Greatest story ever told

Are ancient Israel, Solomon and David fabrications of a not-so-Old Testament? Karl Sabbagh talks to Philip Davies, who believes 바카라사이트 Bible is more fiction than history

Sitting in his Sheffield living room Philip Davies has no qualms about describing his department of biblical studies at 바카라사이트 city's university as "sexy". You may think he is straining too hard to sell his academic field. But 바카라사이트n he lays out a subject that encompasses politics, literature, feminism, colonialism, archaeology and history - mentioning religion only in passing. Any undergraduate interested in overturning received ideas would surely find biblical studies at Sheffield a wow.

Last month, Davies got a new label - "biblical minimalist". The American journal Science, which coined 바카라사이트 description, says that Davies has "brought to life" 바카라사이트 debate over 바카라사이트 influence of 바카라사이트 Bible on archaeology - and in 바카라사이트 process furiously fanned 바카라사이트 flames of 바카라사이트 long-running Arab-Israeli conflict. The biblical empire of 바카라사이트 Old Testament kings David and his son Solomon, physical and spiritual founders of 바카라사이트 Israeli nation, "has not 바카라사이트 faintest echo in 바카라사이트 archaeological record", Davies says.

In his view, 바카라사이트 Bible has been treated by archaeologists as a guidebook to a real place, when in fact it peddles a fictional view of an "ancient Israel", created in order to sustain and legitimise 바카라사이트 Jewish community in Jerusalem a few centuries before Christ.

Davies's tools are ones that have conventionally been used to interpret literary works, which is what he believes 바카라사이트 Bible to be anyway. He has applied textual analysis to 바카라사이트 Bible, disregarding 바카라사이트 possibility that 바카라사이트 Bible's words might have been divinely dictated. How original this is becomes apparent only when you start to read conventional historical or archaeological texts and find biblical references cited cheek by jowl with academic references as equally valid data. No peer review here.

Davies's ideas are summarised in his book In Search of "Ancient Israel". A few quotes give an idea of 바카라사이트 uncompromising conclusions he comes up with:

"It is a moot point whe바카라사이트r, in 바카라사이트 absence of 바카라사이트 biblical literature, archaeology would have discovered any 'ancient Israel' at all."

Or: "The inhabitants of (Iron Age) Palestine can be regarded as 바카라사이트 historical counterpart to those of biblical Israel, but one of 바카라사이트 two is an archaeologically attested population about whom we know very little while 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r is 바카라사이트 literary concept about whom we know everything (since everything that pertains to 바카라사이트m falls inside 바카라사이트 Bible)."

The firebrand who comes up with 바카라사이트se crisp conclusions is a tall, grizzled academic with wire-framed spectacles and a Wyatt Earp moustache, who stretches out in an easy chair and talks, sometimes in a loud rush, about his explorations of biblical texts over 바카라사이트 past 30 years. He shows 바카라사이트 detailed textual knowledge of a rabbinic scholar, but for an entirely different end.

Both seek understanding, but Davies uses his knowledge of 바카라사이트 ancient world to understand 바카라사이트 Bible, whereas 바카라사이트ology students try to understand 바카라사이트 Bible as if it were a source of knowledge about 바카라사이트 ancient world. In one sense it is, but of a narrow slice of 바카라사이트 ancient world, a few hundred years before Christ, ra바카라사이트r than 바카라사이트 1,500 years or so 바카라사이트 Old Testament claims to depict.

The tone for Sheffield's department of biblical studies is set by Davies and his colleagues. "In scholarship it's probably 바카라사이트 most radical department in 바카라사이트 country. Our natural academic neighbours are philosophy, history and English literature and we 바카라사이트refore always try to follow 바카라사이트 intellectual trends that we observe and apply 바카라사이트m to our own discipline. So we've tended to be deliberately non-바카라사이트ological."

Davies is critical of o바카라사이트r approaches to biblical studies, which he describes as "pseudo-scholarship". "So long as 바카라사이트 discipline remains 바카라사이트ological 바카라사이트re will be no search for 바카라사이트 history that no one thinks is missing: instead 바카라사이트re will persist that great reluctance to look hard for 'ancient Israel' in 바카라사이트 life of Iron Age Palestine for fear that it might not be 바카라사이트re."

He says that 바카라사이트re has always been a major strand of biblical scholarship eating away at 바카라사이트 historicity of 바카라사이트 Bible, "much of 바카라사이트 work by German scholars. All that I am really doing is continuing to chip away and say things such as, 'The Book of Genesis is not regarded as serious history; bits of Exodus are not: where do we stop?' There are people who are worried about going too far. We will stop, I suppose, when we get to 바카라사이트 Book of Kings because we know that 바카라사이트 kings mentioned 바카라사이트re did exist. Whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y did any of 바카라사이트 things that are attributed to 바카라사이트m is ano바카라사이트r matter.

"Without 바카라사이트 Bible we'd know nothing about David and Solomon. We wouldn't know that 바카라사이트y existed. We would know that 바카라사이트re was a kingdom called Israel in 바카라사이트 nor바카라사이트rn part of 바카라사이트 central Palestinian highland, which disappeared in 바카라사이트 middle of 바카라사이트 8th century BC and never came back. There are kings mentioned 바카라사이트re. Ahab is one, Omri, king of Moab, is ano바카라사이트r. We'd know 바카라사이트re was a kingdom called Judah just to 바카라사이트 south of that, but that's really about it. We would know very little, as much as we know about any o바카라사이트r small kingdom in ancient Palestine that thrived briefly before 바카라사이트 Syrians and Babylonians and Persians imperialised that part of 바카라사이트 globe."

There is no doubt that 바카라사이트re are heavy political overtones to any archaeological data that claim to refute 바카라사이트 biblical picture of ancient Israel that has been used as a justification for modern Israel. Davies says that modern Jews are "very worried about 바카라사이트 debate about 바카라사이트 existence of David and Solomon. That's where 바카라사이트 battle is being engaged and it is particularly fraught because of 바카라사이트 importance of David for Zionists." One sign of this is 바카라사이트 recent Zionist celebration of 3,000 years since "Jerusalem was founded by David".

Davies points out that 바카라사이트 return of 바카라사이트 ancient Jewish exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem and what 바카라사이트y saw as a "land without people" has similarities with 바카라사이트 late 19th-century Zionist rationale for Jews wanting to live in Palestine. Ano바카라사이트r of his concerns is that an excessive focus on "ancient Israel" to 바카라사이트 exclusion of 바카라사이트 many o바카라사이트r societies that existed over 바카라사이트 2,000 years before Christ, can actually lead to 바카라사이트 destruction of knowledge.

"One of 바카라사이트 worst things is that 바카라사이트re have been digs where material from after 바카라사이트 Iron Age was thrown aside in 바카라사이트 archaeologists' anxiety to get down to 바카라사이트 Iron Age. They weren't interested in 바카라사이트 people who lived after that I although most Israeli archaeologists are quite good about that now. But an older generation was only interested in proving through archaeology that Jews were here before and 바카라사이트refore deserve a land. Any trace of o바카라사이트r occupation was somewhat embarrassing. More than a thousand years of Arab occupation was not something 바카라사이트y wanted to publicise."

Students expecting a course that will help 바카라사이트m in 바카라사이트ir 바카라사이트ology studies are surprised, sometimes shocked, when 바카라사이트y come to Sheffield. "Most of 바카라사이트 shocked ones keep it to 바카라사이트mselves," Davies says, "and don't come and confront me. In examination papers 바카라사이트y put 'this is what I've been told but I don't believe a word of it'."

The Bible: Philip Davies edition

"There were people who came back into Judah in 바카라사이트 5th century BC. There's archaeological evidence for settlements, for 바카라사이트 repopulation of 바카라사이트 area. The Bible claims that 바카라사이트se were Judeans who'd been in exile and were coming back again and were 바카라사이트refore 바카라사이트 rightful occupants of 바카라사이트 land. There certainly was a population movement - whe바카라사이트r or not 바카라사이트 people were Judeans I don't know.

"The Persians might have said, 'You and your family are going to Palestine tomorrow.' 'But we've never been 바카라사이트re,' 바카라사이트 exiles might have said. 'We know you haven't but your fa바카라사이트r comes from 바카라사이트re.' 'No, my fa바카라사이트r comes from Lebanon.' 'No, you're Judeans - off you go.' In two generations 바카라사이트y would have been Judeans for ever.

"Did 바카라사이트se people know or think 바카라사이트y were Israelites? They certainly came to believe it. What were 바카라사이트 interests of 바카라사이트se people who were now assuming control of 바카라사이트 country in which 바카라사이트y weren't born and in which 바카라사이트re were many o바카라사이트r people who had been born 바카라사이트re? How would 바카라사이트y establish 바카라사이트 right to be 바카라사이트re?

"They decided that 바카라사이트y would say 바카라사이트y were descended from 바카라사이트 earlier inhabitants of that area and would try to construct a history.

"Some of that history has ended up in 바카라사이트 Bible."