Hershel Shanks van Biblical Archeology Review, ’t is ne kadee. Voor alle duidelijkheid: hij is de stichter en de hoofdredacteur, en hij doet een interview met Israel Finkelstein. Zijn vragen staan in het vet.

On the other hand, someone may reason that the ancients understood a phenomenon like the parting of the Red Sea as a God-given miracle, when in fact there is a natural explanation for it. To such a person who sees this text as sanctified by time and as representative of an early people?s understanding of an event, they may ask themselves, ?What inspired that understanding in ancient people thousands of years ago?? That is also a legitimate question. I believe there are no illegitimate questions, only illegitimate answers. To such a person, he or she may be interested in whether or not there was some natural event that the ancients understood as a miracle. And to such a person I say, ?That?s a legitimate question.? It may not interest you, it may not interest me?or it may. Would you agree that that?s a legitimate question?

Every question, almost every question is legitimate. I don?t want to go into the philosophy of whether every question is legitimate here.

Getting back to the historicity of events in early Israel, I started with a miracle, the parting of the Red Sea. Let?s take another one: God told Abraham to ?go forth to a land that I will show you? (Genesis 12). Whether God said that of course is a miracle. That?s beyond history. That?s a matter of faith. But someone may legitimately ask, did Abraham come from the east? Does archaeology have anything to contribute to that question?

I?m not sure. I think the question should be, why did they tell the story in late monarchic times?

That?s your question. That may not be someone else?s question.

But the question before was your question.

That?s right.

Who are you representing? The lawyer Hershel Shanks, are you representing the ancient people?

No, I?m trying to understand your views.

Okay, so I?m trying to tell you what my question is.

That?s your question, though.

You just told me a minute ago that every question is legitimate.

Yes, your question is legitimate, too. But our readers would like to know whether archaeology has anything to contribute to my question.

My method is to start with the question of why the story was told. What?s the purpose of telling this story in the text, a text that was put into writing only at quite a late date?

Didn?t the people who put together the Biblical text use sources? They didn?t just make up a story, did they?

Definitely not. Do you mean written sources?

They had some written sources.

Great stuff.