Abstract

Scribal Representations and Social Landscapes of the Iron Age Shephelah presents irresolution as a practice for scholars of the Hebrew Bible and the ancient Levant. While the role of scholarship is often defined by its ability to reach definitive conclusions, Mahri Leonard-Fleckman illustrates how resisting conclusions can be an asset to investigating the distant past. She does so by analyzing identity in the Iron Age Shephelah, a complex social-political place and one of the most intensely excavated areas in the world. Focusing on two sites, Timnah and Gath, Scribal Representations journeys through texts and archaeology that bear witness to the social and political complexities of the region. Along the way, Leonard-Fleckman advances new hypotheses that illuminate biblical passages while maintaining a nuanced position that exemplifies irresolution as practice. This book draws together a range of critical perspectives to create a compelling conversation about identity and history among anthropologists, archaeologists, biblical scholars, literary theorists, and intellectual historians.