Abstract
The creative interaction of rabbinic texts with archaeology is
fraught with both promise and danger. Building bridges between
silent artifacts and the “Oral Torah” requires great care that neither
type of evidence dominates the other. On the one side, the urge to
find rabbinic parallels to archaeological sources can lead to a kind
of “parallelomania”. On the other, a scholarly nihilism has developed
that minimalizes the significance of rabbinics for understanding
the archaeological record—and vice versa. I will explore just a
few of the ways that archaeology can be used to better understand
rabbinic literature. My focus will be on non-legal material. I begin
by illustrating ways that archaeology can inform the interpretation
of rabbinic texts. I then turn to the use of archaeology in the discovery
of previously unknown midrashim, describing some of the
more significant discoveries of midrash “in stone.” My focus will
be on discoveries in the Land of Israel. (From introductory paragraphs)