James B. Pritchard
Encyclopedia
James Bennett Pritchard (October 4, 1909 – January 1, 1997) was an American archeologist whose work explicated the interrelationships of the religions of ancient Israel, Canaan
, Egypt
, Assyria
, and Babylon
. Pritchard was honored with the Gold Medal Award
for Distinguished Archaeological Achievement in 1983 from the Archaeological Institute of America
.
He had a long association with the University of Pennsylvania
, where he was professor of religious thought and the first curator of Biblical archaeology
at the University Museum. Pritchard's strength lay in setting the Bible within its broader cultural contexts in the Ancient Near East.
His most lasting monument was his book Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament
in three editions (1950, 1955, 1969)— universally referred to as ANET—. It provides reliable translations of texts that throw light on the context of Ancient Near Eastern history and the Hebrew Bible
.
, Pritchard graduated from Asbury College
in 1930, and earned his PhD
from the University of Pennsylvania
(1942).
s. He explained the significance of his finds for a general audience in Gibeon: Where the Sun Stood Still (1962).
He followed (1964–1967) with excavations at Tell es-Sa’idiyeh, on the east bank in the Jordan Valley
, Jordan
, which revealed itself as a meeting place for disparate cultures during the transition in the late Bronze Age
to the use of iron, which he connected to the influence of the Sea Peoples
("New evidence on the role of the Sea Peoples in Canaan at the Beginning of the Iron Age"), in The Role of the Phoenicians, 1968. His work was cut short by the 1967 Six-Day War
.
His third and last major excavation at Sarafand
, Lebanon
(1969–1974) revealed the ancient Phoenicia
n city of Sarepta
. It was the first time a major Phoenician city situated in the Phoenician heartland had been fully excavated. His first findings were published in 1975: he described pottery workshops and kilns, artifacts of daily use and religious figurines, a shrine, numerous inscriptions that included some in Ugarit
ic, and a seal with the city's name that made the identification secure. His article, "Sarepta in history and tradition" in Understanding the Sacred Texts (1972) displays his characteristic research. His book Recovering Sarepta, an Ancient Phoenician City (1978) was written for general readers.
Additional works included Archaeology and the Old Testament (1958), which traced the evolution of modern approaches to archaeology from the first excavations in the Holy Land; and Solomon and Sheba (1974), which separated fact from legend.
Prior to his tenured appointment to the University of Pennsylvania, Pritchard taught at Crozer Theological Seminary
in Chester, Pennsylvania
, 1942–1954, as the chair of Old Testament History and Exegesis. At Crozer, Martin Luther King became the most famous of Pritchard's students. He also taught at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, California
(1954–1962).
An appreciation of James B. Pritchard appeared in the American Journal of Archaeology
, Volume 102, Number 1 (January 1998, pages 175-177).
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
, Egypt
History of Ancient Egypt
The History of Ancient Egypt spans the period from the early predynastic settlements of the northern Nile Valley to the Roman conquest in 30 BC...
, Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
, and Babylon
Babylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
. Pritchard was honored with the Gold Medal Award
Gold Medal of the Archaeological Institute of America
The Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Archaeological Achievement is awarded by the Archaeological Institute of America in "recognition of a scholar who has made distinguished contributions to archaeology through his or her fieldwork, publications, and/or teaching."It is the Institute's highest award...
for Distinguished Archaeological Achievement in 1983 from the Archaeological Institute of America
Archaeological Institute of America
The Archaeological Institute of America is a North American nonprofit organization devoted to the promotion of public interest in archaeology, and the preservation of archaeological sites. It has offices on the campus of Boston University and in New York City.The institute was founded in 1879,...
.
He had a long association with the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, where he was professor of religious thought and the first curator of Biblical archaeology
Biblical archaeology
For the movement associated with William F. Albright and also known as biblical archaeology, see Biblical archaeology school. For the interpretation of biblical archaeology in relation to biblical historicity, see The Bible and history....
at the University Museum. Pritchard's strength lay in setting the Bible within its broader cultural contexts in the Ancient Near East.
His most lasting monument was his book Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament
Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament
Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament edited by James B. Pritchard is an anthology of important historical, legal, mythological, liturgical, and secular texts from the ancient Near East. William W...
in three editions (1950, 1955, 1969)— universally referred to as ANET—. It provides reliable translations of texts that throw light on the context of Ancient Near Eastern history and the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
.
Early life and education
Born in Louisville, KentuckyLouisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, Pritchard graduated from Asbury College
Asbury College
Asbury University, formerly Asbury College, is a Christian liberal arts institution located in Wilmore, Kentucky. Although it is a nondenominational school, the college's foundation stems from a Wesleyan-Holiness tradition. The school offers 50 majors across 17 departments. Primarily a four-year...
in 1930, and earned his PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
(1942).
Career
Pritchard's archaeological reputation began to be established by his excavations at a site called el- Jib (1956–1962). He identified it as Gibeon by inscriptions on the handles of wine jars. He cataloged these in Hebrew Inscriptions and Stamps From Gibeon (1959), which included the first in-depth discussion of concentric-circle incisions on jar handles associated with LMLK sealLMLK seal
LMLK seals were stamped on the handles of large storage jars mostly in and around Jerusalem during the reign of King Hezekiah based on several complete jars found in situ buried under a destruction layer caused by Sennacherib at Lachish...
s. He explained the significance of his finds for a general audience in Gibeon: Where the Sun Stood Still (1962).
He followed (1964–1967) with excavations at Tell es-Sa’idiyeh, on the east bank in the Jordan Valley
Jordan Valley (Middle East)
The Jordan Valley forms part of the larger Jordan Rift Valley. It is 120 kilometers long and 15 kilometers wide, where it runs from Lake Tiberias in the north to northern Dead Sea in the south. It runs for an additional 155 kilometer south of the Dead Sea to Aqaba, an area also known as Wadi...
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, which revealed itself as a meeting place for disparate cultures during the transition in the late Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
to the use of iron, which he connected to the influence of the Sea Peoples
Sea Peoples
The Sea Peoples were a confederacy of seafaring raiders of the second millennium BC who sailed into the eastern Mediterranean, caused political unrest, and attempted to enter or control Egyptian territory during the late 19th dynasty and especially during year 8 of Ramesses III of the 20th Dynasty...
("New evidence on the role of the Sea Peoples in Canaan at the Beginning of the Iron Age"), in The Role of the Phoenicians, 1968. His work was cut short by the 1967 Six-Day War
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
.
His third and last major excavation at Sarafand
Sarafand
Sarafand is a place name that can refer to:*Sarepta, the ancient Phoenician city*Sarepta, Louisiana, the town in the United States*Old Sarepta, Russia the German colony in Russia on Volga river, now in Volgograd city...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
(1969–1974) revealed the ancient Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
n city of Sarepta
Sarepta
Sarepta was a Phoenician city on the Mediterranean coast between Sidon and Tyre. Most of the objects by which we characterise Phoenician culture are those that have been recovered scattered among Phoenician colonies and trading posts; such carefully excavated colonial sites are in Spain, Sicily,...
. It was the first time a major Phoenician city situated in the Phoenician heartland had been fully excavated. His first findings were published in 1975: he described pottery workshops and kilns, artifacts of daily use and religious figurines, a shrine, numerous inscriptions that included some in Ugarit
Ugarit
Ugarit was an ancient port city in the eastern Mediterranean at the Ras Shamra headland near Latakia, Syria. It is located near Minet el-Beida in northern Syria. It is some seven miles north of Laodicea ad Mare and approximately fifty miles east of Cyprus...
ic, and a seal with the city's name that made the identification secure. His article, "Sarepta in history and tradition" in Understanding the Sacred Texts (1972) displays his characteristic research. His book Recovering Sarepta, an Ancient Phoenician City (1978) was written for general readers.
Additional works included Archaeology and the Old Testament (1958), which traced the evolution of modern approaches to archaeology from the first excavations in the Holy Land; and Solomon and Sheba (1974), which separated fact from legend.
Prior to his tenured appointment to the University of Pennsylvania, Pritchard taught at Crozer Theological Seminary
Crozer Theological Seminary
The Crozer Theological Seminary was a multi-denominational religious institution located in Upland, Pennsylvania. The school succeeded a Normal School established at the site and the building's use as a hospital during the American Civil War...
in Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a population of 33,972 at the 2010 census. Chester is situated on the Delaware River, between the cities of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware.- History :...
, 1942–1954, as the chair of Old Testament History and Exegesis. At Crozer, Martin Luther King became the most famous of Pritchard's students. He also taught at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
(1954–1962).
An appreciation of James B. Pritchard appeared in the American Journal of Archaeology
American Journal of Archaeology
The American Journal of Archaeology , the peer-reviewed journal of the Archaeological Institute of America, has been published since 1897...
, Volume 102, Number 1 (January 1998, pages 175-177).
External links
- Death of Dr. Pritchard, Biblical Archaeologist, University of Pennsylvania.