William F. Albright

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William Foxwell Albright (May 24, 1891–September 19/September 20, 1971) was an American Orientalist, pioneer archaeologist, biblical scholar, linguist and expert on ceramics. From the early twentieth century until his death, he was the dean of biblical archaeologists and the universally acknowledged founder of the Biblical archaeology movement. His student, George Ernest Wright, followed in his footsteps as the leader of that movement. Others among his students, notably Frank Moore Cross and David Noel Freedman, became international leaders in the study of the Bible and the ancient Near East, including Northwest Semitic epigraphy and paleography. Albright's religious background was evangelical American Methodist. He was born in Coquimbo, Chile to Protestant missionaries Wilbur Finley and Zephine Viola Foxwell Albright, the eldest of six. He married Dr. Ruth Norton in 1921 in Jerusalem. The couple had four sons.

Albright received his Ph.D. in 1913 from Johns Hopkins University, where he later taught from 1929 to 1959 and was director of the American school of Oriental Research at Johns Hopkins. One of his major achievements was confirming the authenticity of the Dead Sea Scrolls following their discovery.

Albright argued that the Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were real historical figures, and he believed that Joshua's exploits were historical as well. He insisted that "as a whole, the picture in Genesis is historical, and there is no reason to doubt the general accuracy of the biographical details."

In 1923 he made the first significant excavation of a tumulus near Jerusalem--possibly the site where an ancient king of Judah was memorialized. Another noteworthy contribution he made to the field of Biblical archaeology was his study of the LMLK seals and the impact it had on other researchers from 1925-1960 (Grena, 2004, pp. 149-78).

Tumulus 2, excavated by W.F. Albright in 1923. His excavation trench is still visible at the top of the structure.

He also excavated a mound named Tell Beit Mirsim near Hebron from 1926 to 1932. He identified this site with the Canaanite city of Debir, mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible, although this identification has since been challenged. Together with other finds, this seemed to confirm that the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites was historical. Although some have challenged his conclusions, the majority of biblical scholars and archeologists concur with Albright.

He edited the Anchor Bible volumes on Jeremiah, Matthew, and Revelation; his books include Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan, The Archaeology of Palestine: From the Stone Age to Christianity, and The Biblical Period from Abraham to Ezra. Although primarily a biblical archaeologist, Albright also made some contributions to Egyptian archaeology: in a BASOR 130 (1953) paper titled "New Light from Egypt on the Chronology and History of Israel and Judah," the scholar established that Shoshenq I--the Biblical Egyptian king Shishak--came to power somewhere between 945 to 940 BC.

The W. F. Albright institute of Archaeological research, a branch of the American Schools of Oriental Research is located in Jerusalem.

[edit] References

Albright, William F. (1923). "Interesting finds in tumuli near Jerusalem". Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 10 (April): 1-3.

Albright, William F. (1953). "New Light from Egypt on the Chronology and History of Israel and Judah". Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 130: 4-11.

Davis, Thomas W. (2004). Shifting Sands: the Rise and Fall of Biblical Archaeology. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-516710-4.

Elliott, Mark (2002). Biblical Interpretation Using Archeological Evidence, 1900-1930. Lewiston, N.Y.: E. Mellen Press. ISBN 0-7734-7146-4.

Feinman, Peter D. (2004). William Foxwell Albright and the Origins of Biblical Archaeology. Berrien Springs, Mich.: Andrews University Press. ISBN 1-883925-40-1.

Finkelstein, Israel and Silberman, Neil Asher (2001). The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of its Sacred Texts. The Free Press, a division of Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-684-86912-8.

Freedman, David Noel; MacDonald, Robert B.; Mattson, Daniel L. (1975). The Published Works of William Foxwell Albright: A Comprehensive Bibliography. Cambridge, Mass.: American Schools of Oriental Research. ISBN None.

Grena, G.M. (2004). LMLK--A Mystery Belonging to the King vol. 1. Redondo Beach, Calif.: 4000 Years of Writing History. ISBN 0-9748786-0-X.

Long, Burke O. (1997). Planting and Reaping Albright: Politics, Ideology, and Interpreting the Bible. University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 0-271-01576-4.

Running, Leona G., and Freedman, David Noel (1991, c1975). William Foxwell Albright: A Twentieth-Century Genius. Berrien Springs, Mich.: Andrews University Press. ISBN 0-8467-0071-9.

Van Beek, Gus W. (1989). The Scholarship of William Foxwell Albright: An Appraisal. Atlanta, Ga.: Scholars Press. ISBN 1-55540-314-X. "Papers delivered at the Symposium 'Homage to William Foxwell Albright', the American Friends of the Israel Exploration Society, Rockville, Maryland, 1984."