Timnah: A Biblical City in the Sorek Valley.

• Author: Seger, Joe D.
• Position: Review

By GEORGE L. KELM and AMIHAI MAZAR. Winona Lake, Ind.: EISENBRAUNS, 1995. Pp. xix + 185, figures and plates. $29.50.

This volume provides a general summary of the twelve seasons of excavation at Tel Batash (Tell el-Batashi, Timnab) in Israel between 1977 and 1989. The work was directed by the authors and sponsored initially by New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (1977-79), and subsequently by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary of Fort Worth, Texas (1980-89), in collaboration throughout with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Its first two chapters present an introduction to the site and to the expedition's methods of work. chapters three through eight recount the tell's archaeological history as represented in its twelve major strata, which reflect periods from the Middle Bronze age (ca. 1800 B.C., strata XII-XI) down to the Persian era (ca. 350 B.C., stratum I). The volume is dedicated to the expedition's many volunteer excavators and financial supporters. Accordingly, three appendices report on its daily schedule, record the names of its volunteers and staff, and provide acknowledgments.

"Designed for a wider audience, for whom the final excavation reports will be either unavailable, or too technical" (p. xix), the volume meets its purpose. Its attractive coffee-table format, with large typeface and broad margins, makes its presentation most inviting - even seductive. The text is straightforward and reads easily. It is well and effectively illustrated with high quality graphics, including a center section (pp. 75-79) with thirty-eight beautiful color photographs of field work and objects. At the same time, the text itself is more substantive than one might expect. Throughout, it provides a broad contextual view of the archaeological remains within the broader framework of the cultural history of the second and first millennia B.C. in a central region of the southern Levant. Its usefulness as a brief introduction to the archaeology of the region is enhanced by endnotes to each chapter, guiding readers to further resources.

The volume also aims to promote a "broader understanding of archaeological contributions to biblical studies" (p. xix). In this the book is also successful. Though it remains largely understated, the treatment of biblical connections is balanced and convincing. The identification of Tel Batash as biblical Timnah, based on its geographical location between Beth Shemesh and Tel Miqne/Ekron as per Joshua...