira Bergold, Coordinator of the Milton Afonso Communication Center, for the decoration of the room; Darci Jos Bertoni, from Carisma Comrcio e Indstria de Brindes e Presentes, located in the nearby town of Limeira, for manufacturing the acrylic stands and metal identifying plates of the museum; Knia Ismara Alves, Secretary of the Ellen G. White Research Center, for preparing the identifying labels for the pieces; Ruth Bork Castellani, Coordinator of the Translator-Interpreter Study Program of Brazil College - Campus 2, for helping to arrange the visit of Paulo Bork and his wife Norma and son Paul K. Bork at the inauguration ceremony of the museum. It was on May 14, 2000, during the celebration of the 17th Anniversary of the So Paulo Adventist University College Campus 2 (former Brazil Adventist College Campus 2), that the Paulo Bork Museum of Biblical Archeology was officially inaugurated. The ceremony began in the reading-room of the Ellen G. White Research Center with a few opening words and a prayer by 48

Daniel Baia, followed by a brief history of the museum and some words of thanks by Alberto R. Timm. Dbora Siqueira, Secretary of that Research Center, read a short biography of Paulo F. Bork, who by his turn presented the inaugural speech. Knia I. Alves gave a special word of honor to Paulo and Norma Bork. After some visit-directions by Ruben Aguilar, the special guests who attended the ceremony went to the entrance of the museum, where Andre M. Pasini, Treasurer of the Central Brazil Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, and Paulo Bork opened the inaugural ribbon. Nevil Gorski, President of the So Paulo Adventist University College, offered the dedication prayer, and Ruben Aguilar and Rodrigo Silva coordinated the visit to the museum. Since its opening in 2000, the museum had its collection displayed into the following five geographic regions of the ancient world: Mesopotamia, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Rome. A few more pieces were added later on to the collection through donations from some friends of that University College. But in April 2002 the display was changed from its original geographical display into a more chronological sequence. Rodrigo Silva has enthusiastically coordinated most of the group visits to the museum and helped to make the museum known beyond the ranks of the So Paulo Adventist University College. Visitors of the museum include not only the professors, teachers, and students from that University College and other educational institutions, but also many other people from different religious and cultural backgrounds. Despite its limited number of pieces, the museum has impressed positively its visitors with the didactic insights they received from its displays. Noteworthy also is the fact that the museum has received some attention of the Brazilian media. For instance, the inauguration ceremony was report in an article titled "Quando as pedras clamam" [When the stones cry out] in the Revista Adventista (Brazil) of July 2000, which published at that time also an insightful interview with Paulo F. Bork. The March 2002 issue of Eclsia, the most popular and prestigious Brazilian Evangelical magazine, came off the press with a four-page article about the museum, with color-photographs of several of its pieces. On December, 2001, the Rede Globo de Televiso, the largest Brazilian TV network, broadcasted nationally an interview J Soares made with Rodrigo Silva in the late-night talk-show called "Programa do J." A follow-up interview with Rodrigo Silva about the museum was broadcasted on April, 2002, by EPTV, a local TV station of Rede Globo for the region of Campinas, State of So Paulo. Such news and interviews have called the attention of the many people who come to visit the museum. Christ declared in Luke 19:40 (RSV) that His disciples would become "silent, the very stones would cry out." Paulo Bork contributed, through his academic career, to make archeological discoveries speak more effectively to his students, not only in his class-room settings but also in his diggings in the archeological sites of the Bible Lands. The Paulo Bork Museum of Biblical Archeology will continue likewise to witness in favor of the trustworthiness of the Scriptures.

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CAPTULO V COLEO DO MUSEU DE ARQUEOLOGIA PAULO BORK Fotografias e Legendas Rodrigo P. Silva, Th.D.
Professor de Filosofia e Novo Testamento Unasp-EC

O Museu de Arqueologia Bblica Paulo Bork foi estabelecido a fim de prover o melhor meio de apresentar a cultura da Europa (antes da Idade Moderna), Egito, Grcia e antigo Oriente Mdio,2 relacionada narrativa bblica e origem da histria do cristianismo. O objetivo de seus coordenadores foi de criar uma coleo de objetos de cermica, moedas, estatuetas, inscries e outros objetos que pudessem servir como amostras representativas dos diferentes perodos da histria bblica e do perodo psapostlico, incluindo a invaso islmica em Israel e sobre a cristandade da Idade Mdia. Na terminologia arqueolgica, isso significa que a coleo do Museu Paulo Bork abrange um perodo de mais de 4.500 anos, do chamado Bronze III (2600 a.C) at o sculo 15 d.C. De fato, existem aproximadamente 300 peas em exibio permanente provindas do Egito, Sria, Lbano, Jordnia, Inglaterra, Itlia, Grcia, Iraque e Israel. Por meio de doaes de diversas pessoas e instituies, a coleo do Museu est em constante processo de crescimento. Neste captulo voc vai conhecer alguns dos materiais mais importantes da coleo, atualizados at a presente publicao. Organizao e Exposio A estrutura e organizao do Museu muito simples. A coleo est disposta em ordem cronolgica e geogrfica, subdividindo dessa forma os artefatos em sete colees menores, como segue: 1) Perodo Patriarcal (2350 a 1800 a.C.)3 2) Perodo do xodo4 (1800 a 1400 a.C.)5 3) Perodo dos Juzes ou da Conquista de Cana (1400 a 1050 a.C.)
Os termos Antigo Oriente Prximo e Oriente Mdio se referem mesma regio geogrfica. O primeiro usado na literatura especializada, mas a segunda, tambm correta, de uso mais recente. Neste captulo, no usaremos o segundo apenas por convenincia literria. 3 Todas as datas so aproximadas. 4 O perodo do xodo, para a arqueologia, cobre o perodo da escravido de Israel no Egito durante aproximadamente 400 anos e a sada em direo Terra Prometida. 5 A data do xodo e a identificao do Fara que perseguiu os hebreus no deserto no tm um consenso entre os estudiosos. A data apresentada acima apenas sugestiva.
2

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4) Perodo da Monarquia Unida e Dividida de Israel (1050 a 600 a.C.) 5) Perodo do Cativeiro Babilnico e do Ps-cativeiro incluindo o Perodo Helenstico (600 a 63 a.C.) 6) Perodo Romano, de Jesus e Apostlico (63 a.C. a 100 d.C.) 7) Perodo Ps-apostlico, incluindo o Perodo Bizantino (100 a 1400 d.C.) A justificativa para essa disposio est baseada na compreenso do termo Arqueologia, que , de acordo com Alfred J. Hoerth, uma palavra evasiva.6 Em ingls, ela tem duas formas de se soletrar e diversas definies. Assim, tendo em vista a grande flexibilidade no uso desse termo, bom deixar claro seu escopo neste captulo. Para nosso propsito (que trata de fatos relacionados s Escrituras Sagradas), a Arqueologia Bblica Histrica o estudo cientfico de qualquer cultura que se relaciona com a histria da Bblia. Ela trata, acima de tudo, de escavaes e descries dos vestgios dessas antigas civilizaes do mundo bblico. No entanto, ela inclui alguns artefatos mais recentes das diversas dominaes rabes na regio da Palestina e da igreja crist antes da Era Moderna. Algum pode, no entanto, perguntar: Por que incluir elementos pscannicos, principalmente os da histria da igreja crist, na coleo do Museu? A razo que, enquanto os limites geogrficos e cronolgicos possam ser pequenos, se definidos pelo adjetivo bblico, a Arqueologia baseada na narrativa das Escrituras abrange tambm a prpria histria da teologia. Dessa forma, seu escopo deve ser ampliado e incluir o contexto histrico pr e ps imediato, que explica, justifica e interpreta o fenmeno da inspirao literria proftica. Assim, a Arqueologia Bblica abrange basicamente esses sete perodos acima mencionados cobrindo a narrativa histrica das Escrituras e algo a mais. O mesmo verdade em relao Geografia. J que os eventos narrados na Bblia ocorreram no apenas no Oeste da sia e Egito, mas tambm na Grcia e Itlia, os vestgios arqueolgicos de todas essas reas podem ser vistos como materiais legtimos para estudo por um arquelogo bblico. Plano de Visitao Para uma melhor compreenso da seqncia histrica das peas, o visitante convidado a seguir a mesma direo das colees citadas acima. O sumrio de cada coleo apresentado a seguir. esquerda, ao se entrar e seguir ao redor do expositor (ver esquema acima) comea a primeira coleo. Nessa primeira parte encontram-se peas contendo formas antigas de escrita encontradas na Mesopotmia e Egito, que foram as primeiras civilizaes a desenvolver esta forma de arte. Depois disso, o visitante pode ver uma seqncia de artefatos do perodo patriarcal. Na segunda coleo, so encontradas peas egpcias do tempo da
6

Hoerth, A. J., Archaeology & The Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1999),

13.

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escravido de Israel e do perodo do xodo. Essas duas primeiras colees cobrem juntas um perodo de aproximadamente 900 anos, de 2300 a 1400 a.C. As nicas excees so as cpias do Selo de Faestus, de papiros com escrita demtica, e a pedra de Roseta (cujos originais so dos sculos 13, 7 e 2 a.C.). Por um propsito didtico, essas peas foram colocadas junto s peas com inscries a fim de mostrar aos visitantes alguns exemplos de antigas formas de escrita. Seguindo em direo ao centro da exposio, o visitante encontra a terceira coleo. Nela podem ser observados alguns artefatos do tempo da jornada de Israel pelo deserto, a conquista de Cana e, principalmente, o perodo dos juzes (1400 a 1200 a.C.). Essa coleo inclui estatuetas, lmpadas de leo, sementes carbonizadas e cermicas, algumas delas encontradas na pennsula do Sinai e Cana antes e durante a ocupao hebraica. Contornando (ver novamente o esquema acima), os visitantes encontram a quarta coleo, composta por peas do perodo monrquico de Israel (1050 a 600 a.C.) Algumas delas foram escavadas na Sria, Jordnia e Lbano, e mostram a cultura dos povos vizinhos do antigo Israel, como os fencios e os filisteus. Um pouco mais adiante, encontra-se a quinta coleo. As primeiras peas so trs fragmentos de tijolos babilnicos (com traos de escrita cuneiforme). Essa coleo e a prxima podem ser vistas como tendo um paralelismo didtico com Daniel 2 e 7. Encontramos aqui exemplares representativos de quase todos os grandes imprios mundiais descritos na profecia, exceto a Medo-Prsia. Seguindo em frente e contornando o ltimo lado em direo porta de sada, pode-se visualizar a sexta coleo que se inicia aqui e continua at o ltimo expositor localizado no centro do Museu (em um semicrculo). H uma representao especial do perodo da dominao romana (tambm descrita na viso de Daniel) e do tempo de Jesus. O perodo da coleo se estende at a segunda metade do primeiro sculo, perodo da destruio de Jerusalm pelos exrcitos romanos. Finalmente, fechando a exposio, encontram-se as peas mais recentes correspondentes aos perodos ps-apostlico, bizantino e islmico, e que so parte da stima coleo, dispostas no expositor no centro do Museu. Essas peas so datadas do segundo ao sculo 15 d.C. (quando a Amrica foi descoberta), e so provenientes especialmente da Europa, Israel e Sria durante o Imprio Romano e o perodo de ocupao rabe. Antes de sair, o visitante ainda pode ver algumas ferramentas utilizadas em escavaes arqueolgicas. Essas sete colees menores foram assim divididas a fim de facilitar a compreenso da seqncia histrica como um todo. Como se pode notar, cada perodo exibe diferentes tipos de evidncias arqueolgicas. evidente que a quantidade de peas da coleo do museu varia de acordo com cada perodo. No entanto, todas elas oferecem bons exemplos para uma melhor compreenso do relato bblico. Na seqncia encontra-se uma descrio detalhada das peas mais importantes de cada coleo. Primeira Coleo Perodo Patriarcal (2350 a 1800 a.C.) 52

A Mesopotmia foi o local de origem de Abrao e outros patriarcas. Nessa seo, o visitante tem a noo de quo sofisticada era a vida no perodo patriarcal vendo os objetos relacionados s civilizaes sumerianas e acadianas (de antes de 2000 a.C.), e tambm do primeiro imprio babilnico (2000 a 1750 a.C.). Durante o perodo patriarcal existiam grandes cidades como Ur, Tell Mardik (Ebla) e outras. Mas os prprios patriarcas eram em sua maioria nmades que viviam em tendas e que deixaram quase poucos vestgios de sua existncia. Como resultado, existem poucas evidncias diretas sobre eles. No entanto, os relatos dos patriarcas se encaixam muito bem vida e costumes de seu tempo. Foto 1 Esses tabletes esto entre as mais antigas formas de escrita conhecidas como pictogrficas. Os originais datam de aproximadamente 2700 a.C. e demonstram o desenvolvimento da escrita ainda nos dias de Abrao. A Bblia no relata detalhes de Ur (perodo pr-patriarcal), mas desde as escavaes de Sir Leonard Wooley (19221934), h uma concordncia entre os estudiosos de que a cidade de Abrao era grande e muito bem organizada. Foto 2 Podem ser vistos aqui alguns objetos contendo outro tipo de escrita, conhecida como cuneiforme (porque as formas eram feitas com cuneus, ou cunhas). Os tabletes menores foram encontrados, respectivamente em Nippur e Babilnia. O primeiro um recibo de uma oferta para o templo e o segundo, mais deteriorado, contm informaes de uma transao comercial. Ambos so de cerca de 2350 a.C. O tijolo direita foi escavado em Ur e demonstra o costume de se escrever em tijolos queimados. Data de cerca de 2000 a.C. Fotos 3 e 4 A Mesopotmia possua diversos governadores e reis. A primeira foto mostra uma reproduo de um antigo cdigo de leis sumerianas datado de cerca de 1868 a 1857 a.C. O original foi escavado em Nippur, Iraque, e encontra-se no Museu da Universidade da Pensilvnia, nos Estados Unidos. Sua escrita intricada descreve aproximadamente 40 das mais antigas leis documentadas da histria, e se referem a regulamentos sobre propriedades, escravos e direitos hereditrios e contratos de casamento. A segunda foto mostra a esttua de Gudea, governador de Lagash no tempo de Abrao. A inscrio cuneiforme um pedido por vida eterna. Esta uma reproduo detalhada do original que se encontra no Museu de Bagd, no Iraque. A despeito de Gudea nunca ter se declarado rei, ele pode ser considerado um verdadeiro monarca da antiguidade. Lagash foi uma grande cidade-estado na segunda metade do terceiro milnio a.C. Ele tinha o controle poltico, econmico, e religioso sobre outras cidades. Mas, em oposio dinastia de Akkad, sua fora foi enfraquecida na Mesopotmia. 53

De origem humilde, Gudea assumiu o governo de Lagash (ca. 2050 a.C.) e a tornou novamente uma das mais poderosas cidades da Mesopotmia. Ele expandiu novamente as fronteiras de Lagash para aproximadamente 64 km em todas as direes, transformando-a em uma verdadeira metrpole de seu tempo. Distante a apenas 51 km de Ur, possvel que Gudea conhecesse Abrao ou Ter e tivesse feito negcios com eles. Foto 5 A torre de Babel uma conhecida histria bblica. Desde a infncia ouvimos falar sobre os construtores que pretendiam desafiar a Deus fazendo uma torre que tocasse os cus. Mas Deus confundiu sua lngua e os puniu por sua desobedincia. Escavaes arqueolgicas modernas tm trazido tona algumas descobertas que confirmam a veracidade dessa narrativa bblica. Na antiga regio da Mesopotmia, os arquelogos encontraram mais de 20 torres sumerianas ou pirmides erigidas na antiguidade com finalidade de culto. O nome dessas torres-templos era zigurate e, claro, apenas as fundaes existem ainda hoje. Babel poderia ser uma delas ou uma torre semelhante a essas. Na foto acima, voc v um antigo fragmento de tijolo encontrado na torre de Ur datado de ca. 2050 a.C. Ele contm vestgios de betume que era utilizado como argamassa, o que est de acordo com Gnesis 11:3, que diz a respeito de Babel: Vinde, faamos tijolos e queimemo-los bem. Os tijolos serviram-lhes de pedra, e o betume, de argamassa. Foto 6 Aps o episdio de Babel, Gnesis relata sobre outra pessoa que desafiou as leis de Deus, e por essa razo, sofreu Sua ira. Menes so feitas s cidades do vale de Sidim, Sodoma e Gomorra. Vrios arquelogos, tais como o famoso W. F. Albright, escreveram sobre a possvel localizao dessas cidades na regio do Mar Morto. Prximo ao grande lago salgado existe um local conhecido em rabe como Bab dh-Dhra. Este lugar contm vestgios de uma comunidade muito bem fortificada com muralhas e uma extensa rea a cu aberto, casas, numerosos cemitrios e artefatos espalhados. Fora da cidade existe um grande cemitrio com aproximadamente 500 mil pessoas sepultadas.7 No entanto, o aspecto mais intrigante desse stio a evidncia de uma extensa destruio pelo fogo. Os fundamentos da cidade e do cemitrio revelaram depsitos de cinzas com muitos metros de largura, colunas e vigas queimadas e tijolos avermelhados por um intenso fogo. Esse forte incndio em Bab dh-Dhra implica a presena de algo maior que um vulco, j que a regio rica em depsitos de asfalto, petrleo e gs natural. Mas a

Av-Yonah, M., Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land (ver editora, ano),

1:49.

54

ausncia de causas naturais para essa destruio pelo fogo faz de Bab dh-Dhra um mistrio e torna a teoria de Sodoma algo muito plausvel. Segunda Coleo Perodo do xodo (1800 a 1400 a.C.) Para os arquelogos, o perodo do xodo cobre todos os elementos relacionados escravido e libertao dos hebreus do cativeiro egpcio que durou 400 anos. Nessa coleo egpcia voc pode ver peas originais e rplicas de vrias datas de 800 a.C. a 100 d.C. Nela se incluem papiros, estatuetas, pinturas e escaravelhos sagrados, um dos quais original. Foto 7 Na parede temos exemplos de lindos e coloridos papiros trazidos do Cairo. O maior retrata a cena do juzo final na viso egpcia. A descrio completa dessa cena chamada Julgamento do Corao encontrada no famoso Livro dos Mortos. As almas deveriam trazer seu corao perante a deusa Maat para que fosse pesado na balana da justia. O que muito estranho (e que nos faz lembrar da histria do endurecimento do corao de Fara) que acreditava-se que coraes de pedra ou metal poderiam ajudar a livrar da condenao a despeito dos pecados cometidos durante a vida terrestre. Foto 8 Com certeza, o mais importante amuleto no antigo Egito era o escaravelho, simbolicamente to sagrado para os egpcios quanto a cruz para os cristos. Era utilizado por ricos e pobres e j era conhecido no Antigo Imprio. Os escaravelhos eram insetos sagrados e provavelmente exerciam um papel na antiga adorao de animais, a se julgar pelos exemplares encontrados dentro de potes enterrados junto com os mortos e dos encontrados em tmulos durante o perodo do rei Den da I Dinastia. A parte de baixo ou parte reta do abdmen dos escaravelhos era normalmente gravada com o nome do fara e oficiais, nomes particulares, frmulas mgicas, desenhos em espiral e outras formas, imagens de deidades, animais sagrados e smbolos religiosos. Muitos escaravelhos eram feitos para os vivos. Acreditava-se que o pequeno objeto mgico tinha poderes que protegiam contra o mal e proviam boas coisas para quem o possusse, tanto nesta quanto na outra vida, principalmente quando costurados nas bandagens das mmias. Isso era especialmente verdade quando utilizados no lugar do corao ou como um escaravelho voador, a fim de prover uma viagem segura no alm-mundo dos deuses. Foto 9 Esse grupo de estatuetas representa alguns dos vrios deuses egpcios. A mulher com cabea de leo Sekhmet, uma deusa confundida freqentemente com um deus. A cabea de leo simboliza sua fora e o disco solar sobre a cabea sua 55

proteo. Sekhmet poderia trazer guerra e destruio aos inimigos pelo fogo. No entanto, os egpcios criam que ela poderia trazer sade aos doentes. O falco representa Hrus. O pssaro divino era considerado como o mais proeminente dentre os deuses egpcios. Ele era o filho da deusa Isis, a deusa da natureza, e Osris, o deus do submundo. Ao longo de todo o imprio, Hrus era pessoalmente identificado com o rei, j que cada fara usava o nome de Hrus como o primeiro de seus ttulos. O gato representa Bast, deusa que se acreditava concedia vida, sade, felicidade a seus adoradores e segurana para seus povo (gatos), e por isso era adorada no Egito. Era um grande crime torturar gatos no Egito. Com a morte de seus donos, os gatos eram mumificados com eles e os gatos reais eram colocados nas tumbas com seus donos. E por fim, pode ser vista uma foto de um arenito egpcio esculpido e pintado, retratando o deus chacal Anbis, deus da morte, segurando Ankh, que era o smbolo da vida. Na sua frente est Toth, deus dos escribas, que, no pensamento egpcio, concedia sabedoria aos sbios. Foto 9A Encontramos aqui um arenito egpcio esculpido e pintado que representa o grande fara Akhernaten adorando o deus R ou o sol. Esse o famoso rei que proclamou o retorno do monotesmo ao Egito. Alguns acreditam que ele era o verdadeiro Moiss, mas o mais provvel que ele tenha sido influenciado pela teologia deixada por Moiss e os hebreus no Egito. Terceira Coleo Perodo dos Juzes ou a Conquista de Cana (1400 a 1050 a.C.) O incio da ocupao israelita de Cana geralmente era estudado em conexo com o perodo dos juzes, que foi a primeira forma de governo dos hebreus. Esse perodo muito confuso e marcado por violncia e mudanas. Seu estudo arqueolgico mostra que ele foi violento e incerto e que os israelitas gradualmente subjugaram seus inimigos. Foto 10 Desse perodo (xodo e juzes) o Museu tem algumas peas interessantes, como frascos de perfume, pratos de terracota, sementes carbonizadas (possivelmente destrudas pela guerra), e outras, que ilustram a vida desse perodo. Alguns desses objetos so mostrados na foto acima. Foto 11 Observe essas lmpadas a leo do perodo dos juzes. A despeito dos quase 3.200 anos, ainda possvel ver as marcas de fogo nelas. maravilhoso imaginar que os ltimos usurios dessas lmpadas poderiam ter conhecido pessoalmente alguns dos hebreus que foram libertos do Egito pelo poder de Deus, ou serem eles mesmos 56

membros daquela multido que presenciou o grande milagre em frente ao Mar Vermelho! Foto 12 Essas cermicas cananitas so da Terra Santa antes da conquista de Josu. Os pedaos vieram de Jeric, a cidade cujos muros caram pelo poder de Deus. Evidncias reunidas pelo arquelogo Bryant Wood mostram hoje que os dados arqueolgicos de Jeric confirmam o relato bblico. As muralhas fortificadas daquela cidade foram destrudas por um abalo ssmico que no deu oportunidade para os habitantes escaparem. Isso aconteceu durante o perodo do Bronze Antigo I (1400 a.C.), e que se harmoniza com o perodo do xodo aceito por muitos estudiosos.8 Foto 13 Gnesis 31:34-42 nos relata um estranho incidente na vida de Jac. Vindo da casa de Labo, ele enfrentou a ira do seu sogro, porque Raquel, sua esposa, foi acusada de ter furtado os dolos de seu pai. E ela realmente havia roubado! Mas por qu? Por causa de um sentimento religioso? Por que o pai estava to zangado com essa atitude? Tabletes encontrados em Eshunna (ver a rplica acima), no norte da Mesopotmia, mostram que a posse dos dolos da famlia era algo como a escritura da propriedade. Raquel queria ter a posse das terras de seu pai! Esses dolos cananitas na foto so originais e so de ca 1800 a.C., e possivelmente eram usados com esse mesmo propsito. Quarta Coleo Perodo da Monarquia Unida e Dividida de Israel (1050 a 600 a.C.) Do incio do reinado dos grandes reis de Israel em diante existem muitos detalhes que confirmam a integridade da narrativa bblica do perodo. Foto 14 Saul foi o primeiro rei de Israel. No entanto, Davi foi o rei mais amado. Sua histria comea quando ele, um garoto ruivo que com grande f se ops firmemente ao gigante Golias e o derrotou pelo poder de Deus. A experincia do pequeno Davi tem servido de encorajamento para muitas pessoas ao redor do mundo. Essas pedras da foto so balsticas usadas em artefatos de guerra. Foram encontradas prximas aos muros de Jerusalm. A pedra da direita poderia ser parecida com a que Davi usou para matar Golias. Foto 15

Bryant G. Wood, Did the Israelites Conquer Jericho? A New Look at the Archaeological Evidence Biblical Archaeological Review, 16:2 (maro-abril de 1990), 44-59.

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Este um bem preservado exemplo de centenas de alas encontradas em vrios stios em Jud. Antes de irem ao forno, as jarras eram estampadas com selos ilustrando, o que parece ser, o smbolo pago do disco solar alado ou de um escaravelho de duas asas.9 O estranho que esse selo na ala da jarra pertence ao rei Ezequias, descrito na Bblia como um bom rei. A inscrio sob o selo menciona LMLK, o que significa pertencente ao rei. Talvez o selo seja de um perodo quando o rei, por um tempo, perdeu sua f durante a iminente invaso do exrcito de Senaqueribe. Foto 16 Esses vasos de cermica e jias so tpicos do perodo da monarquia dividida em Israel (ca 931 a.C.). Quando Jeremias usou a metfora do vaso para esclarecer sua mensagem proftica (Jr 18:1-12), ele deveria ter em mente vasos como estes. As argolas de bronze e ferro, provavelmente usadas como tornozeleiras, pulseiras ou anis nasais, so do mesmo tipo das condenadas por Isaas 3:19, as quais eram usadas pelas filhas de Sio, assim como faziam as prostitutas. Foto 17 Os profetas condenavam os israelitas por se prostiturem com outros deuses (Os 9:1; Ez 6:9, 23:30), e o povo falhou muitas vezes por no cumprir a ordem do Senhor. Essas estatuetas, feminina e masculina, encontradas em escavaes na Sria, provavelmente so da deusa Astarte (tambm conhecida por Astarote) e de Baal, seu esposo. Ele era o mais conhecido ou principal concorrente ao culto de Jeov e ela era a mais famosa deidade feminina do Oriente Mdio. No s o povo pecou ao cair em idolatria, mas at mesmo o grande rei Salomo, seguia a Astarote, deusa dos Sidnios (1Re 11:5). Mais tarde, os lugares de culto a essas divindades foram destrudas por Josias. Astarte/Astarote era tambm conhecida como rainha do cu, a quem os cananitas costumavam queimar incenso e oferecer libaes (Jr 44). Quinta Coleo Perodo do Cativeiro Babilnico e do Ps-cativeiro incluindo o Perodo Helenstico (600 a 63 a.C.) A antiga cidade de Babilnia tem sido escavada completamente em muitos lugares. A mais importante evidncia do perodo exlico e ps-exlico provm desse lugar e de stios persas. Existe uma considervel riqueza de detalhes em termos de inscries babilnicas e decretos persas. A soma de escritos bblicos sobre a histria de Israel nesse perodo pequena se comparada aos escritos sobre o perodo real, e livros importantes como os de Daniel foram mais bem esclarecidos pelas descobertas desse perodo e lugares.

Alguns autores identificaram esse smbolo como um pergaminho voador. Ver Mazar, Amitai, Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, 10,000-586 B.C. (New York: Doubleday, 1990), 455-458.

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E no podemos deixar de considerar os achados do perodo helenstico, incluindo o selucida, o qual o ltimo perodo importante antes do perodo do Novo Testamento. Foto 18 Voc pode ver acima dois fragmentos de tijolos babilnicos com traos de escrita cuneiforme do tempo de Nabucodonosor (600 a.C.). Nessa mesma coleo h ainda um tijolo (parcialmente quebrado) que contm o prprio nome de Nabucodonosor como sendo rei da Babilnia. Esta pea em especial foi acidentalmente encontrada no Iraque por um engenheiro brasileiro durante obras realizadas na dcada de 1980. Tendo permisso, ele trouxe a pea para o Brasil apenas como suvenir daquele pas e a doou a um professor adventista chamado Paulo Barbosa. Mas durante todo o tempo, ningum teve conhecimento do significado das letras em acdio estampadas no tijolo. Mas em 2002, Barbosa mostrou a pea a um professor do Unasp-EC, que traduziu a inscrio e encontrou o seguinte: Eu sou Nabucodonosor, rei de Babilnia, provedor dos templos de Ezgila e zida e primognito de Nebupolasar, rei de Babilnia. Depois disso, o tijolo foi finalmente doado ao Museu, onde permanece at hoje e uma das peas mais preciosas da coleo. Era comum no mundo antigo os reis escreverem seus nomes em tijolos e pedras de edifcios pblicos. Nabucodonosor foi um dos que colocaram seu nome em milhares de tijolos usados nas construes. Antes dessa e de outras evidncias arqueolgicas, os crticos da Bblia costumavam dizer que esse rei nada mais era do que uma lenda de algum escritor bblico. Mas, novamente, a arqueologia mostrou que eles estavam errados! Foto 19 Os objetos vistos aqui so todos do perodo helenstico. Durante esse perodo, Alexandre, o Grande tornou-se um dos mais famosos reis cujo reinado foi predito na profecia de Daniel. A moeda no topo uma tetradracma grega de prata mostrando Alexandre como sendo Hrcules. No reverso possvel ver Zeus sentado num trono segurando uma guia e um cetro. A inscrio grega diz: Basileuj Alexandrou (Alexandre, o Rei). Foto 19 O Salmo 56:8 diz: Contaste os meus passos quando sofri perseguies; recolheste as minhas lgrimas no teu odre. O que Davi quis dizer em sua ltima frase identificado por esses estranhos objetos encontrados em sepulturas. Eles so aparadores de lgrimas. O primeiro, em terracota, de 800 a.C. e o segundo, feito de vidro, de 100 a.C. Com a morte de algum, parentes e amigos costumavam guardar as lgrimas nesses aparadores e coloc-los prximos ao cadver. Isso significava a dor pela perda do ente querido. Sexta Coleo Perodo Romano, de Jesus e Apostlico (63 a.C. a 100 d.C.) 59

Essa coleo contm peas do incio da Era Crist. Nela encontramos moedas romanas e judaicas, lmpadas de leo, vasos e outras evidncias que ilustram a vida diria e os costumes do perodo do Novo Testamento. Foto 20 Aqui esto algumas das moedas da coleo com suas respectivas descries. Moedas judaicas: Em obedincia ao segundo mandamento, os judeus no colocavam imagens ou rostos de homens ou animais na face das moedas. Apenas imagens de objetos ou natureza eram aceitos! a) Lepton ou quadrante (oferta da viva de Marcos 12:42). Por causa de seu metal de baixa qualidade difcil encontrar essa moeda bem preservada. Na frente h uma figura do sol e no reverso uma ncora. b) Moeda de bronze de Herodes, o Grande (37-4 a.C.) A frente tem uma tiara com estrelas e duas palmas, e o reverso uma trpode com a inscrio grega Basilewj Hrwdou ([propriedade] do rei Herodes). c) Moeda de bronze do rei Agripa I (6-42/3 d.C.). Na frente h um curioso guarda-chuva e no reverso trs ramos de milho ou cevada. Moedas romanas ou estrangeiras: Essas moedas foram cunhadas provavelmente na Antioquia e mostram o rosto dos governadores misturado com deidades pags. a) Asse ou penny (Mt 10:29). Na frente, aparece o imperador Cludio (45 d.C.) com a inscrio latina: TICLAVDIVS CAESAR AVGPMTRTTMI ou Cesar Claudius Tiberius Augustus (I need some help to translate this final Latin date) e as letras S e C, que so uma abreviao de Sentuscnsultum, que significa Com a Autorizao do Senado. b) Dracma (Lc 15:8). Essa moeda de prata era do mesmo tipo da que Judas recebeu para trair Jesus (Mt 27:3). Na frente aparece o rosto de Melqart, rei de Tiro, figurando na face do deus Hercles, que era considerado o filho de Baal (64 a.C. a 26-27 d.C). O verso tem uma guia carregando uma palma, simbolizando o imprio romano. A inscrio diz: Turou Ier[aj kai asi]lon (Tiro: Santurio e Asilo). c) Srie Judea Capta. Aps a destruio de Jerusalm e do segundo templo em 70 d.C., Vespasiano mandou cunhar moedas com a imagem do seu rosto na frente e a inscrio em latim Judea Capta no verso, que significa Judia Conquistada. Essas moedas mostram o cumprimento da predio de Jesus em Mateus 24 sobre o cerco de Jerusalm. d) Estter ou tetradracma de Corinto. Embora essa cunhagem seja do sculo 4 a.C., possvel que esta moeda de prata ainda estivesse em uso no tempo do apstolo Paulo. Na frente vemos a deusa Atena e no verso o cavalo divino Pgasus. e) O governador romano mandou cunhar pequenas moedas de bronze para as pessoas da Judia. Em respeito ao costume judaico de no estampar rostos humanos nas moedas, eles as fizeram sem o rosto do imperador ou do governador. Esta moeda, por exemplo, foi cunhada por Pncio Pilatos, o mesmo governador que assinou a sentena 60

de morte de Jesus. curioso, no entanto, que mesmo respeitando a tradio judaica, ele tenha colocado uma bengala em um dos versos, significando Eu sou o governador, no se esqueam, disso! Foto 21 Esses objetos eram tipicamente usados no cotidiano de Jerusalm e regio no tempo de Jesus. As lmpadas de leo foram citadas diversas vezes por Jesus ao ilustrar a parbola das dez virgens (Mt 25:1-13) ou para ensinar os discpulos sobre seu papel como luz do mundo (Mt 5:14). A tampa de pedra do jarro do perodo herodiano e mencionada no evangelho de Joo 2:6. Os judeus a usavam para a cerimnia de purificao. E, finalmente, os vasos para vinho e ungentos usados para guardar leos perfumados, tais como o usado por Maria Madalena para ungir Jesus em Betnia (Jo 12:1-7). Stima Coleo Perodo Ps-apostlico, incluindo o Perodo Bizantino (100 a 1400 d.C.) Esta ltima coleo de artefatos antigos do perodo ps-apostlico tem o propsito de fazer com que os estudantes da origem do cristianismo tenham acesso a materiais que os levem a ter uma impresso profunda da situao cultural, religiosa e histrica na qual o cristianismo surgiu. Dentre os itens, temos uma coleo de lmpadas de leo do perodo bizantino. O formato de navio e o smbolo do cristianismo, representado pelas letras gregas X e P, claramente as identificam como sendo do perodo ps-Constantino. Foto 22 Do mesmo perodo temos essa preciosa lmpada que contm as letras alfa e mega, seguidas pela palavra IXTYS, que significa peixe, mas que , tambm um acrstico da sentena Iesous Xristos Theos Yuos Ster, que significa Jesus Cristo, Filho de Deus e Salvador. Esse artefato era propriedade de alguma famlia crist do perodo bizantino ou anterior. Foto 23 Das catacumbas, a coleo do museu tem esse exemplar de um epitfio encontrado na Sria. Ele tem uma inscrio abreviada e uncial grega (egyuckrisoto), que significa literalmente Eu sou o esprito de Krisoto. A imagem esculpida em pedra de um homem (chamado Krisoto?) segurando um peixe. Isso possivelmente significa que ele era membro do cristianismo ou que a imagem era apenas um smbolo do seu trabalho. Foto 24 Esta moeda de Constantino do sculo 4 e mostra o rosto do imperador na frente e do deus Mitra, o deus sol no verso. Por meio da suposta converso de 61

Constantino a igreja crist tornou-se a religio oficial do Estado, modificando assim muitos dos ensinamentos apostlicos originais. Foto 25 As Cruzadas foram a mais conhecida expedio militar Terra Santa. Elas ocorreram dos sculos 11 ao 13 d.C. Essas moedas de barro foram feitas durante esse perodo e vendidas na Europa como relquias sagradas, visto que acreditava-se que o barro tivesse vindo da Terra Santa. Na frente vemos Joo Batista batizando Jesus (por asperso) e no verso a cruz dos cruzados. Concluso Os exemplares que voc viu neste captulo so apenas representativos da grande contribuio que a arqueologia tem dado para o estudo da Bblia. Se inclussemos os objetos de outros museus, a lista iria alm do escopo deste livro. Esperamos que o breve relato sobre a coleo do Museu encoraje os leitores a explorar o assunto mais profundamente.

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CHAPTER V THE PAULO BORK ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM COLLECTION Photographs and Captions Rodrigo P. Silva, Th.D.
Professor of Philosophy and New Testament Studies Unasp-EC

The Paulo Bork Archaeological Museum was established to provide the best possible introduction to the culture of Europe (before Modern Ages), Egypt, Greece and Ancient Near East10 related to the biblical narrative and the origin of the Christian History. The aim of its coordinators was to build up a collection of pottery, coins, figurines, inscriptions, and other objects that could be representative samples of the different periods of Bible History and Post-apostolic times, including the Islamic invasion over Israel and the Christianity of the Middle Ages. In archaeological terminology it means that the Paul Borks collection covers a period of more than 4,500 years, from the called Early Bronze III (2600 BC) until the 15th century AD. Actually, there are about 300 pieces in permanent exhibition coming from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, England, Italy, Greece, Iraq, and Israel. Through donations from several people and institutions the Museum is in constant process of growing up. Here in this chapter, you will be acquainted with some of the most important artifacts from the collection updated until the present publication. Organization and Exhibit The structure and organization of the Museum is very simple. The collection is disposed in a chronological and geographical arrangement, which subdivides the artifacts in seven minor collections, as follows: 8) Patriarchal Times (2350 to 1800 BC)11 9) Exodus Times12 (1800 to 1400BC)13 10) Judges Times or the Conquest of Canaan (1400 to 1050 BC)
The terms Ancient Near East and Middle East refer to the same geographical area. The first has a traditional usage in technical literature, but the second, also correct, is of more recent usage. For this book, we will not use the latter just for literary convenience. 11 All the dates are approximately. 12 Exodus Times, for archaeological data, cover the bondage of Israel in Egypt during approximately 400 ears and the exit toward the Promised Land. 13 The date of the Exodus and the identification of the Pharaoh that persecuted the Hebrews into the wilderness has not a harmonious opinion among the scholars. The date presented above is only suggestive.
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11) Israels United and Divided Monarchy (1050 to 600 BC) 12) Babylon Captivity and Post-captivity Times including Helenistic Period (600 to 63 BC) 13) Rome, Jesus and Apostolic Times (63 BC to AD 100) 14) Post-Apostolic Times, including the Byzantine Times (AD 100 to 1400) The justification for this display is based on our understanding of the term Archaeology, which is, according to Alfred J. Hoerth, an elusive word.14 In English, it has two spellings and several definitions. So, in view of the great flexibility in use of this term, it is appropriate to make clear what is its scope in this chapter. For our aim (which deals with data related to the Holy Scriptures) History Biblical Archaeology is the scientific study of any culture that is related to the Bible History. It deals, above all, with excavations and descriptions of the remains from these ancient civilizations of the biblical world. However, it includes some more recent artifacts from the several Arab dominations over the region called Palestine and from the Christian Church before Modern Ages. However, someone may ask, Why post-biblical elements are included, manly the ones from the Christian Church History, into the Museums collection? The reason is that while the geographical and chronological limits may be very short, if defined by the adjective Biblical, the Archeology based on the Scriptures narrative embraces also the History of Theology itself. So it must extend its scope to include the immediate pre and post historical context that explains, justifies, and interprets the phenomenon of prophetic literary inspiration. Therefore, Biblical Archaeology embraces basically these seven periods above covering the historical narrative of Scriptures and something else. The same is truth in relation to Geography. Since the events mentioned in the Bible took place not only in the Western Asia and Egypt, but also in Greece and Italy, the archaeological remains of all these areas may be seen as legitimate material for the study of the Biblical archaeologist. The Plan of Visitation For a better understanding of historic sequence of the pieces, the visitor is invited to go in the same direction of the collections mentioned above. The summary of each collection will be presented as follows. On the left, as one enters and follows around the display (see the plan above), the first collection begins. At this first part we have artifacts with ancient forms of writing found at Mesopotamia and Egypt, which were the earliest civilizations to develop this art. Then, the visitor can see in the following sequence the artifacts from Patriarchal times. In the second collection, there are Egyptian artifacts from the time of
14

Hoerth, A. J., Archaeology & The Old Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1999),

13.

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Israels bondage and Exodus. These two first collections cover together a period of approximately 900 years, from 2300 to 1400 BC. The only exceptions are the copies of the Seal of Faestus, of demotic papyrus and the Rosetta Stone (whose originals are from the13th, 7th and 2nd century BC). For a didactical purpose, these pieces were put amongst the writings to show the visitors some exemplars of ancient forms of writing. Following to the center of the exhibition, the visitor will see the third collection. We can see some artifacts from the time of the journey of Israel in the wilderness, the conquest of Canaan, and mainly, the Judges age (1400 to 1200 BC). This collection includes figurines, oil lamps, carbonized seeds, and potteries, some of them found at Sinai Peninsula and Canaan, before and during the Hebrew occupation. Going around the corner (see again the plan above), the visitor finds the fourth collection with artifacts from the Israelite Monarchy (1050-600 BC). Some of them were excavated at Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon, and show the culture of bordering countries of ancient Israel, as the Phoenicians and Philistines. A little more ahead there is the fifth collection. The first artifacts are three fragments of Babylonic bricks (with traces of cuneiform writing). This collection and the next one may be seen as a didactical parallel to Daniel chapters 2 and 7. Here we have representative exemplars from almost all the Great World Empires described in the prophecy, except Media-Persia. Going ahead and turning the last corner toward to the exit door, we can see the sixth collection, which begins here and continues till the last display at the center of the Museum (in a half circle form). There is a special representation of the time of Roman domination (also described in Daniels vision) and the time of Jesus. The period of this collection is until the second half of the 1st century, at the time of Jerusalems destruction by Roman armies. Finally, closing the exhibition, there are more recent pieces from PostApostolic, Byzantine and Islamic Times, which form the seventh collection, all displayed on the central display of the Museum. These pieces are dated from the 2nd to the 15th century AD (by the time of Americas discovery), and come especially from Europe, Israel and Syria during the Roman Empire and the Arab Occupation. Before leaving, the visitor still can see some tools used in archaeological digs. These seven smaller collections were divided in this way just to facilitate the comprehension of the historical sequence as a whole. As it was seen, each period shows different types of archaeological evidence. Of course, the quantity of material from the Museums collection vary according to each period. However, all of them offer good examples for a better understanding of Biblical account. In the sequence of this chapter you will find a detailed description of the most important pieces of each collection. First Collection Patriarchal Times (2350 to 1800 BC) Mesopotamia was the original root place of Abraham and other patriarchs. At this section the visitor may have a notion of how sophisticated was life in patriarchal 65

times and see the objects related to the Sumerian and Acadian Civilizations (from before 2000 BC), and, also, the First Babylonian Empire (2000-1750 BC). During the Patriarchal Times there were great cities such as Ur, Tell Mardikh (Ebla) and others. But the Patriarchs themselves were mostly nomads who lived in tents and left little trace of their passing. As a result, there is little direct evidence about them. However, the accounts of the Patriarchs fit very well into the life and customs of their time. <photo 1> These tablets are among the earliest form of writing known as pictographic. The originals date from about 2700 BC and demonstrate the development of writing already before Abraham Times. The Bible is silent about the pre-patriarchal Ur, but since the excavations of Sir Leonard Wooley (1922 1934), there is an agreement among the scholars that the city of Abraham was a great and very organized civilization. <photo 2 (tijolo e recibos)> Here you can see some objects containing another kind of writing named cuneiform (because they were made by cuneus, means wedge). The smaller tablets were respectively found in Nippur and Babylon. The first is a receipt of a temple offering and the second, more deteriorated, contains information of a business transaction. Both are from c. 2350 BC. The brick on the right was excavated in Ur and represents a custom of writing in burnt bricks. It dates from circa 2000 BC. <photos 3 and 4 > The Mesopotamian people had also several rulers and kings. The first picture shows us a hand-crafted reproduction of an old Sumerian law code dated circa 1868-1857 BC. It was excavated at Nippur, Iraq and is now in the University of Pennsylvania Museum. Its intricate writing depicts approximately 40 of the oldest documented laws in history, referring to real estate regulations, servitude, and the rights of inheritance and marriage. The second picture has the statue of Gudea, ruler of Lagash at the time of Abraham. The cuneiform inscription is a request for eternal life. This is a detailed reproduction of an original that is in the Baghdad Museum. In spite of Gudea never having declared himself as a king, he can be considered a truly monarch of antiquity. Lagash was a great city-state in the second half of III millennium BC. It was on political, economical and religious control over other cities. But, as opposed to the dynasty of Akkad, it enfeebled its power in Mesopotamia. Coming from a humble origin, Gudea assumed the government of Lagash (ca. 2050 BC) and made it again one of the most powerful cities of Mesopotamia. He reextended Lagash borders to approximately forty miles in all directions, turned it in a real metropolis of that time. Living just 32 miles from Ur, it is possible that Gudea knew Abraham or Terah and engaged in business with them. <photo 5> The Tower of Babel is a well known biblical story. Since childhood we have heard about the builders that intended to defy God by making a tower going into heaven. But God confused their tongues and punished them by their disobedience. 66

Now archaeological excavation has been bringing to light some discoveries that confirm the reality of this biblical account. In the ancient Mesopotamia region, archaeologists have found more than 20 Sumerian towers or pyramids erected in antiquity for worship purposes. Ziggurat was the name of these Sumerian temple towers and, of course, only the foundations exist today. Babel may have been one of these or one like these. At this picture above, you have an early brick fragment found at the tower of Ur dated circa 2050 BC. It has a rest of bitumen used as mortar and this is right according to Gen. 11:3, which says about Babel: and they said to one another, Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. (RSV). <photo 6> After the episode of Babel, Genesis tells us about another people that defied Gods Law and, on account of that, suffered His anger. Reference is made to the cities at Siddims Valley, Sodom and Gomorrah. Various archaeologists, such as the famous W. F. Albright, wrote about the possible localization of these cities in the region of Dead Sea. Near to the Great Salt Lake there is a site known in Arabic as Bab dh-Dhra. This site has the remains of a heavily fortified and settled community with walled buildings, an extensive open-air settlement, houses, numerous cemeteries, and scattered artifacts. Outside the town side there is a great cemetery with near 500.000 buried people15. However, the most intricate aspect of this site is the evidence of an extensive destruction by fire. The foundation of the city and cemetery revealed ash deposits many feet in thickness, charred posts and roof beams, and bricks turned red by an intense heat. This severe burning of Bab dh-Dhra implies the presence of something bigger than a volcano, since the region is full in deposits of asphalt, petroleum, and natural gas. But the absence of natural causes for this fire destruction turns Bab ed-Dhra a mystery and made the Sodom-theory very plausible. Second Collection Exodus Times (1800 to 1400BC) For the archaeologists, Exodus period covers all elements related to the bondage and deliverance of the Hebrews from the 400-years captivity under the Egyptians. In this Egyptian Collection you can see originals and non-originals pieces of several dates from 800 BC to 100 AD. They include papyrus, figurines, paintings, and sacred scarabs, one of which is original. <photo 6A> In the wall we have samples of beautiful colored papyrus bringing from Cairo. The major one brings the scene of last judgment in Egyptian vision. The entire
15

Av-Yonah, M., Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, ver editora Vol. I,

49.

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description of this scene is found in the famous Book of the Dead at the title of The Weighting of the Heart. The souls must to bring their hearts before the Goddess Maat to be weight in the balance of justice. The strange in this (that remember us the story of the hardness of Pharaohs heart) is that hearts of stone or metal would believed bring safely escape from condemnation in spite of the sins committed during the earths life. <photo 7> So far, the most important amulet in ancient Egypt was the scarab, symbolically as sacred to the Egyptians as the Cross is to Christians. It was used by both the rich and the poor and was already known in the Old Kingdom. Scarabs were a sacred insect and probably had a role in the early worship of animals, judging from the real beetles that were found stored in jars buried with the deceased and from those found in graves during the time of King Den of Dynasty I. The underside or flat side of the scarabs abdomen was usually inscribed with the names of pharaohs and officials, private names, magical mottos, formulae, volute designs and other patterns, images of deities, sacred animals, and religious symbols. Most scarabs were made for the living ones. The small magical object was believed imbued with particular protective powers that warded off evil and provided good things for the owner for this life and also for the next, particularly when sewn on mummy wrappings. This was especially true when worn as a heart scarab or winged scarab to provide a safe journey into the Afterworld of the gods. <photo 8 (divindades)> This group figurines represents some of the vast number of Egyptian Deities. The Woman with Lions head is Sekhmet, a goddess often mistaken for a god. The lion's head symbolizes her strength and the solar disk over the head her protection. Sekhmet could bring war and destruction to enemies with fire. However, the Egyptians believed that she could bring health to one's illness. The Falcon represents Horus. This divine bird was considered the preeminent among the Egyptians gods. He was the son of Isis, the nature goddess, and Osiris, the god of the underworld. Throughout all the empire, Horus was personally identified with the king since each succeeding pharaoh used the name of Horus as the first of his titles. The cat is Bast, a goddess believed to give life, health, happiness to worshippers and safety to her people ( cats ). Because of this, cats were worshipped in Egypt. It was a high crime to torture a cat in Egypt. By the death of their owners, the cats were mummified with them and the royal cats were placed in tombs with their royal owners. Finally, you can see also in the photo an Egyptian sandstone carving and painting that portrays the jackal god Anubis, god of the dead, holding the Ankh, which was the symbol of life. In front of him is Thoth, the god of scribes who, in the Egyptian imagination, gave knowledge to the wise men. <photo 8A> Finally, the visitor can see also in the Collection an Egyptian sandstone carving and painting that portrays the great Pharaoh Akhernaten worshipping the God R or the Sun. He is the famous king who proclaimed the return of Monotheism in 68

Egypt. Some thought that he was the real Moses, but the most probable is that he was influenced by the theology left by Moses and Hebrews in Egypt. Third Collection Judges Times or the Conquest of Canaan (1400 to 1050 BC) The beginnings of Israelite occupation in Canaan generally are studied in connection to the period of Judges, which was the first form of government of the Hebrews. This period is very confusing and marked by both violence and change. Its archaeological study shows that it was violent and uncertain and that the Israelites gradually subdued their enemies. <photo 9 (objetos vrios)> From those times (Exodus and Judges) the Museum has some interesting pieces as perfume potteries, terracotta plates, carbonized seeds (possibly destroyed by fire war), and others that illustrate the life of this period. In the picture above, some of these objects are displayed for your observation. <photo 10 (lmpadas)> See these oil lamps from the Judge Times. In spite of its 3200 years approximately, it is possible to see the mark of fire on its point. It is wonderful to imagine that the last users of these lamps could know personally some of the Hebrews that were delivered from Egypt by Gods power, or be, themselves, members of that multitude which saw the great miracle in front of Read Sea! <photo 11> These Canaanite ceramics are from the Holy Land before Joshuas conquest. The broken pieces came from Jericho, the city whose walls felt down by the power of God. Evidence collected by the archaeologist Bryant Wood shows today that the archaeological data from Jericho confirm the biblical account. The fortified walls of that city were destroyed by earthquake activity which gave no opportunity to the inhabitants to flee. This happened during the Late Bronze I period (1400 BC), which harmonizes with the Exodus time assumed by many scholars.16 <photos 12 and 12A> Genesis 31:34-42 tell us about a strange incident in the life of Jacob. Coming from the house of Laban, he faced the wrath of his father-in-law, because his wife Rachel was accused of having stolen the idols of her father. And she really had! But why? For a religious feeling? Why washer father was so anger about that action? Tablets found at Eshnunna (see the replica above), in the north of Mesopotamia, demonstrate that the possession of the familys idols was just like a document of property. Rachel wanted to have rights over the lands of her father! These Canaanite idols in the picture above are originals. They are from circa 1800 BC and possibly were used for these same property purposes.

Bryant G. Wood, Did the Israelites conquer Jericho? A new Look at the Archaeological Evidence Biblical Archaeological Review 16:2 (March/April 1990), pp 44-59.

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Fourth Collection Israels United and Divided Monarchy (1050 to 600 BC) From the start of the reigns of the great kings of Israel onwards there is a wealth of detail which confirms the whole of the Biblical narrative of that time. <photo 13 (pedras de funda)> Saul was the first king of Israel. However, David was the beloved king. His story began with a little red-haired boy that in great faith opposed firmly against the giant Goliath and defeated him by the power of the Lord. Little Davids experience has been an encouragement for many people around the world. These stones seen in the picture are ballistics used in sling warfare. They were found near the walls of Jerusalem. The stone on the right side may have been just like that one used by David to kill Goliath. Stone on the right side may have been just like that one used by David to kill Goliath. <photo 13A (selo de Ezequias)> That is a well preserved example of hundreds handles found at various sites in Judah. Prior to firing, the jars were stamped with seals picturing what seems to be a pagan symbol of winged sun disk or a two winged scarab17. The strange is that this seal at the jar handles belong the king Hezekiah described at Bible as a good king. The inscription under the seal reads LMLK that means belonging to the King. May be the seal is from the period when the king last for a while his faith during the imminent invasion of Sennacheribs arm. <photo 14 (jarros, jias, etc.)> This group of pottery vessels and jewels is typical of the period of the Divided Monarchy in Israel (ca 931BC). When Jeremiah used the metaphor of the potter to clarify his prophetic message (Jer. 18:1-12), he just might have in mind such vessels as these ones. The bronze and iron rings, probably anklets, bracelets or nose jewels, are of the same kind of those ones condemned by Isaiah 3:19, which were used by the daughter, of Zion, making them just like the harlots. <photo 15 (Astarte e Baal)> The prophets condemned the Israelites for whoring after other gods (Hos. 9:1; Ezek. 6:9; 23:30), but the people failed many times to fulfill this commandment from the Lord. These male female figurines found in the excavations of Syria is probably the goddess Ashtarte (also called Astoreth), and Baal his husband. He was the most knowing or main competitor god of Jehowas worship and she was the most famous female deity of Near East. Not only the people sinned falling into idolatry, but even the Great King Solomon, "went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians" (I Kings 11:5). Later the cult places to these deities were destroyed by Josiah. Astarte/Ashtoreth was also known as the Queen of Heaven, to whom the Canaanites used to burn incense and pour libations (Jer. 44).

Some authors have identified this symbol as a flyng scroll. See Mazar, Amitai, Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, 10,000-586 B.C.E., New York: Doubleday, 1990, p. 455-458.

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Fifth Collection Babylon Captivity and Post-captivity Times including Helenistic Period (600 to 63 BC) The ancient city of Babylon has been thoroughly excavated in many places. The main evidence from Exilic and Post-Exilic Period is from here and Persian sites. There is a considerable wealth of details in terms of Babylonian inscriptions and decrees of Persian kings although. The amount of biblical writing about the history of Israel in this period is small compared to the writing about the regal period, important books as Daniel had their texts clarified by the discoveries of this time and places. And we cannot leave without consideration the findings of the Helenistic Period, including the Seleucids, which is the last important period before the New Testament Times. <photo 16 (tijolos)> Above you see two Babylonian brick fragments with traces of cuneiform writing from the time of Nebuchadnezzar (600BC). In this same Collection we have yet another brick (partially broken) that contains the proper name of Nebuchadnezzar as the king of Babylon. This special piece was accidentally found at Iraq by a Brazilian engineer during building works at 80s. With permission he brought the piece to Brazil just as a souvenir from that country and donated it to an Adventist Teacher named Paulo Barbosa. But, during all this time, nobody knew the meaning of the Acadian letters printed at the brick. But in 2002 Barbosa showed the piece to a professor of UNASP who translated the material and found the follow translation: I am Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, provider of the Temple of Ezagila and Ezida and first born son of Nebupolazzar, King of Babylon. After that the brick was finally donated to the Museum where is remaing until now as one of the most precious piece of the Collection. It was common in the Ancient world kings write their names at bricks and stones of public buildings. Nebuchadnezzar was one of that whose name is stamped on thousands of bricks used to construct buildings. Before the finding of this and other archaeological evidence, the critics of the Bible used to said that this king was nothing else than a legend from the mind of biblical writer. But, once again, archaeology showed that they were wrong! <photo 17 (objetos gregos)> The objects observed here are all from the Helenistic Period. During this time, Alexander the Great became one of the most famous kings, whose kingdom was predicted in Daniels prophecy. The coin at the top is a Greek silver tetradrachm showing Alexander as Hercules. In the reverse it is possible to see Zeus seated on the throne holding an eagle and a scepter. The Greek inscription says: Basileuj Alexandrou (Alexander, the King). <photo 18 (aparadores de lgrimas)> Psalm 56:8 says: Thou [oh Lord] hast count of my tossings; put thou my tears in thy bottle! What David meant in this last phrase is identified by these strange objects found at many tombs. They were tear drops. The first made in terra cotta is from 800 BC and the second (made in glass) is from 100BC. By 71

the death of someone, parents and friends usually keep the tears into drops and put it next to the dead. That signified the pain of losing someone beloved. Sixth Collection Rome, Jesus and Apostolic Times (63 BC to AD 100) This collection contains pieces from the beginnings of Christian Era. There are Roman and Jewish coins, oil lamps, vessels and some other evidence that illustrates the daily life and customs of the New Testament Times. <photo 19> Here are some of the coins collection with its respective description. Jewish coins. In respect to the second commandment, the Jews did not put images or faces of men and animals on the surface of coins. Just pictures of objects or nature plants were accepted! : A) Lepton or the mite of the widow (Mark 12:42). Because its inferior metal, it is hard to find this coin well preserved. In the verse there is a figure of the sun and at the reverse, the anchor. B) Bronze coin of Herod, the Great (37-4BC). The verse has a Tiara with a star and two palms. The reverse has a tripod with the Greek inscription: Basilewj Hrwdou ([property] of the King Herod). C) Bronze coin of Herod Agrippa I (AD 6-42/3). In the verse is a curious open umbrella and at reverse three branches of corn or barley. Roman and Foreign Coins. These coins have their coinage probably in Antioch and show the face of human governors mixed with pagan deities. A) Assarion or penny (Mt. 10:29). In the verse, Claudius Emperor (AD 45) with the Latin inscription: TICLAVDIVS CAESAR AVGPMTRTTMI or Cesar Claudius Tiberius August <I need some help to translate this final Latin date>. At the reverse there are the letters S and C, which are an abbreviation of Sentuscnsultum, which means By Senate authorization. B) Drachma (Lk 15:8), this silver coin was of the same kind of that one Jude received to betray Jesus (Mt 27:3). The verse has the face of Melqart, king of Tyre, figuring in the face of god Heracle, who was considered the son of Baal (64BCAD26/27). The reverse has an Eagle catching a palm, symbolizing the Roman Empire. The inscription brings: Turou Ier[aj kai asi]lon (Tyre: Sanctuary and Asylum). C) Judea Capta Series. After the destruction of Jerusalem and the second Temple in AD 70, Vespasian made coins with his own face in the verse and the Latin phrase Judea Capta at the reverse, which means: Judea conquered. These coins show the fulfillment of Jesus prediction in Matthew 24 about the siege of Jerusalem. D) Stater or tetradrachma of Corinth. Although its coinage is from the 4th century BC, it is possible that this silver coin was still used still by the time of Apostle Paul. In the verse we see the goddess Athena and at the reverse, the divine horse Pegasus. E) The roman governors made little coins of bronze to the people of Judea. In respect to the Jewish custom to avoid human faces on coins, they used to make the coins without the face of the Emperor or the Governor. This coin, for example, was minted by Pontius Pilate, the same governor that assigned the death sentence against Jesus. It is curious that, even respecting the Jewish tradition, he put a crook in one of the face what means I am the ruler, do not forget it! 72

<photo 20 (lmpadas, vasos, etc)> These objects were typically used on a daily basis in Jerusalem and region in Jesus Times. The oil lamps were quoted several times by the Savior to illustrate the parable of the ten maidens (Matt. 25:-13) or to teach the disciples about their role as the light of the world (Matt. 5:14). The stone jar cover is from the Herodian period and is mentioned in the gospel of John 2:6. The Jews used it because the ceremonial law of purifications. And finally, the vases for wine and unguentarium used for holding perfumed oils such as that one used by Mary Magdalene to anoint Jesus in Bethany (John 12:1-7). Seventh Collection Post-Apostolic Times, including the Byzantine Times (AD 100 to 1400) This last collection of ancient artifacts of the Post-Apostolic Period has been developed out of a sense of the importance of placing in the hands of students of Christian origin those materials that will help to provide them with a quite deep sense of the cultural, religious, and historical situation in which Christianity arose. Among the items, we have this collection of oil lamps from Byzantine period <photo 21> the navy format of them and the symbol of Christianity, represented by the Greek letters X and P, clearly identifies its Post-Constantine Age. <photo 21 A> From the same time we have this precious oil lamp that brings the letters Alfa and Omega, follows by the word IXTYS that means fish but is, also, an acrostic word to the sentence Iesous Xristos Theos Yuos Ster which means: Jesus Christ, Gods Son and Savior. This artifact was a property of some Christian Family from the Bizantine times of before. <photo 22 (catacumbas)> From the catacombs the museum collection has this exemplar of an epitaph found at Syria. It has an abbreviated and uncial Greek inscription (egyuckrisoto) that means lit. I am the soul of Krisoto. The figure carved in the stone is a man (called Krisoto?) holding a fish. This possibly means that he was a member of Christianity or it may be just a sign of his job. <photo 23 (moeda de Constantino)> This coin of Constantine is from the 4th century and shows the emperors face in the verse and the god Mitras, the sun deity, in the reverse. Through the presumed conversion of Constantine the Christian Church became a State Roman Church, changing many of the original apostolic teachings. <photo 24 (moeda dos cruzados)> The Crusades were one the most known military company into the holy land. They endured from the AD 11th to the 13th century. These clay coins were made during this period and sold in Europe as a Sacred Relic, since the clay was believed to have come from the Holy Land). At the verse we see John the Baptist baptizing Jesus (by aspersion) and at reverse, the cross of the crusaders. Conclusion 73

These exemplars that you saw in this chapter are only a few representatives of the great contribution archaeology is giving to the study of the Bible. If we included the objects of other museums the list would go beyond the scope of this entire book. It is hoped that this brief summary of the Museum collection will encourage some readers to explore the issue more fully.

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CAPTULO VII A Arqueologia e o Evangelho de Joo: Como Restos do Passado Podem Ajudar a Interpretao da Bblia no Presente Wilson Paroschi, Ph.D.
Professor de Novo Testamento SALT, Unasp-EC

Por ocasio do vigsimo aniversrio da revista Biblical Archaeology Review, Michael D. Coogan foi convidado para listar as dez descobertas mais significativas do antigo Oriente Mdio. Sua seleo, que est organizada em ordem cronolgica e busca dar uma viso geogrfica das terras bblicas, inclui: (1) o tablete XI do pico de Gilgamesh de Nnive, um paralelo da histria bblica do dilvio; (2) o mural do dcimo nono sculo a.C. de Beni Hasan, no Egito, representando uma caravana asitica vindo para realizar negcios e dando uma idia de como eram os ancestrais dos israelitas, os patriarcas; (3) o Altar de Gezer prximo a Tel-Aviv datado de 1600 a.C; (4) o cabo de faca de 25 cm esculpido em marfim descoberto em Megido e datado do dcimo terceiro ou dcimo segundo sculo a.C., mostrando em um de seus lados o luxo das cortes reais cananitas, que certamente no eram muito diferentes da corte de Salomo em Jerusalm; (5) o pendente de ouro da deusa da fertilidade de R Shamra, Sria, do dcimo quarto ou dcimo segundo sculo a.C.; (6) o tanque de Gibeo, do dcimo primeiro sculo a.C., localizado nove quilmetros ao norte de Jerusalm, onde os exrcitos de Davi lutaram contra as foras de Isbosete, filho de Saul (2 Sm 2:12-17); (7) o altar de Berseba ao sul de Israel, do oitavo sculo a.C.; (8) o amuleto de prata na forma de rolo do stimo sculo a.C. encontrado em Ketef Hinnon, nas proximidades de Jerusalm, contendo o nome Yahweh; (9) Masada na costa sudoeste do Mar Morto, datada do segundo sculo a.C.; e (10) o mapa em mosaico da Palestina em Madaba, Jordnia, do sexto sculo A.D.18 Todas essas so realmente grandes descobertas. A lista, porm, conforme o prprio Coogan admite, arbitrria e subjetiva19 e outros autores poderiam sugerir uma seleo diferente.20 Outros achados surpreendentes, especialmente em anos
Michael D. Coogan, 10 Great Finds, Biblical Archaeology Review (a partir de agora, BAR) 21, no. 3 (1995): 36-47; cf. Walter C. Kaiser Jr. et al., Hard Sayings of the Bible, ed. em um vol. (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1996), 61-65. 19 Coogan, 36. 20 Veja, e.g., a seleo de James H. Charlesworth dos sete mais importantes achados arqueolgicos do sculo vinte at a dcada de 1980. A lista, que basicamente relacionada com os estudos sobre Jesus, inclui: sinagogas judaicas na Palestina, os muros e as distintas portas de Jerusalm, descobertas no Monte do Templo dos dias de Jesus, os tanques de Betesda do lado de fora da Porta das Ovelhas, material nas proximidades do Pretrio de Pilatos em Jerusalm, os ossos de um
18

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recentes, so: (1) um texto em gesso em Tell Deir-`Alla, na Jordnia, da metade do sculo oitavo a.C., relatando a viso de Balao, filho de Beor, aparentemente o mesmo Balao de Nmeros 22-24;21 (2) uma inscrio aramaica da metade do nono sculo a.C. de Tel Dan, no sop do Monte Hermon, mencionando a casa de Davi;22 (3) a localizao de Betsaida na costa nordeste da Galilia de onde vieram vrios dos discpulos de Jesus;23 (4) a primeira evidncia arqueolgica de Pncio Pilatos, descoberta em 1961 em Cesaria Martima, cidade da residncia de Pilatos em Israel; 24 (5) dois ossurios, contendo o nome de Caifs, provavelmente o mesmo sumosacerdote que interrogou Jesus;25 e (6) a inscrio de Afrodsias no sudoeste da Turquia trazendo pela primeira vez uma evidncia indireta das referncias de Lucas aos tementes a Deus (At 10:2, 22; 16:14; 18:7).26
homem crucificado chamado Jehohanan e crescente evidncia para o local da crucifixo (Jesus within Judaism: New Light from Exciting Archaeological Discoveries [Nova York: Doubleday, 1988], 103-130). 21 Jacob Hoftijzer, "The Prophet Balaam in a 6th Century Aramaic Inscription, Biblical Archaeologist 39 (1976): 11-17; P. Kyle McCarter, "The Balaam Texts from Deir All: The First Combination, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 239 (1980): 49-60. 22 Avraham Biran e Joseph Naveh, An Aramaic Stele Fragment from Tel Dan, Israel Exploration Journal (a partir de agora, IEJ) 43 (1993): 81-98; idem, The Tel Dan Inscription: A New Fragment, IEJ 45 (1995): 1-18. 23 Para informao atualizada sobre as excavaes, incluindo referncias bibliogrficas dos relatrios originais e outros artigos, veja Rami Arav, Bethsaida, em Jesus e Archaeology, ed. James H. Charlesworth (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006), 145-166. 24 Antonio Frova, Liscrizione di Ponzio Pilato a Cesarea, Rendiconti dellIstituto Lombardo 95 (1961): 419-434. Veja tambm Laura Boffo, Iscrizioni greche e latine per lo studio della Biblia (Brescia: Paideia, 1994), 217-233. 25 Veja Zvi Greenhut, Burial Cave of the Caiaphas Family, BAR 18, n. 5 (1992): 28-36, 76; Ronny Reich, Caiaphas Name Inscribed on Bone Boxes, BAR 18, n. 5 (1992): 38-44, 76; idem, Ossuary Inscriptions from the Caiaphas Tomb, Jerusalem Perspective 4 (1991): 13-21; William R. Domeris e Simon M. Long, The Recently Excavated Tomb of Joseph Bar Caipha and the Biblical Caiaphas, Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 89 (1994): 50-58. 26 J. M. Reynolds e R. F. Tannenbaum, Jews and Godfearers at Aphrodisias, Cambridge Philological Society Supplementary Volume 12 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987). O suposto ossurio de Tiago, filho de Jos, irmo de Jesus, anunciado com entusiasmo em 2002 como a mais antiga referncia histrica j encontrada sobre Jesus (veja Andr Lemaire, Burial Box of James, the Brother of Jesus, BAR 28, n. 6 [2002]: 25-33, 70), tem gerado muito controvrsia. Embora o ossurio propriamente dito seja sem dvida do perodo herodiano, sua provenincia desconhecida (ele pertence a um colecionador de antigidades de Tel-Aviv, que diz haver comprado o ossurio de um comerciante de antigidades na dcada de 1970), inscrio anmala (as palavras irmo de Jesus parecem haver sido escritas num estido diferente e proceder de uma camada social diferente), e a ausncia quase completa de ptina recobrindo a inscrio tm levantado a suspeita de que a referncia a Jesus nada mais seno uma fraudulenta adio posterior. Os argumentos, porm, no so conclusivos. O fato de o ossurio no haver sido encontrado no local por si mesmo no compromete a autenticidade da inscrio, como no o faz o fato de a inscrio mostrar indcios de duas gravaes, pois ambos os estilos eram correntes na Palestina do primeiro sculo. Com relao ptina, os poucos resduos encontrados em algumas letras so consistentes com a que existe na superfcie do ossurio e a mesma ptina que se desenvolve num ambiente de caverna; a ptina no contm nenhum elemento moderno, tais como pigmentos modernos. A ausncia de ptina em vrias letras pode se dever to-somente ao fato de a inscrio haver sido lavada. Muitos eruditos ainda esto convencidos de que a inscrio provavelmente genuna (e.g., Hershel Shanks e Ben Witherington III, The Brother of Jesus: The Dramatic Story and Meaning of the

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Essas e muitas outras descobertas muito ajudam a esclarecer o cenrio tanto histrico quanto cultural do texto bblico. Elas no demonstram, porm, a veracidade das mensagens religiosas nem a historicidade dos eventos especficos registrados na Bblia. Isso significa dizer que a arqueologia no estabelece a religio bblica sobre um alicerce de informaes comprovveis, pois isso tem a ver com a f e no pode jamais ser objeto de investigao cientfica.27 Ao lanar luz sobre os cenrios histrico e cultural da Bblia, porm, a arqueologia tem muito a dizer sobre a interpretao dos escritos bblicos, e por extenso sobre a religio bblica. Um exemplo o Evangelho de Joo, um dos livros mais controversos na Bblia, e certamente o mais controverso do Novo Testamento. A Moderna Interpretao de Joo Todos os quatro Evangelhos no Novo Testamento contam a histria de Jesus, mas no da mesma forma. Cada evangelista apresenta um retrato diferente de Jesus. As diferenas entre os trs primeiros Evangelhos, porm, no so to significativas quanto as diferenas entre eles e o Quarto Evangelho. Mesmo uma leitura casual dos Evangelhos revela que Mateus, Marcos e Lucas compartilham um volume considervel de tradies comuns sobre Jesus, mas o mesmo no pode ser dito acerca de Joo, e isso tem sido reconhecido desde os primrdios do cristianismo. Na virada do terceiro sculo, Clemente de Alexandria descrito como tendo dito que os Evangelhos com genealogias [Mateus, Marcos e Lucas] foram escritos primeiro, e que depois de todos, Joo, ciente de que os detalhes externos haviam sido registrados nos Evangelhos, foi persuadido por seus discpulos e divinamente movido pelo Esprito a compor um evangelho espiritual.28 No est claro exatamente o que Clemente quis dizer com essa expresso, mas as diferenas entre Joo e os outros Evangelhos dizem respeito a inmeros assuntos, tais como o lugar do ministrio de Jesus (em Joo, principalmente a Judia; em Mateus, Marcos e Lucas, principalmente a Galilia); o nmero de Pscoas das quais Jesus participou em Jerusalm e, portanto, a durao de Seu ministrio (trs Pscoas em Joo; uma nos outros Evangelhos); o estilo dos ensinos de Jesus (em Joo, longos discursos; em Mateus, Marcos e Lucas, breves parbolas e declaraes); e o contedo propriamente dito. Joo, por exemplo, no menciona o nascimento de Jesus, o batismo, a transfigurao, o exorcismo de demnios e a agonia no Getsmani. A ltima ceia e o discurso proftico tambm esto faltando. Outra diferena o prprio retrato de Jesus. Importantes nfases em Joo como a plena divindade de Jesus e Sua pr-existncia esto virtualmente ausentes em Mateus, Marcos e Lucas. O Jesus
First Archaeological Link to Jesus and His Family [Nova York: HarperCollins, 2003]). O debate vai certamente continuar. Sobre ossurios judaicos do perodo do Novo Testamento, veja Craig A. Evans, Jesus and the Ossuaries: What Jewish Burial Practices Reveal about the Beginning of Christianity (Waco: Baylor, 2003). 27 Veja esp. David Noel Freedman, The Relationship of Archaeology to the Bible, BAR 11, n. 1 (1985): 6. 28 Veja Eusbio Histria Eclesistica 6.14.7.

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joanino est constantemente usando palavras que raramente aparecem nos outros Evangelhos (e.g., amor, amar, verdade, verdadeiro, saber, trabalhar, mundo, habitar, julgar, enviar, testemunhar) e Ele tambm gosta de falar de Si mesmo metaforicamente como o po do cu, a videira verdadeira, o bom pastor e a luz do mundo.29 Mais importante, porm, so os milagres de Jesus, que em Joo parecem ser mais extraordinrios que aqueles registrados em outros Evangelhos.30 O erudito neotestamentrio Ernst Ksemann est substancialmente correto quando afirma sobre o Quarto Evangelho: Julgado pelo conceito moderno de realidade, nosso Evangelho mais fantstico do que qualquer outro escrito do Novo Testamento.31 At meados do oitavo sculo, tais diferenas no representavam nenhum problema para a maioria dos intrpretes bblicos. Sendo obra de Joo, o discpulo amado e figura de destaque na igreja apostlica, pensava-se em geral que seu relato sobre Jesus era mais pessoal e, portanto, mais autorizado que os dos outros. Marcos e Lucas no foram testemunhas oculares dos eventos que relataram, e Mateus, mesmo sendo um dos doze, nunca alcanou a mesma proeminncia que Joo. Tomando Joo como ponto de partida, era ento possvel harmonizar os Evangelhos e assim minimizar suas diferenas. O equvoco dessa abordagem foi primeiramente reconhecido por J. J. Griesbach, que argumentou que os quatro Evangelhos no podem ser tratados conjuntamente. Em sua Synopsis dos Evangelhos publicada em 1776, ele ignorou quase completamente o Evangelho de Joo e colocou junto para efeito de comparao apenas os relatos paralelos de Mateus, Marcos e Lucas.32 Foi assim que o termo Sintico veio a ser usado como referncia aos trs primeiros Evangelhos tosomente.33 A separao do Evangelho de Joo dos outros Evangelhos no foi em si mesma hermeneuticamente incorreta, mas, uma vez separado, suas diferenas e peculiaridades vieram tona bem na poca em que o Iluminismo estava comeando a impactar a interpretao bblica. Por um lado, abordagens bblicas mais atualizadas e criteriosas eram necessrias, particularmente com relao ao uso e o tratamento das evidncias histricas, os quais, para no dizer coisa pior, eram completamente distorcidos, especialmente por causa da velha teoria da inspirao verbal e inerrncia
Para uma lista completa das diferenas de vocabulrio e outras, veja C. K. Barrett, The Gospel According to St. John: An Introduction with Commentary and Notes on the Greek Text, 2d ed. (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1978), 5-9. 30 Para mais detalhes sobre as diferenas entre Joo e os demais Evangelhos, veja D. Moody Smith, John among the Gospels: The Relationship in Twentieth-Century Research (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992), 1-11. 31 Ernst Ksemann, The Testament of Jesus: A Study of the Gospel of John in the Light of Chapter 17, trad. by Gerhard Krodel (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1968), 45. 32 Robert H. Stein, The Synoptic Problem: An Introduction (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987), 1525. 33 Na pesquisa neotestamentria, o termo Sintico se refere aos Evangelhos de Mateus, Marcos e Lucas, e leva consigo a idia de que eles podem ser dispostos ou vistos lado-a-lado, como em colunas paralelas, e ser facilmente comparados por meio de uma sinopse, uma vez que eles fornecem o mesmo esboo geral da histria de Jesus.
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de cada parte da Escritura. Por outro lado, a interpretao bblica tornou-se refm de um racionalismo radical, ou seja, a rejeio de toda e qualquer forma de sobrenaturalismo e o conseqente abandono da prpria noo de inspirao, de modo que, em ltima instncia, a Bblia tornou-se nada mais que um antigo documento a ser estudado como qualquer outro documento antigo.34 Como resultado, a autenticidade do Evangelho de Joo passou a estar sob um fogo pesado. Aos olhos dos telogos racionanalistas, histrias como das bodas de Can e da ressurreio de Lzaro no poderiam ser verdadeiras, sugerindo que o quarto evangelista no poderia ter sido uma testemunha ocular dos eventos por ele descritos. Um dos primeiros ataques veio j em 1792 com Edward Evanson, que se referiu ao milagre em Can como inacreditvel e indigno de f.35 Se o Quarto Evangelho no era histria (biografia) ou um relato historicamente confivel, o que era ento? No demorou muito para as alternativas comearem a surgir. Em 1835, D. F. Strauss introduziu o termo mito para descrever o contedo de Joo; outros termos que foram usados no sculo dezenove e incio do sculo vinte incluam idia, filosofia, alegoria, e teologia.36 Qualquer que fosse o termo, a idia era a mesma: o Evangelho de Joo no era o testemunho pessoal de uma testemunha ocular, o mais amado dos discpulos de Jesus, e seu relato no deveria ser aceito historicamente. A mente moderna no mais poderia aceitar como estando num nvel histrico aquilo que se acreditava no ser nada mais a expresso de alguma idia em forma concreta da parte de um escritor antigo. A idia de que o Evangelho de Joo no histria mas que foi escrito para comunicar uma idia teolgica repercutiu fortemente em F. C. Baur, em meados do sculo dezenove. Em sua reconstituio do primeiro sculo cristo, Baur viu um conflito entre o cristianismo judaico de um lado e o cristianismo paulino ou gentlico de outro, e ento a reconciliao de ambos, no segundo sculo, na Igreja Catlica. Ele ento classificou os escritos do Novo Testamento de acordo com essa viso e, para ele, o Evangelho de Joo no era nem um documento judaico nem gentlico, mas catlico, no sentido de que foi escrito para promover a idia de uma igreja unificada. Sendo assim, ele no poderia ter sido escrito antes da segunda metade do segundo sculo e, claro, no era historicamente confivel. Diferentemente dos demais, afirmou ele, o Evangelho de Joo no um relato histrico.37 Embora os argumentos de Baur se baseassem apenas em evidncias circunstanciais, se que elas podem de fato ser chamadas de evidncias, sua influncia sobre a erudio neotestamentria subseqente seria marcante. Na virada do sculo vinte, apenas uns poucos intrpretes conservadores ainda mantinham a posio tradicional de que este Evangelho era o testemunho de Joo, filho de Zebedeu.

Para o impacto do Iluminismo sobre a interpretao do Novo Testamento, veja Gerhard F. Hasel, New Testament Theology: Basic Issues in the Current Debate (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978). 35 Veja John Ashton, Understanding the Fourth Gospel (Oxford: Clarendon, 1991), 15-16. 36 Ibid., 36. 37 Citado por Ashton, 38.

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Outro golpe veio com o surgimento da escola histria das religies, no final do sculo dezenove. Na tentativa de ligar o surgimento e o crescimento de todas as religies a conexes meramente naturalistas e histricas, essa escola afirmou que o cristianismo pode ser compreendido apenas no contexto de seu ambiente histrico como um fenmeno entre muitos fenmenos religiosos do mundo helenista. Como tal, a teologia e os conceitos de Joo passaram a ser explicados luz de outras religies contemporneas, como as religies de mistrio e o gnosticismo. Ainda utilisando o esquema bsico provido por Baur, Otto Pfleiderer, o fundador da escola histria das religies, afirmava que o Evangelho de Joo no pertencia aos livros histricos do cristianismo primitivo, mas aos seus escritos doutrinrios helenistas.38 O Logos joanino, o dualismo luz/trevas, o tema do descenso/ascenso e o termo grego kyrios (Senhor) so apenas alguns exemplos de conceitos que teriam sido assimilados quando o cristianismo migrou da Palestina e seu ambiente judaico para o grande mundo helenista. Estas idias foram levadas ainda mais longe por Rudolf Bultmann, na primeira metade do sculo vinte. Brilhante em seu raciocnio e absolutamente consistente na aplicao do mtodo histrico, a interpretao de Bultmann do Evangelho de Joo foi devastadora: a linguagem de Joo, onde quer que reflita categorias sobrenaturais, era inteiramente mitolgica;39 ela no deve ser tomada no nvel histrico como fonte de informao sobre a vida e os ensinos de Jesus;40 seu mundo conceitual no era judaico, mas gnstico; o Redentor que veio do cu fora inspirado no mito gnstico; o Evangelho no era original, mas a fuso de vrios documentos anteriores; ele no foi escrito por um nico autor, mas o resultado de um processo de composio no qual vrios editores ou redatores estiveram envolvidos; o texto como o temos no faz sentido, de modo que precisa ser reorganizado; e, para ser entendido, ele precisa ser desmitologizado por meio de uma interpretao existencial. Em outras palavras, quase nada, se que alguma coisa, restou da compreenso tradicional de Joo. A crtica radical de Bultmann foi to arrasadora que, por um perodo, parecia que o Evangelho de Joo jamais se recuperaria.41 Mas, ento as
Otto Pfleiderer, Primitive Christianity: Its Writings and Teachings in Their Historical Connection, 4 vols., trad. W. Montgomery, (Londres: Williams & Norgate, 1906-1911), 4:2. 39 De acordo com Bultmann, a cosmologia do Novo Testamento de carter essencialmente mtico. O mundo visto como uma estrutura de trs andares, com a terra no centro, o cu acima e o submundo abaixo. O cu a residncia de Deus e dos seres celestiais os anjos. O submundo o inferno, lugar de tormento. Mesmo a terra mais que o cenrio do natural, dos eventos dirios, dos eventos triviais e atividades comuns. Ela , por um lado, o cenrio da atividade sobrenatural de Deus e Seus anjos e, por outro, de Satans e seus demnios. Essas foras sobrenaturais interferem no curso da natureza e em tudo o que o homem pensa, deseja e faz (Rudolf Bultmann, New Testament and Mythology, em Kerygma and Myth: A Theological Debate, ed. Hans Werner Bartsch, trad. Reginald H. Fuller, 2 vols. [Londres: SPCK, 1953-1962], 1:1). 40 Em seu livro Jesus and the Word (trad. L. P. Smith e E. H. Lantero [Londres: Scribner, 1958], que consiste num estudo dos Sinticos, Rudolf Bultmann menciona especificamente que o Evangelho de Joo no pode em absoluto ser levado em conta como fonte para os ensinos de Jesus e no referido neste livro (17). 41 Sobre a interpretao de Bultmann do Evangelho de Joo, veja Ashton, 44-66.
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coisas comearam a mudar e a arqueologia exerceu um importante papel nesse processo. A Arqueologia e o Evangelho de Joo verdade que nem todas idias de Bultmann tiveram uma ampla aceitao, mesmo entre os eruditos joaninos mais radicais.42 Tambm berdade que, apesar de todos os desafios, vrios eruditos conservadores continuaram a manter uma viso mais tradicional quanto data e autoria de Joo. Mas, na primeira metade do sculo vinte, havia um amplo consenso quanto a pelo menos trs pontos: (1) que o quarto evangelista no era uma testemunha ocular direta e que, portanto, teve que depender de fontes; (2) que seu contexto no era judaico; e (3) que seu Evangelho no era na verdade sobre o Jesus histrico mas sobre o Cristo da f, isto , ele consiste numa expresso teolgica de f da igreja do final do segundo sculo projetada retroativamente na vida de Jesus. A primeira descoberta arqueolgica a impactar a interpretao do Evangelho de Joo foi um pequeno fragmento de papiro, conhecido como Papiro 52, medindo apenas 8,9 x 6 cm e contendo uns poucos versos de Joo 17: partes dos vss. 31-33 de um lado e dos vss. 37-38 do outro. Apesar de haver sido adquirido no Egito em 1920 por Bernard P. Grenfell pela Biblioteca de Rylands em Manchester, Inglaterrra, ele foi identificado e publicado apenas em 1934, por C. H. Roberts. Usando tcnicas paleogrficas, Roberts datou o fragmento da primeira metade do segundo sculo; a maioria dos eruditos defende uma data no posterior a 125 A.D.43 A despeito de seu tamanho, a importncia desse papiro para a interpretao de Joo no tem como ser superenfatizada: uma evidncia incontestvel de que este Evangelho j estava circulando no Egito no incio do segundo sculo e, como tal, ele demonstra a falcia das teorias segundo as quais Joo no foi escrito seno apenas na segunda metade do segundo sculo.44 Isso evidencia, entre outras coisas, quo inadequada a descrio de Baur do cristianismo primitivo. Na verdade, no apenas Joo mas todos os documentos neotestamentrios so agora geralmente atribudos ao primeiro sculo. No de todo impossvel, portanto, que o Quarto Evangelho tenha sido escrito por uma testemunha ocular de Jesus. Nesse caso, ele no seria necessariamente distante do mundo e do contexto nele reproduzidos. Ainda na primeira metade do sculo vinte, vrias outras descobertas arqueolgicas na Palestina pareciam desafiar algumas das hipteses sustentadas naquele tempo pela maioria dos eruditos joaninos. W. F. Albright chamou a ateno

Veja D. Moody Smith, Johannine Studies, em The New Testament and Its Modern Interpreters, ed. Eldon J. Epp e George W. MacRae (Atlanta: Scholars, 1989), 271-273. 43 Veja Jack Finegan, Encountering New Testament Manuscripts: A Working Introduction to Textual Criticism (Londres: SPCK, 1974), 85-90. 44 Por causa do Papiro Rylands (P52) em particular, a data de Joo geralmente aceita como sendo no-posterior ao ano 110, e provavelmente uma ou duas dcadas mais cedo (Smith, Johannine Studies, 272-273).

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para isso em diversas publicaes entre 1924 e 1956.45 Entre outras coisas, Albright argumentou que as vrias referncias topogrficas no Evangelho dificilmente poderiam ter sido feitas sem um certo grau de familiaridade com a situao da Palestina e particularmente da Judia antes da Primeira Revolta (6670 A.D). Na verdade, a quantidade das referncias topogrficas em Joo bem distinta no Novo Testamento. Existem treze referncias, e se detalhes no mencionados nos Sinticos forem includos, o nmero aumenta para vinte. Numa poca em que a maioria dos intrpretes pensava que Joo era fictcio, tais referncias eram tratadas como simblicas em vez de lembranas histricas.46 Segundo Albright, porm, dado o grau da devastao causada pelo exrcito romano na Palestina e especialmente em Jerusalm e tambm dada a quase completa descontinuidade da presena crist nessas reas aps a guerra, qualquer informao correta que possa ser confirmada arqueologicamente ou topograficamente deve ter sido conduzida dispora de forma oral pelos refugiados cristos,47 e a tradio crist posterior de fato fala da fuga de alguns cristos de Jerusalm para Pela, na Transjordnia.48 Em seu artigo de 1956, Albright apresenta apenas trs exemplos de locais que eram considerados como tendo sido positivamente identificados pela arqueologia: o lugar aonde Pilatos levou Jesus, que em grego era chamado Lithostroton e em hebraico, ou seja aramaico, Gabbatha (Joo 19:13); Enon, perto de Salim, onde Joo Batista estava realizando seu trabalho batismal, porque havia ali muitas guas (3:23); e o poo de Jac, em Sicar, uma cidade samaritana (4:3-6), que ele identificou com Shechem.49 interessante notar as duas primeiras dessas identificaes, bem como a exata localizao exata de Sicar, seriam contestadas por descobertas arqueolgicas posteriores. Numa recente e ampla anlise do status arqueolgico de todas as referncias topogrficas em Joo, Urban C. von Wahlde indica que das vinte localidades joaninas, dezesseis j foram identificadas com certeza. So elas: Betsaida (1:44), Can (2:1, 11; 4:46-54; 21:2), Cafarnaum (2:12; 4:46; 6:17, 24; o porto, 6:24-25; a sinagoga, 6:59), o poo de Jac (4:4-6), Monte Gerizim (4:20), a localizao de Sicar
W. F. Albright, Some Observations Favoring the Palestinian Origin of the Gospel of John, Harvard Theological Review 17 (1924): 189-195; idem, From the Stone Age to Christianity (Baltimore: John Hopkins Press, 1940), 292-300; idem, The Archaeology of Palestine (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1949), 239-248; idem, Recent Discoveries in Palestine and the Gospel of John, em The Background of the New Testament and Its Eschatology: In Honour of Charles Harold Dodd, ed. W. D. Davies e D. Daube (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1956), 153-171. 46 Para um exemplo, veja Norbert Krieger, Fiktive Orte der Johannestaufe, Zeitschrift fr die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft 45 (1954): 121-123. 47 Albright, Recent Discoveries in Palestine, 156. Albright usou o mesmo argumento para as inmeras palavras aramaicas do Evangelho. Palavras tais como rabbi (meu mestre) ou seu equivalente grego didaskalos (professor), bem como a maioria dos nomes prprios em Joo, tais como Maryam (Maria), Mart (Marta), Lazar (Lzaro), Elisheba (Elisabete) e Shalm (Salom), eram caractersticos do perodo entre Herodes, o Grande, e 70 A.D. e se tornaram muito comuns no antigo uso cristo, provavelmente como reminiscncias de tradio oral na Palestina antes da Primeira Revolta (ibid., 157158). 48 Eusbio Histria Eclesistica 3.5.3. 49 Albright, Recent Discoveries in Palestine, 158-160.
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(4:5), a Porta das Ovelhas (5:2), o tanque de Betesda (5:2), Tiberades (6:1, 23; 21:2), o tanque de Silo (9:1-9), Betnia perto de Jerusalm (11:1-17; 12:1-11), Efraim (11:54), o Vale de Cedrom (18:1), o Pretrio (18:28, 33; 19:9), o Glgota (19:17-18, 20, 41) e a tumba de Jesus (19:41-42). Das quatro restantes, duas podem ser situadas numa rea relativamente pequena: o lugar no templo onde eram guardados os animais (2:13-16) e o Lithostroton (19:13), ao passo que as outras duas so ainda bastante discutidas: Enom perto de Salim (3:23) e Betnia alm do Jordo (1:28; 10:40).50 Em suas observaes finais, von Wahlde faz duas importantes declaraes. A primeira que a arqueologia tem confirmado a notvel exatido da informao topogrfica em Joo, mesmo em face do grande nmero de detalhes fornecidos em alguns casos. Na verdade, diz ele, precisamente aqueles lugares descritos com o maior ndice de detalhes, como no caso dos tanques de Betesda e os locais da crucifixo e da tumba de Jesus, que podem ser identificados com maior certeza. A segunda declarao que no h nenhuma evidncia confivel que sugira que qualquer dos vinte locais seja simplesmente fictcio ou simblico. Embora reconhecendo a possibilidade de alguns locais terem um significado simblico secundrio, Von Wahlde conclui que a historicidade e a preciso intrnsecas das referncias deveriam estar acima de qualquer a dvida.51 A despeito das identificaes errneas endossadas por Albright, seu principal argumento permanece vlido: as primitivas referncias topogrficas palestinas e judias de Joo devem ser ter se originado com os cristos da dispora no mundo greco-romano, provavelmente por meio da tradio oral. Isso significa que em vez de criaes do segundo sculo completamente desvinculadas do tempo e dos lugares dos eventos que descreve, o Evangelho de Joo contm reminiscncias antigas e de boa qualidade, as quais necessariamente favorecem a autenticidade de seu contedo.52 Como afirma Paul N. Anderson, as contribuies arqueolgicas de Abright foraram os eruditos bblicos a considerar novamente significantes aspectos da historicidade joanina, depois de ter sido evitada por um sculo ou mais de erudio crtica.53 A dcada de 1940 testemunhou dois importantes achados arqueolgicos pertinentes interpretao do Quarto Evangelho. O primeiro foi no final de 1945, quando treze cdices de pergaminho do quarto sculo escritos em copta e contendo nada menos que quarenta e nove tratados foram descobertos dentro de um pote sob um grande pedra em Nag Hammadi, nas proximidades da vila egpcia de al-Qacr. Visto que os cdices parecem refletir tradies do segundo sculo e combinam elementos gnsticos e do cristianismo primitivo, o assunto do impacto do gnosticismo sobre o Novo Testamento, Joo em particular, foi totalmente reaberto. Chegou-se a dizer que dispomos agora de uma evidncia incontestvel da influncia gnstica sobre o Quarto
Urban C. von Wahlde, Archaeology and Johns Gospel, em Jesus and Archaeology, 523586. Para sua anlise da evidncia arqueolgica do trs lugares mencionados por Albright, veja especificamente as pginas 555-556 (Enon perto de Salim), 556-559 (Sicar) e 572-575 (o Lithostroton). 51 Von Wahlde, 583. 52 Albright, Recent Discoveries in Palestine, 158. 53 Paul N. Anderson, Aspects of Historicity in the Gospel of John, em Jesus and Archaeology, 590.
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Evangelho.54 Cuidadosa investigao, porm, tem levado a maioria dos eruditos a rejeitar esta hiptese.55 Em rpidas palavras, os documentos de Nag-Hammadi no fornecem nenhuma evidncia de um redentor gnstico pr-cristo, conforme descrito por Bultmann e vrios outros, que pode ter influenciado a teologia e a literatura das igrejas gentlicas, das quais o Evangelho de Joo seria o melhor exemplo. Se esses documentos permitiram pela primeira vez com que eruditos bblicos conhecessem os gnsticos em suas prprias palavras e no apenas como eles so retratados pelos antigos heresiologistas cristos, eles tambm testificam da distncia que existe entre as idias gnsticas e nosso Novo Testamento. A. D. Nock afirma que os escritos de Nag Hammadi confirmam aquilo que j est implcito nos pais da igreja, ou seja, que o gnosticismo foi de fato uma heresia crist do segundo sculo com razes no pensamento especulativo.56 A segunda e ltima descoberta que ajudou a resgatar o Evangelho de Joo da interpretao crtica radical foram os Rolos do Mar Morto. Descobertos por acaso em 1947 em Khirbet Qumran, prximo s runas de um antigo monastrio judaico, os rolos consistem num grande nmero de manuscritos bblicos, em sua maioria fragmentrios, alm de outros documentos. E uma vez que exames paleogrficos e de carbono 14 mostraram que eles datam do perodo das origens crists (200 a.C.70 A.D.), esses documentos so de grande interesse no apenas para a pesquisa do Antigo Testamento e da histria do judasmo, mas tambm para os estudos neotestamentrios, particularmente com relao ao contexto de Joo. Os rolos tornaram claro que mesmo antes da era crist j existia na Palestina um cenrio literrio onde idias religiosas judaicas, gregas e mesmo pr-gnsticas eram combinadas numa forma que se acreditava ser exclusiva de Joo e do segundo sculo em diante. H vrios exemplos nos rolos do vocabulrio teolgico dualista encontrado tanto na literatura joanina quanto na literatura gnstica subseqente. Eles so bastante evidentes no Manual de Disciplina ou Regras da Comunidade.57 Apenas nas colunas 3 e 4, por exemplo, encontramos palavras tais como mundo, verdade, falsidade, luz, escurido, paz, alegria e eterno. Tais palavras so tpicas da literatura crist primitiva, principalmente o Evangelho de Joo. H tambm expresses como praticar a verdade, o Esprito da Verdade, Prncipe de Luz, filhos da luz, filhos das trevas,

E.g., Gesine Robinson, The Trimorphic Protennoia and the Prologue of the Fourth Gospel, em Gnosticism and the Early Christian World: In Honor of James M. Robinson, ed. James E. Goehring, et al. (Sonoma: Polebridge, 1990), 37-50. 55 Veja especialmente Craig A. Evans, Word and Glory: On the Exegetical and Theological Background of Johns Prologue, Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series 89 (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1993), 13-76. 56 A. D. Nock, Gnosticism, em Arthur Darby Nock: Essays on Religion and the Ancient World, 2 vols, ed. Zeph Stuart (Oxford: Clarendon, 1972), 2:956. 57 A traduo de Geza Vermes, The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English (Nova York: Penguin, 1997), 98-117.

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a luz da vida, andar em trevas, a ira de Deus e as obras de Deus que so usadas de maneiras que claramente lembram as de Joo.58 Numerosos so os paralelos e pontos de contato entre Qumran e Joo, e isso foi decisivo para se estabelecer as origens judaicas fundamentais do Quarto Evangelho. No mais necessrio, nem correto, apelar para um eventual contexto helenstico ou gnstico do segundo sculo para se explicar o carter distinto deste Evangelho. Embora as diferenas conceituais e teolgicas entre Joo e Qumran no devam ser negligenciadas, as similaridades quanto ao vocabulrio e imagens so de grande importncia para se determinar a natureza da tradio joanina: agora possvel demonstrar que essa tradio est muito mais prxima do cristianismo propriamente dito do que era antes se admitia.59 Os rolos do Mar Morto provocaram o que ficou conhecido como a nova perspectiva sobre o Quarto Evangelho. Esse precisamente o ttulo de um artigo publicado originariamente em 1959 por John A. T. Robinson, no qual ele questionou cinco velhas pressuposies relacionadas fidedignidade da tradio joanina que havia determinado a pesquisa do Quarto Evangelho principalmente nos cinqenta anos anteriores.60 As pressuposies eram to amplamente aceitas e o consenso to forte que Robinson podia inclusive falar do que ele chamou de ortodoxia crtica.61 Ao se referir especificamente aos rolos e outros achados arqueolgicos que vindicavam o conhecimento de Joo da topografia e as instituies da Palestina antes da guerra judaica, ele falou o que lhe parecia serem indcios, mas que ele estava inclinado a encarar com seriedade, porque todos eles estavam apontando na mesma direo.62 Ento, ao final do artigo, ele expressou sua convico de que a tradio joanina no era resultado de um desenvolvimento tardio, mas remontava aos primrdios do cristianismo.63 De maneira que a pergunta quanto a se Joo historicamente fidedigno ou teologicamente condicionado, ou seja, se o autor pode ser considerado uma testemunha do Jesus histrico ou apenas do Cristo da f, a reposta de Robinson foi clara: Porque ele [Joo] o escritor do Novo Testamento que, teologicamente falando, encara a histria mais seriamente que qualquer outro, ele tem ao menos o direito de ser ouvido em relao tanto histria quanto teologia.64
Para mais informao, veja James H. Charlesworth, A Critical Comparison of the Dualism in 1QS 3:13-4:26 and the Dualism Contained in the Gospel of John, em John and the Dead Sea Scrolls, ed. James H. Charleswoth (Nova York: Crossroad, 1990), 76-106. 59 Stephen S. Smalley, John: Evangelist and Interpreter, 2nd ed., New Testament Profiles (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1998), 35. 60 John A. T. Robinson, The New Look on the Fourth Gospel, em Studia Evangelica: Papers Presented to the International Congress on The Four Gospels in 1957 Held at Christ Church, Oxford, 1957, ed. Kurt Aland et al., Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur 73 (Berlin: Akademie, 1959), 338-350; reprinted in John A. T. Robinson, Twelve New Testament Studies, Studies in Biblical Theology (Naperville: Allenson, 1962), 94-106. 61 Robinson, Twelve New Testament Studies, 94. 62 Ibid. 63 Ibid., 106. 64 Ibid., 102. Robinson no foi o primeiro a reintroduzir o debate sobre a historicidade de Joo. Nas suas Sarum Lectures, proferidas em 1954-1955 na University of Oxford, C. H. Dodd j havia
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 de fato um grave erro assumir que porque Joo tem um teor mais teolgico ele no seja de carter histrico. Do ponto de vista hermenutico, a abordagem ou um/ou outro absolutamente desnecessria, e se a arqueologia significa alguma coisa, ento podemos dizer que tal abordagem na verdade equivocada. estranho, pondera Anderson, que embora tendo mais material arqueolgico e topogrfico que todos os trs Sinticos juntos, ainda h aqueles que consideram Joo como sendo inteiramente no-histrico. Nesse caso, como explicar esse material? De onde veio e por que foi includo? Foi apenas para efeito retrico ou para dar um senso de realismo narrativa?65 Uma coisa que precisa ser enfatizada que tomar esse material como uma evidncia positiva quanto ao carter e origem da tradio joanina no em absoluto falta de senso crtico, mas talvez a nica abordagem realmente objetiva e segura.66 Concluso A pesquisa joanina deve muito arqueologia. Outras disciplinas, como a crtica da redao, tambm exerceram um papel importante com relao historicidade de Joo ao revelar o cenrio histrico do livro, embora no na mesma proporo que a arqueologia. Muito embora a p do arquelogo nunca ser capaz de demonstrar a veracidade de declaraes tais como e a Palavra se fez carne e habitou entre ns (Jo 1:1), porque Deus amou ao mundo de tal maneira que deu o seu Filho unignito (Jo 3:16) e Jesus o Cristo, o Filho de Deus (Jo 20:31), ou episdios como o milagre em Can (2:1-11), a multiplicao de pes (6:1-15) e a ressurreio de Lzaro (11:17-44), ela tem contribudo mais que qualquer outra coisa para colocar as origens judaicas de Joo, bem como sua antigidade e mesmo fidedignidade, sobre um firme alicerce. Que este Evangelho no foi escrito aps o final do primeiro sculo ou incio do segundo no pode ser mais contestado. Em relao ao seu ambiente conceitual, so reconhecidamente poucos os estudiosos que ainda operam dentro das limitaes impostas pela escola histria das religies, argumentando em favor do helenismo em vez do do judaismo como a principal fonte das idias Joo.67 Quanto autoria, embora muitos intrpretes ainda evitam identificar o discpulo amado com Joo, o filho de Zebedeu, aceita-se hoje que sempre existe uma chance de que o apstolo Joo possa
discutido a nova situao, utilizando argumentos no muito diferentes dos de Robinson. Poucos anos mais tarde, Dodd expandiu suas palestras e as publicou no livro entitulado Historical Tradition in the Fourth Gospel (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1963). 65 Anderson, 596. 66 Deveria ser lembrado que tambm existem vrias outras linhas de evidncia da historicidade de Joo. Alm das referncias topogrficas, Anderson analisa reivindicaes retricas de conhecimento de primeira-mo, aspectos de espacialidade e incidentes topogrficos, aspectos de familiaridade pessoal, referncias cronolgicas e o fato do detalhe emprico (597-613). Concluindo seu artigo, ele argumenta que ao passo que muito de Joo teolgico, dizer todo o seu contedo ou mesmo a maior parte dele deve ser atribudo ao cnones da a-historicidade e imaginao mais que o pesquisador realmente crtico desejaria fazer (618). 67 Para exemplos, veja D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), 31, 34.

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de alguma forma ser o autor do Evangelho que ns tradicionalmente chamamos de Joo, como declara Francis J. Moloney. Ele acrescenta: arrogncia excluir essa possibilidade.68 No que diz respeito sua fidedignidade histrica, verdade que, para a maioria dos crticos, a maior parte do contedo de Joo ainda se mostra suspeito, mas, como observa Craig L. Blomberg, isso mais o resultado de uma pressuposio que simplesmente rejeita qualquer forma de sobrenaturalismo que a concluso de um argumento sustentado.69 Por outro lado, principalmente com o auxlio da arqueologia, possvel argumentar em favor da historicidade e confiabilidade geral deste Evangelho, a despeito do fato de que sua mensagem sempre ser uma questo de f (cf. 20:29).

Francis J. Moloney, The Gospel of John, Sacra Pagina 4 (Collegeville: Liturgical, 1998), 8. Craig L. Blomberg, The Historical Reliability of Johns Gospel: Issues and Commentary (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2001), 283.
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CHAPTER VII Archaeology and the Gospel of John: How Ancient Remains Can Help Modern Interpretation of the Bible Wilson Paroschi, Ph.D.
Professor of New Testament SALT, Unasp-EC

At the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the Biblical Archaeology Review, Michael D. Coogan was invited to list the ten most significant archaeological discoveries in the ancient Near East. His selection, which is arranged in chronological order and intended to give a geographical overview of the lands of the Bible, includes: (1) the Gilgamesh Epic tablet XI from Nineveh, a parallel with the biblical flood story; (2) the Beni Hasan mural from nineteenth-century Egypt, showing a caravan of Asiactics coming to trade and depicting what the Israelites ancestorsthe patriarchsmay have looked like; (3) the Gezer High Place near Tel Aviv from 1600 B.C.; (4) the ten-inch long carved ivory knife handle from Megiddo in the thirteenth or twelfth century B.C., portraying in one of its sides the luxury of Canaanite royal courts which certainly was not very different from life in Solomons court in Jerusalem; (5) the fertility goddess gold pendant from Ras Shamra, Syria, from the fourteenth or twelfth century B.C.; (6) the Gibeon Pool, six miles north of Jerusalem, from the eleventh century, B.C., where Davids forces fought against the forces of Sauls son Ishbosheth (2 Sam 2:12-17); (7) the Beersheba Altar in southern Israel from the eighth century B.C.; (8) the seventhcentury B.C. silver scroll amulet from Ketef Hinnom, near Jerusalem, with the name Yahweh on it; (9) Masada on the southwestern shore of the Dead Sea from the second century B.C.; and (10) the sixth-century A.D. mosaic map of Palestine from Madaba, Jordan.70 These were all great discoveries indeed. The list, however, as Coogan himself admits, is arbitrary and subjective,71 and different authors may come up with a different selection.72 Other amazing finds, especially of recent years, are: (1) a plaster
References:
Michael D. Coogan, 10 Great Finds, Biblical Archaeology Review (hereafter BAR) 21, no. 3 (1995): 36-47; cf. Walter C. Kaiser Jr. et al., Hard Sayings of the Bible, one-vol. ed. (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1996), 61-65. 71 Coogan, 36. 72 See, e.g., James H. Charlesworths selection of the top seven archaeological finds in the twentieth century up to the 1980s. The list, which is basically related to the study of Jesus, includes: Jewish synagogues in Palestine, the walls and distinctive gates of Jerusalem, discoveries at the Temple Mount at the time of Jesus, the pools of Bethesda outside the Sheep Gate, material near Pilates Praetorium in Jerusalem, the bones of a crucified man named
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text at Tell Deir-`Alla in Jordan from the mid-eighth century B.C., recording a vision of Balaam, son of Beor, apparently the same Balaam of Num 2224;73 (2) the mid-ninthcentury B.C. Aramaic inscription from Tel Dan, at the foot of Mount Hermon, mentioning the House of David;74 (3) the location of Bethsaida on the northeastern shores of Galilee from where several of Jesus disciples came;75 (4) the first archaeological evidence for Pontius Pilate, discovered in 1961 at Caesarea Maritima, the city of Pilates residence in Israel;76 (5) the two ossuaries, or bone boxes, bearing the name of Caiaphas, probably the same high priest who tried Jesus;77 and (6) the inscription from Aphrodisias in southwestern Turkey mentioning for the first time indirect evidence for Lukes references to God-fearers (Acts 10:2; 22; 16:14; 18:7).78 These and many other discoveries clarify significantly both the historical and the cultural setting of the biblical text. They do not prove, however, the veracity of the
Jehohanan, and growing evidence for the site of the crucifixion (Jesus within Judaism: New Light from Exciting Archaeological Discoveries [New York: Doubleday, 1988], 103-130). 73 Jacob Hoftijzer, "The Prophet Balaam in a 6th Century Aramaic Inscription," Biblical Archaeologist 39 (1976): 11-17; P. Kyle McCarter, "The Balaam Texts from Deir All: The First Combination," Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 239 (1980): 49-60. 74 Avraham Biran and Joseph Naveh, An Aramaic Stele Fragment from Tel Dan, Israel Exploration Journal (hereafter IEJ) 43 (1993): 81-98; idem, The Tel Dan Inscription: A New Fragment, IEJ 45 (1995): 1-18. 75 For updated information on the excavations, including bibliographic references to the original reports and other essays, see Rami Arav, Bethsaida, in Jesus and Archaeology, ed. James H. Charlesworth (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006), 145-166. 76 Antonio Frova, Liscrizione di Ponzio Pilato a Cesarea, Rendiconti dellIstituto Lombardo 95 (1961): 419-434. See also Laura Boffo, Iscrizioni greche e latine per lo studio della Biblia (Brescia: Paideia, 1994), 217-233. 77 See Zvi Greenhut, Burial Cave of the Caiaphas Family, BAR 18, n. 5 (1992): 28-36, 76; Ronny Reich, Caiaphas Name Inscribed on Bone Boxes, BAR 18, n. 5 (1992): 38-44, 76; idem, Ossuary Inscriptions from the Caiaphas Tomb, Jerusalem Perspective 4 (1991): 13-21; William R. Domeris and Simon M. Long, The Recently Excavated Tomb of Joseph Bar Caipha and the Biblical Caiaphas, Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 89 (1994): 50-58. 78 J. M. Reynolds and R. F. Tannenbaum, Jews and Godfearers at Aphrodisias, Cambridge Philological Society Supplementary Volume 12 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987). The supposed ossuary of James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus, announced with enthusiasm in 2002 as the earliest historical reference to Jesus yet found (see Andr Lemaire, Burial Box of James, the Brother of Jesus, BAR 28, n. 6 [2002]: 25-33, 70), has generated much controversy. Although the ossuary itself is undoubtedly from the Herodian time, its unknown provenance (it belongs to a collector of antiquities in Tel-Aviv who says he bought the ossuary from an antiquity dealer in the 1970s), anomalous inscription (the words brother of Jesus seem to have been written in a different style and be from a different social strata), and the almost completely absence of patina covering the inscription have raised the suspicion that the reference to Jesus is nothing but a fraudulent later addition. The arguments, however, are not conclusive. The fact that the ossuary was not found in situ does not by itself compromise the authenticity of the inscription, neither does the fact that the inscription shows signs of two hands, for both writing styles were current in first-century Palestine. As for the patina, the little remains that were found within some letters are consistent with the one found on the surface of the ossuary, and it is the same patina known to be developed in a cave environment; the patina does not contain any modern elements, such as modern pigments. The absence of patina from several letters may only be due to the fact that the inscription was cleaned. Many scholars are still convinced that the inscription is likely to be genuine (e.g., Hershel Shanks and Ben Witherington III, The Brother of Jesus: The Dramatic Story and Meaning of the First Archaeological Link to Jesus and His Family [New York: HarperCollins, 2003]). The debate will certainly continue. On Jewish ossuaries from the New Testament period, see Craig A. Evans, Jesus and the Ossuaries: What Jewish Burial Practices Reveal about the Beginning of Christianity (Waco: Baylor, 2003).

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religious message nor the historicity of particular events recorded in the Bible. That is to say, archaeology does not establish biblical religion on the foundation of verifiable data, for that has to do with faith and can never be the object of scientific investigation.79 By throwing light on the historical and cultural setting of the Bible, however, archaeology does have a lot to say about the interpretation of the biblical writings, and by extension about biblical religion. An example is the Gospel of John, one of the most controversial writings in the Bible, and certainly the most one in the New Testament. Modern Interpretation of John All four gospels in the New Testament tell the story of Jesus, but not the same way. Each evangelist presents a different portrait of Jesus. The differences among the first three gospels, however, are not as significant as the differences between them and the Fourth Gospel. Even a casual reading of the gospels reveals that Matthew, Mark, and Luke share a considerable amount of common traditions about Jesus, but the same cannot be said of John, and this has been recognized since the time of early Christianity. At the turn of the third century, Clement of Alexandria is reported to have said that the gospels with genealogies [Matthew, Mark, and Luke] were written first, and that last of all, John, aware that the external details had been recorded in the gospels, was urged by his disciples and divinely moved by the Spirit to compose a spiritual gospel.80 It is not clear exactly what Clement meant by this expression, but the differences between John and the other gospels relate to a number of issues, such as the place of Jesus ministry (in John, mainly Judea; in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, mainly Galilee); the number of Passovers attended by Jesus in Jerusalem, and thus the length of His ministry (three Passovers in John; one in the other gospels); the style of Jesus teachings (in John, long discourses; in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, short parables and sayings); and the content itself. John, for example, does not mention Jesus birth, baptism, transfiguration, exorcism of demons, and agony in Gethsemane. The last supper and the prophetic discourse are also missing. Another difference is the portrait of Jesus himself. Important emphases in John, such as Jesus full divinity and preexistence, are virtually absent from Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The Johannine Jesus is constantly using words that are scarcely used in the other gospels (e.g., love, to love, truth, true, to know, to work, world, to abide, to judge, to send, to witness) and he also likes speaking of himself metaphorically as the bread of heaven, the true vine, the good shepherd, the door, and the light of the world.81 Most important, however, are the miracles of Jesus, which in John seem to be more extraordinary than those reported in the other gospels.82 New Testament scholar Ernst Ksemann is substantially correct
79

See esp. David Noel Freedman, The Relationship of Archaeology to the Bible, BAR 11, n. 1

(1985): 6.
81

See Eusebius The Church History 6.14.7. For a full list of vocabulary and other literary differences, see C. K. Barrett, The Gospel According to St. John: An Introduction with Commentary and Notes on the Greek Text, 2d ed. (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1978), 5-9. 82 For more details on the differences between John and the Synoptics, see D. Moody Smith, John

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when he says of the Fourth Gospel: Judged by the modern concept of reality, our Gospel is more fantastic than any other writing of the New Testament.83 Until mid-eighteen century, such differences represented no problem for most Bible interpreters. Being the work of John, the beloved disciple and a leading figure in the apostolic church, it was generally thought that his account of Jesus was more personal and therefore more authoritative than the others. Mark and Luke were not eyewitnesses of the events they recorded, and Matthew, though being one of the twelve, never achieved the prominence that John did. Taking John as the starting point, it was then possible to harmonize the gospels and so to minimize their differences. The frailty of this approach was first realized by J. J. Griesbach, who contended that all four gospels cannot be treated together. In his Synopsis of the gospels published in 1776, he ignored the gospel of John almost completely and simply placed together the parallel accounts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke for the purpose of comparison.84 This is how the term Synoptics came to be used as a reference to the first three gospels only.85 The separation of Johns Gospel from the others was not in itself hermeneutically wrong, but once separated, its differences and peculiarities came to the fore right at a time when Enlightenment was starting to impact biblical interpretation. For one thing, newer and more critical approaches to the Bible were necessary, particularly in relation to the use and handling of historical evidence, which were entirely distorted, to say the least, especially because of the old theory of verbal inspiration and inerrancy of every part of Scripture. For another thing, biblical interpretation was made hostage of a radical rationalism, that is, the rejection of any form of supernaturalism and the consequent abandon of the very notion of inspiration itself, so that ultimately the Bible became nothing more than an ancient document to be studied as any other ancient document.86 As a result, the authenticity of Johns Gospel came under heavy fire. In the eyes of rationalist Bible scholars, stories like the marriage-feast of Cana and the raising of Lazarus could not be true, implying that the fourth evangelist could not have been an eyewitness of the events he describes. One of the first attacks came already in 1792, by Edward Evanson, who referred to the miracle in Cana as incredible and unworthy of belief.87 If the Fourth Gospel was not history (biography) or an account historically reliable, what was it then? It did not take too long for the alternatives to appear. In 1835, D. F. Strauss introduced the term myth to describe the content of John; other terms
among the Gospels: The Relationship in Twentieth-Century Research (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992), 1-11. 83 Ernst Ksemann, The Testament of Jesus: A Study of the Gospel of John in the Light of Chapter 17, trans. by Gerhard Krodel (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1968), 45. 84 Robert H. Stein, The Synoptic Problem: An Introduction (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987), 15-25. 85 In New Testament studies, the term Synoptics refers to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and conveys the idea they can be arranged or viewed side by side, like in parallel columns, and be easily compared by means of a synopsis, for they report the same general outline for the story of Jesus. 86 For the impact of Enlightenment in New Testament interpretation, see Gerhard F. Hasel, New Testament Theology: Basic Issues in the Current Debate (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978). 87 See John Ashton, Understanding the Fourth Gospel (Oxford: Clarendon, 1991), 15-16.

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that were used in the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth included idea, philosophy, allegory, and theology.88 Whatever the term, the idea was the same: the Gospel of John was not the personal testimony of an eyewitness, the best loved of Jesus disciples, and its account should not be taken historically. Modern mind could no longer accept at the merely historical level what was felt to be nothing else but the expression of some idea in concrete forms by an ancient writer. The idea that Johns Gospel was not history but was written to convey a theological idea found a powerful expression in F. C. Baur, in mid-nineteenth century. In his picture of first-century Christianity, Baur saw a conflict between Jewish and Pauline or Gentile Christianity, and then the reconciliation of both, in the second century, in the Catholic Church. He then classified the New Testament writings according to this view and, for him, Johns Gospel was neither Jewish nor Gentile, but a Catholic document, in the sense that it was written to promote the idea of a unified church. As such, it could not have been written before the second half of the second century, and, of course, it was not historically reliable. Johns Gospel, unlike the others, Baur said, is not a historical account.89 Although Baurs arguments rested only on circumstantial evidence, if they can be called evidence at all, his influence on subsequent New Testament scholarship would be remarkable. At the turn of the twentieth century, only a few, conservative interpreters still held the traditional position that this gospel was the testimony John, the son of Zebedee. Another blow was struck with the arrival of the religio-historical school, in the late nineteenth century. Attempting to tie the rise and growth of all religions to purely naturalistic and historical connections, this school affirmed that Christianity can be understood only within the context of its historical environment as one phenomenon among the many religious phenomena of the Hellenistic world. As such, Johns theology and concepts were explained in the light of other contemporary religions, like mystery religions and Gnosticism. Still using the basic scheme provided by Baur, Otto Pfleiderer, the founder of the religio-historical school, maintained that the Gospel of John did not belong to the historical books of primitive Christianity, but to its Hellenistic doctrinal writings.90 The Johannine Logos, the light/darkness dualism, the descent/ascent motif, and the Greek term kyrios (Lord) are only some examples of concepts which would have been assimilated when Christianity moved from Palestine and its Jewish environment to the broader Hellenistic world. These ideas were taken even farther by Rudolf Bultmann in the first half of the twentieth century. Brilliant in his reasoning and absolutely consistent in the application of the historical method, Bultmanns interpretation of Johns Gospel was devastating: Johns language, whenever it reflects supernatural categories, was entirely mythological;91 it is not to be taken on the historical level as a source of information on
Ibid., 36. Quoted by Ashton, 38. 90 Otto Pfleiderer, Primitive Christianity: Its Writings and Teachings in Their Historical Connection, 4 vols., trans. W. Montgomery, (London: Williams & Norgate, 1906-1911), 4:2. 91 According to Bultmann, the cosmology of the New Testament is essentially mythical in character. The world is viewed as a three storied structure, with the earth in the centre, the heaven above, and the underworld
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the life and teaching of Jesus;92 its conceptual world was not Jewish, but Gnostic; the Redeemer that came from heaven was inspired by the Gnostic myth; the Gospel is not original, but a conflation of several previous documents; it was not written by a single author, but is the result of a composition process in which several editors or redactors were involved; the text as we have it does not make sense and so it needs to be reorganized; and to be understood, it needs to be demythologized by means of an existential interpretation. In other words, almost nothing if any of the traditional understanding of John was left. Bultmanns radical criticism was so overwhelming that, for a while, it appeared the Gospel would never recover from it.93 But, then, things began to change, and archaeology played an important role in that. Archaeology and Johns Gospel It is true that not all of Bultmanns ideas gained universal acceptance, even among more radical Johannine scholarship.94 It is also true that, despite all the challenges, several conservative scholars continued to maintain a more traditional view on Johns authorship and date. But, in the first half of the twentieth century, there was a widespread consensus on at least three points: (1) that the fourth evangelist was not a direct eyewitness and therefore had to depend on sources; (2) that his background was not Jewish; and (3) that his Gospel was actually not about the historical Jesus but about the Christ of faith, that is, it is a theological expression of the churchs faith late in the second century and read back into the life of Jesus. The first archaeological discovery to impact the interpretation of Johns Gospel was a small fragment of papyrus, listed as Papyrus 52, measuring only 2 by 3 inches and containing a few verses from John 17: parts of vss. 31-33 on the recto, and of vss. 37-38 on the verso. Although it had been acquired in Egypt in 1920 by Bernard P. Grenfell for the John Rylands Library in Manchester, England, it was identified and published only in 1934, by C. H. Roberts. Using paleographical techniques, Roberts dated the fragment of the first half of the second century; most scholars argue for a date no later than A.D. 125.95

beneath. Heaven is the abode of God and of celestial beingsthe angels. The underworld is hell, the place of torment. Even the earth is more than the scene of natural, everyday events, of the trivial round and common task. It is the scene of the supernatural activity of God and his angels on the one hand, and of Satan and his demons on the other. These supernatural forces intervene in the course of nature and in all that men think and will and do (Rudolf Bultmann, New Testament and Mythology, in Kerygma and Myth: A Theological Debate, ed. Hans Werner Bartsch, trans. Reginald H. Fuller, 2 vols. [London: SPCK, 1953-1962], 1:1). 92 In his book Jesus and the Word (trans. L. P. Smith and E. H. Lantero [London: Scribner, 1958], which is a critical study of the Synoptics, Rudolf Bultmann specifically notes that the Gospel of John cannot be taken into account at all as a source for the teaching of Jesus, and it is not referred to in this book (17). 93 On Bultmanns interpretation of Johns Gospel, see Ashton, 44-66. 94 See D. Moody Smith, Johannine Studies, in The New Testament and Its Modern Interpreters, ed. Eldon J. Epp and George W. MacRae (Atlanta: Scholars, 1989), 271-273. 95 See Jack Finegan, Encountering New Testament Manuscripts: A Working Introduction to Textual Criticism (London: SPCK, 1974), 85-90.

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Despite its size, the significance of this papyrus for the interpretation of John cannot be overemphasized: it is indisputable evidence that this Gospel was circulating in Egypt already at the beginning of the second century, and, as such, it demonstrates the fallacy of those theories according to which John as not written but in the second half of the second century.96 This shows, among other things, the inadequacy of Baurs description of earliest Christianity. In fact, not only John but all New Testament documents are now generally assigned to the first century. It is not altogether impossible, thus, that the Fourth Gospel was authored by an eyewitness to Jesus. In this case, it would not be necessarily removed from the world and context it portrays. Still in the first half of the twentieth century, several other archaeological discoveries in Palestine seemed to challenge some of the assumptions held at that time by most Johannine scholars. Attention to this matter was called by archaeologist W. F. Albright in a number of publications between 1924 and 1956.97 Among other things, Albright argued that the several topographical references in the Gospel could hardly have been made without some degree of familiarity with the Palestinian and particularly the Judean situation before the First Revolt (A.D. 6670). In fact, the amount of Johns topographical references is rather unique within the New Testament. There are thirteen such references, and if details not mentioned in the Synoptics are included, the number increases to twenty. In a time when most interpreters believed John was fictional, these references were treated as symbolic rather than historical recollections.98 According to Albright, however, considering the degree of the devastation created in Palestine and especially in Jerusalem by the Roman armies and also the almost complete break in the continuity of Christian presence in those areas after the war, any correct data which could be validated archaeologically or topographically must have been carried into Diaspora in oral form by Christians refugees,99 and later Christian tradition does tell of the escape of some Christians from Jerusalem to Pella in Transjordan.100 In his 1956 article, Albright discusses only three examples of locations that were considered to have been positively identified by archaeology: the place where
Because of the Rylands Papyrus (P52) particularly, John is generally thought to date no later than 110, and probably a decade or two earlier (Smith, Johannine Studies, 272-273). 97 W. F. Albright, Some Observations Favoring the Palestinian Origin of the Gospel of John, Harvard Theological Review 17 (1924): 189-195; idem, From the Stone Age to Christianity (Baltimore: John Hopkins Press, 1940), 292-300; idem, The Archaeology of Palestine (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1949), 239-248; idem, Recent Discoveries in Palestine and the Gospel of John, in The Background of the New Testament and Its Eschatology: In Honour of Charles Harold Dodd, ed. W. D. Davies and D. Daube (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1956), 153-171. 98 For an example, see Norbert Krieger, Fiktive Orte der Johannestaufe, Zeitschrift fr die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft 45 (1954): 121-123. 99 Albright, Recent Discoveries in Palestine, 156. Albright used the same argument for the numerous Aramaic words in the Gospel. Words such as rabbi (my master) or the Greek equivalent didaskalos (teacher), as well as most personal names in John, such as Maryam (Mary), Mart (Martha), Lazar (Lazarus), Elisheba (Elisabeth), and Shalm (Salome), were characteristic of the period of Herod the Great to A.D. 70 and became rather current in early Christian usage probably as reminiscences of oral tradition in Palestine before the First Revolt (ibid., 157-158). 100 Eusebius The Church History 3.5.3.
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Pilate brought Jesus, which was called Lithostroton in Greek and Gabbatha in Hebrew, that is, in Aramaic (John 19:13); Aenon near Salim, where John the Baptist was conducting his baptismal work, because there was much water there (3:23); and Jacobs well, at Sychar, a Samaritan city (4:3-6), which he identified with Shechem.101 Interestingly, the first two of these identifications, as well as the exact location of Sychar, would be contradicted by later archaeological discoveries. In an updated, comprehensive survey of the archaeological status of all topographical references in John, Urban C. von Wahlde indicates that of the twenty Johannine sites, sixteen have been identified with certainty. These are Bethsaida (1:44), Cana (2:1, 11; 4:46-54; 21:2), Capernaum (2:12; 4:46; 6:17, 24; the harbor, 6:24-25; the synagogue, 6:59), Jacobs well (4:4-6), Mount Gerizim (4:20), the location of Sychar (4:5), the Sheep Gate (5:2), the pool(s) of Bethesda (5:2), Tiberias (6:1, 23; 21:2), the pool of Siloam (9:1-9), Bethany near Jerusalem (11:1-17; 12:1-11), Ephraim (11:54), the Kidron Valley (18:1), the Praetorium (18:28, 33; 19:9), Golgotha (19:17-18, 20, 41), and the tomb of Jesus (19:41-42). Of the remaining four, two can be narrowed to within a relatively restricted area: the place in the temple precints for the keeping of animals (2:13-16) and the Lithostroton (19:13); and the other two are still highly controversial: Aenon near Salim (3:23) and Bethany beyond the Jordan (1:28; 10:40).102 In his concluding observations, von Wahlde makes two important statements. The first is that archaeology has confirmed the remarkable accuracy of the topographical information in John, even in face of the great number of details provided in some instances. As a matter of fact, he says, it is precisely those places described in the greatest detail, as in the case of the pools of Bethesda, the place of crucifixion, and the location of Jesus tomb, that can be identified with the greatest certitude. The second statement is that there is no credible evidence to suggest that any of the twenty sites is simply fictitious or symbolic. Though acknowledging the possibility of some sites having a secondary symbolic meaning, von Wahlde concludes that the intrinsic historicity and accuracy of the references should be beyond doubt.103 Despite the erroneous identifications endorsed by Albright, his main contention remains valid: Johns early Palestinian and Judean topographical references must derive from Diaspora Christians in the Greco-Roman world, probably by means of orally conveyed tradition. This means that instead of a second-century creation completely detached from the time and places of the events it describes, the Gospel of John does contain good, ancient reminiscences, which necessarily favors the authenticity of its content.104 As Paul N. Anderson declares, Albrights archaeological contribution forced biblical scholars to consider again significant aspects of Johannine historicity, having been sidestepped by the previous century or more of critical scholarship.105
101 102

Albright, Recent Discoveries in Palestine, 158-160. Urban C. von Wahlde, Archaeology and Johns Gospel, in Jesus and Archaeology, 523-586. For his survey of the archaeological evidence of the three places mentioned by Albright, see specifically pages 555-556 (Aenon near Salim), 556-559 (Sychar), and 572-575 (the Lithostrotos). 103 Von Wahlde, 583. 104 Albright, Recent Discoveries in Palestine, 158. 105 Paul N. Anderson, Aspects of Historicity in the Gospel of John, in Jesus and Archaeology, 590.

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The years of 1940s witnessed two other important archaeological finds bearing on the interpretation of the Fourth Gospel. The first was in late 1945, when thirteen fourth-century leather bound codices written in Coptic and containing no less than forty-nine treatises were discovered in a storage jar beneath a large boulder in Nag Hammadi, a site near the Egyptian village of al-Qacr. Since the codices probably reflect second-century traditions and combine Gnostic and early Christian elements, the whole question of the impact of Gnosticism upon the New Testament, particularly John, was reopened. It has been claimed that there is now indisputable evidence of Gnostic influence on the Fourth Gospel.106 Careful investigation, however, has led most scholars to reject this hypothesis.107 Simply put, the Nag Hammadi documents do not furnish any evidence at all of a pre-Christian Gnostic redeemer, as described by Bultmann and several others, that might have influenced the theology and literature of the Gentiles churches, of which Johns Gospel would be the finest example. If these documents let for the first time Bible scholars to meet the Gnostics in their own words and not only as they are depicted by early Christian heresiologists, they also witness to the distance that exists between their ideas and our New Testament. A. D. Nock says that the Nag Hammadi writings confirm what is already implicit in the church fathers, namely, that Gnosticism was indeed a second-century Christian heresy with roots in speculative thought.108 The second and last discovery to help rescuing Johns Gospel from radical criticism was the Dead Sea Scrolls. Discovered by accident in 1947 at Khirbet Qumran, near the ruins of an ancient Jewish monastery, the Scrolls consist of a large number of biblical manuscripts, mostly fragmentary, and of other documents as well. And since they have been shown on the basis of paleography and carbon-14 tests to date from the period of Christian origins (200 B.C.A.D. 70), these documents are of great interest not only to Old Testament research and the history of Judaism, but also to New Testament scholarship, particularly in relation to Johns background. The Scrolls have made it plain that even before the Christian era there already existed in Palestine a literary setting in which Jewish, Greek, and even pre-Gnostic religious ideas were combined in a way that once was thought to be unique to John and of the second century onwards. There are several examples in the Scrolls of the dualistic theological vocabulary found in Johannine and later Gnostic literature. These are mainly evident in the Manual of Discipline or Community Rule.109 Only in cols. 3 and 4, for instance, we find words such as world, truth, falsehood, light, darkness, peace, joy, and
E.g., Gesine Robinson, The Trimorphic Protennoia and the Prologue of the Fourth Gospel, in Gnosticism and the Early Christian World: In Honor of James M. Robinson, ed. James E. Goehring, et al. (Sonoma: Polebridge, 1990), 37-50. 107 See especially Craig A. Evans, Word and Glory: On the Exegetical and Theological Background of Johns Prologue, Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series 89 (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1993), 13-76. 108 A. D. Nock, Gnosticism, in Arthur Darby Nock: Essays on Religion and the Ancient World, 2 vols, ed. Zeph Stuart (Oxford: Clarendon, 1972), 2:956. 109 The translation is from Geza Vermes, The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English (New York: Penguin, 1997), 98-117.
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eternal. These are typical of early Christian literature, particularly the Gospel of John. Also expressions such as practicing the truth, the Spirit of Truth, Prince of Light, sons of light, sons of darkness, the light of life, walk in the darkness, the wrath of God, and the works of God are used in ways that clearly reminisces that of John.110 Parallels and points of contact between Qumran and John are numerous, and this has been decisive to establish the fundamental Jewishness of the Fourth Gospel. It is no longer necessary, neither correct, to appeal to an eventual second-century Hellenistic or Gnostic milieu to explain the distinctiveness of this Gospel. Though the conceptual and theological differences between John and Qumran should not be overlooked, the similarities in vocabulary and images are of great importance to determine the nature of Johannine tradition: it is now possible to demonstrate that this tradition is much closer to that of Christianity itself than it had previously been thought possible.111 The Dead Sea Scrolls prompted what became known as the new look on the Fourth Gospel. This is the precise title of an article published originally in 1959 by John A. T. Robinson, in which he questioned five old presuppositions related to the reliability of Johannine tradition that had underlain the Fourth Gospel research mostly in the previous fifty years.112 The presuppositions were so widely accepted, the consensus so strong that Robinson could even speak of what he termed critical orthodoxy.113 By explicitly referring to the Scrolls and other archaeological finds that vindicated Johns knowledge of the topography and institutions of Palestine prior to the Jewish war, he spoke of what appeared to him to be straws in the wind, but which he was inclined to take seriously, because all of the straws were blowing in the same direction.114 Then, at the end of the article he expressed his conviction that Johannine tradition is not the result of a later development, but goes back to the earliest days of Christianity.115 So the question whether Johns material is historically reliable or theologically conditioned, that is, whether the author should be regarded as a witness to the Jesus of history or only to the Christ of faith, Robinsons answer was clear: Because he [John] is the New Testament writer who, theologically speaking, takes history more seriously than any other, he has at least the right to be heardon the history as well as on the theology.116
See further James H. Charlesworth, A Critical Comparison of the Dualism in 1QS 3:13-4:26 and the Dualism Contained in the Gospel of John, in John and the Dead Sea Scrolls, ed. James H. Charleswoth (New York: Crossroad, 1990), 76-106. 111 Stephen S. Smalley, John: Evangelist and Interpreter, 2nd ed., New Testament Profiles (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1998), 35. 112 John A. T. Robinson, The New Look on the Fourth Gospel, in Studia Evangelica: Papers Presented to the International Congress on The Four Gospels in 1957 Held at Christ Church, Oxford, 1957, ed. Kurt Aland et al., Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur 73 (Berlin: Akademie, 1959), 338-350; reprinted in John A. T. Robinson, Twelve New Testament Studies, Studies in Biblical Theology (Naperville: Allenson, 1962), 94-106. 113 Robinson, Twelve New Testament Studies, 94. 114 Ibid. 115 Ibid., 106. 116 Ibid., 102. Robinson was not the first to raise anew the issue of the historicity of John. In the Sarum Lectures, delivered in 1954-1955 at the University of Oxford, C. H. Dodd had already spoken of the new situation,
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It is indeed a gross error to assume that because John is mostly theological in its tone it is not historical in its character. From the hermeneutical standpoint, the either/or approach is already absolutely unnecessary, and if archaeology means something, then it can be said that such an approach is in fact mistaken. It is puzzling, ponders Anderson, that though having more archaeological and topographical material than all three Synoptics combined, there are still those who consider John to be entirely non-historical. In this case, how to account for that material? Where did it come from and why was it included? Was it only for rhetorical effect or to lend a sense of realism to the narrative?117 One thing that needs to be highlighted is that it is not lack of critical sensibility to take that material as a positive sign of the character and origin of the Johannine tradition.118 Conclusion Johannine research is deeply indebted to archaeology. Other disciplines, such as redaction criticism, have also played an important role in pointing to the historicity of John by uncovering its historical situation, but not to the same extent as archaeology. Though the archaeologists shovel will never be able to demonstrate the veracity of statements such as the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14), God so loved the world that He gave His only Son (3:16), and Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (20:31), or episodes such as the miracle at Cana (2:1-11), the feeding of the five thousand (6:1-15), and the resurrection of Lazarus (11:17-44), it has helped more than anything else to put Johns Jewishness, earliness, and even reliability on a firm foundation. That this Gospel was not written later than the turn of the first century cannot be disputed anymore. With regard to its conceptual background, scholars who still operate within the constraints of the religio-historical school, thus arguing for Hellenism rather than Judaism as the main source of Johns ideas, are admittedly few.119 In relation to authorship, though many interpreters still refrain themselves from identifying the Beloved Disciple with John the Son of Zebedee, it is acknowledged today that there is always the chance that the apostle John may have been in some way author of the Gospel we traditionally call of John, as Francis J. Moloney says. He adds: It is arrogant to rule any possibility out of court.120 As for the historical reliability, it is true
using arguments not much unlike those used by Robinson. A few years later, Dodds lectures were expanded in a book titled Historical Tradition in the Fourth Gospel (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1963). 117 Anderson, 596. 118 It should be remembered that there are also several other lines of evidence for the historicity of John. In addition to topographical references, Anderson lists rhetorical claims to firsthand knowledge, aspects of spatiality and topographical incidentals, aspects of personal familiarity, chronological references and the fact of empirical detail (597-613). Concluding his article, he argues that while much of John is theological, to claim that all of its content or even most of itmust be ascribed to canons of ahistoricity and concoction is more than the authentically critical scholar will want to claim (618). 119 For examples, see D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), 31, 34. 120 Francis J. Moloney, The Gospel of John, Sacra Pagina 4 (Collegeville: Liturgical, 1998), 8.

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that in the eyes of most critical scholars more of Johns material still proves suspicious than not, but, as Craig L. Blomberg remarks, this is more the result of a presupposition that simply rejects any form of supernaturalism than the conclusion of a sustained argument.121 On the other hand, mainly with the help of archaeology it is possible to argue for the overall historicity and the general trustworthiness of this Gospel, despite the fact that its message will always be a matter of faith (cf. 20:29).

121 Craig L. Blomberg, The Historical Reliability of Johns Gospel: Issues and Commentary (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2001), 283.

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APNDICE A PAULO FRANZ BORK (1924- ) Resumo Biogrfico Em 1922, chegava ao Brasil o casal alemo Max e Helena Bork com seus trs filhos, instalando- se na cidade de Cristina, MG, onde nasceu, em 8 de janeiro de 1924, o filho mais novo, Paulo F. Bork. Logo aps seu nascimento, os pais, desejando que todos os filhos tivessem uma educao adventista, mudaram-se com a famlia para uma fazenda prxima ao Colgio Adventista Brasileiro (CAB), atual Centro Universitrio Adventista Campus 1, onde, de 1939 a 1942, Paulo Bork fez o curso primrio. Para auxiliar nas despesas dos anos posteriores, Paulo Bork colportou, nas frias de vero, nas cidades de Assis, SP (1942), Presidente Prudente, SP (1943), e Joinville, SC (1944), e concluiu, ainda no CAB, o curso de Contabilidade em 1945. No ano seguinte, decidiu ir para os Estados Unidos, onde reside at hoje. Estudou no Emmanuel Missionary College, atual Universidade Andrews, de 1946 a 1948, e nos dois anos seguintes estudou no Pacific Union College, onde bacharelou-se em Teologia. Cursou, em 1950 e 1951, o Mestrado em Histria da Igreja no Seminrio Teolgico Adventista, que na poca localizava-se em Takoma Park, Washington, DC e, posteriormente, fez o Mestrado em Divindade na Universidade Andrews (1959 e 1960). Alcanou, ainda, o ttulo de Doutor pela California Graduate School of Theology (1970-1971). No campo da Arqueologia, o Dr. Bork fez cursos em vrias universidades: na Pacific School of Religion, Califrnia; na Universidade Hebraica, Jerusalm; e na Universidade de Londres, Inglaterra. Participou ainda das seguintes pesquisas: - Escavao arqueolgica, patrocinada pela Fundao Ford, durante os veres de 1971 a 1975, em Tel Gezer, Israel. Esta cidade foi destruda pelas tropas egpcias e outorgada como presente filha de Fara que casou-se com Salomo; - Participou tambm da pesquisa patrocinada pelo Museu Arqueolgico de Jerusalm, de 1975 a 1978, com o objetivo de localizar os muros e portes de Jerusalm; - E por ltimo, da escavao arqueolgica chamada The City of David (A Cidade de Davi), patrocinada pelo Departamento de Antiguidades de Israel. Esta pesquisa foi tambm um estgio arqueolgico para os alunos do Dr. Bork. Realizou tambm outras pesquisas na Sria, Jordnia, Egito, Turquia, Iraque, Ir, Lbano, Iemen, Grcia, Itlia, Mxico e Guatemala, sendo nos dois ltimos lugares sobre a civilizao maia. No ministrio, Paulo Bork atuou, inicialmente, como pastor na igreja alem de Nova York e departamental de jovens na Greater New York Conference (1953-1956); tambm foi pastor nas igrejas inglesa e portuguesa da Southern New England Conference (1956-1959). Foi tambm professor de Bblia na Academia de Loma Linda de 1960 a 1967, e em seguida lecionou Histria e Arqueologia Hebraica na Faculdade de Teologia, no Pacific Union College at 1989. 100

De 1987 a 1989 foi diretor da Faculdade de Teologia no Pacific Union College e nesse mesmo perodo deu incio a uma extenso da faculdade em Jerusalm, que posteriormente passou aos cuidados da Associao Geral para estudos bblicos e arqueolgicos. Em 1989, o Dr. Bork jubilou-se formalmente, mas continua em intensa atividade, viajando e ministrando palestras e ainda, dando assistncia pesquisas no Centro de Pesquisas Ellen G. White da Universidade de Loma Linda. Suas publicaes foram as seguintes: The World of Moses (resultado de sua pesquisa para tese doutoral), em ingls, holands, e em processo de traduo para o portugus por alunas do curso de Tradutor e Intrprete do Centro Universitrio Adventista Campus 2; escreveu tambm Out of the City, Across the Sand, em ingls e traduzido para o portugus pela Casa Publicadora Brasileira, (A Viagem da Promessa); A History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Southern California, em ingls, e tambm diversos artigos publicados na Adventist Review, Ministry e Revista Adventista. O Dr. Bork casado com a Dra. Norma Bork, Ph.D. em Foniatria, professora universitria e empresria. O casal possui dois filhos: Paul K. Bork, funcionrio do Centro Mdico de Loma Linda, e o Dr. Terry A. Bork, promotor de justia no condado de Los Angeles.

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