ANTHROPOLOGICAL AND SOCIO-

HISTORICAL READINGS OF THE

OLD TESTAMENT

William R Domeris (Wits)

ABSTRACT
The use of anthropological and sociological models for the
study of the Old Testament represents one of the most inte-
resting trends in contemporary research. The approaches va-
ry widely, from the Marxist analysis ofGottwald to the purity
codes of Mary Douglas, yet are united in one aim — to
understand the Bible in its context. This paper surveys some
of these trends, including the sociology of the monarchy, the
studies of the prophetic period and the anthropological
studies of the Law Codes. We conclude that this method of
research has opened up a number of new perspectives on Old
Testament study, which need to be further developed.

A INTRODUCTION
‫צי‬

Beyond the pages of the Old Testament hes a world of reality, a world
of real people facing real problems, fighting real battles, living in real
villages or cities, following real leaders and who believed in a real
‫י‬-‫מ‬ experience of God. The books that they wrote are at best a pale
s
(X, reflection of that material world, and at worst the end product of the
dialectical relationship which exists between ideological and historical
reality. Literary criticism cannot move beyond the edges of the printed
‫צר‬ page, while text-based histories fail to adventure beyond the safe
!‫ט‬
confines of the received tradition (see Whitelam 1986:45-56). The
wider'picture remains obscured, and there are times when the silences

160
 Old Testament Essays 7(4) 1994 (Special Edition) 161

are more eloquent than the written word (Mosala 1986).

The last few decades have seen a revival of interest in the
background to the Bible, so that some knowledge of that shadowy
world has begun to surface as a consequence — particularly of the
archaeological research in Syro-Palestine. Biblical geography has been
another fruitful area for an understanding of life in Israel and
particularly of life in the Arabian peninsula and the Negev. Equally
important has been the development of theoretical models for the
interpretation of data. Here is the place of anthropological and other
social scientific studies — the place in which raw data in combination
with literary productions are fed through the sieve of different models
of reality.
Our concern is with the Old Testament (for the New Testament, see
Domeris 1991) and in particular the period of the monarchy, although
we shall make mention of some of the other studies. A fuller, but now
somewhat dated, survey of the sociological studies of the Old Testament
may be found in the work of Robert Wilson (1984), which remains an
important starting point for anyone wishing to understand the breadth
and depth of this important area of research. The first of the modern
anthropological studies of the Old Testament is now over fifty years old
(James 1935), so the literature is fairly extensive (see also the
bibliography of Gottwald 1983a).

B SOCIOLOGICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDIES OF

THE MONARCHY

These fall into three primary areas: the sociology of the monarchy, the
prophetic period and the studies of the Purity Codes. We shall deal with
each area in turn.

1 The sociology of the monarchy

George Mendenhall (1975) not only pioneered the revolutionary

S understanding of the Settlement as a peasant revolt, but he was also the
b first to contrast the reign of Solomon with the period of the judges.
first to contrast the reign of Solomon with the period of the judges.
u Norman Gottwald (1979, 1983a, 1983b, 1986) followed in the
s footsteps of Mendenhall, but his predilection for a historical materialist
footsteps of Mendenhall, but his predilection for a historical materialist
r—1 approach distanced him from Mendenhall (see his rebuttal of Gottwald
 162 Anthropological and socio-historical readings

in Mendenhall 1983). Gottwald not only produced one of the greatest

works on the Old Testament in his Tribes ofYahweh (1979) but he also
was instrumental in founding the SBL Seminar entitled The Sociology of
the Monarchy. Its members included Gottwald, Chaney, Trible, Fritz,
Frick, Whitelam, Coote and others of that ilk. In time there has grown
up a considerable body of secondary literature devoted to the time
between the Settlement (understood variously as a peasant revolt or
period of urban collapse and population redistribution) and the end of
the united monarchy. Whatever the starting point, the end result is the
same: Solomon emerges as a tyrant, before whom even Herod the Great
might have quailed and Attila the Hun bent his knee. By contrast the
period of the Judges is often depicted in Utopian terms and the
archaeology of the early Iron Age (the unwalled villages of Ai and
similar sites) is harnessed in support.
iL Chris Hauer's (1986) use of Cameiro's theory of circumscription is
just one way in which scholars have attempted to explain the rise of the
Israelite state (cf Frick 1985). Hauer argues that a series of sociological
MEm> and political factors were responsible for the rise of the state, and for its
attendant features, rather than simply the Philistine threat and their
control of the market in bloomery iron. Gottwald uses the model of
Landsberger to develop an understanding of the Israelite peasant
movement which produced the monarchy, while Frick (1986:26-32)
uses insights drawn from African tribalism to interpret the possible role
of the Israelite king. The diversity of models and methods testifies to
the degree of difficulty encountered by scholars in their attempts to
correlate text and context. Finally, the Settlement debate is poised to
v
take on a new direction consequent upon Adam Zeertal's (1991) radical
critique of previous interpretations of the Settlement in favour of a
Transjordan inmiigration theory, which has the support both of
archaeology and large sections of the biblical text.
JN
2 The prophetic period

s
Solomon,
Solomon, tyrant
tyrant or
or wise
wise ruler, however one
ruler, however one may
may depict him, set
depict him, set in
in
motion a slide towards imperialism and oppression which even the
religion of Yahwism could not counter, particularly as it was soon to be
co-opted within the state superstructure. However, some subversive
memory remained to plague the conscience of the people and their
 Old Testament Essays 7(4) 1994 (Special Edition) 163

rulers, and the prophetic phenomenon mushroomed in Israel. Studies of

Ancient Near Eastern prophecy indicate that the attack on oppression
and injustice was not unique to Israel, but the passion with which
Israelite prophets proclaimed their message certainly was.
The collection of Bernard Lang (1985) combining anthropology and
sociology, coupled with the work of Hopkins (1985) on agriculture in
highland villages, and the fascinating study of Frank Frick (1977) on
the city in ancient Israel have opened up to us significant vistas and
given us a context for interpreting the prophetic period. Robert Coote's
(1981) study of Amos is a case in point. The archaeological
commentaiy by Philip King (1988a), and his fascinating study of the
Marzeah festival (1988b) is another important example of the use of
socio-anthropological and archaeological insights. Wilson's sociological
study of the prophets (1980), promising in the title, fails to locate the
prophets effectively in the obviously class-bound society of the time.
The fault lies with Wilson's use of a functional analysis akin to the
equally flawed study of Jesus by Gerd Theissen (1978). Perhaps one of
the most significant works is the relatively unknown study by De Geus
(1986), with his acute observations on the connections between city
types and social stratigraphy, linking the development of an acropolis
with the growth of a ruling elite. This has particular relevance in the
light of the excavations at the City of David (Jerusalem) and the
attribution of the acropolis in Area G to the reign of Solomon (Shiloh
1981).

3 Anthropological studies

The work of Mary Douglas (1966) on Codes of Purity and Ritual

Defilement, has helped to locate the Jewish laws within the wider
context of modem anthropological research. Other Old Testament
-s
scholars have developed her ideas (e g Carroll 1985), but so far her
grid/group model has only been applied to New Testament
"‫צי‬
communities. The two collections of anthropological essays by John
Rogerson (1978) and Bernard Lang (1985) highlight several areas
o where anthropology has made an impression in the biblical realm.
Clearly, however, much work remains to be done and a wealth of
unexplored paths remain for the adventurous and those who would
v break with the past.
‫צר‬
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 164 Anthropological and socio-historical readings

4 Other Studies

A survey, even as brief as this one would not be complete without

mention being made of the collection of essays in Gottwald's The Bible
and Liberation (1983b) and the new Festchrift for Gottwald due to
appear soon. Perhaps one of the most significant essays is that of Walter
Brueggemann (1983) on the two trajectories evident in the Old
Testament, corresponding in our opinion to Peter Berger's two
ideologies (one supportive of the status quo and the other earth-shaking
— cf Berger 1969). Finally, one should mention Paul Hanson's work
(1975) on the origin of Apocalyptic as arising from the deposed Levites
and disciples of Deutero-Isaiah, who react against the temple and the
dominant Zadokite priesthood.

B BREAKING WITH TRADITION

The suspicions directed at sociological studies, and in particular the use

of marxist methodologies, have tended to make such studies the
preserve of a small, often marginalised, group of scholars. Yet one
should be carefiil not to ignore the insights captured by such scholars.
Let us conclude with one fiirther example.
George Pixley's (1987) work on the exodus represents a distinct
break with tradition in that it uses a marxist methodology to reconstruct
the exodus and particularly the tenth plague as a revolutionary terrorist
action. The angel of death turns out to be a group of well-armed Israelis
who operate as 'guerrillas from the mist'. The mere fact that Pixley was
v
the first to offer such a reading of the plague indicates the naivete of
much of Old Testament scholarship. We continue to interpret the past in
‫מי‬
the light of the biblical text, rather than endeavour to let the text find its
natural place within the spectrum of ideological productions of the
ancient world. To such an end sociological and anthropological studies
are directed and the hope is of allowing the two-dimensional world of
‫צר‬
the text to become three-dimensional.
In our African context, from within a position in the two-thirds
world, we are uniquely equipped for an anthropological or sociological
study of the Bible. We have much to teach the one-third world,
especially when we allow our context to determine our choice of model.
Paradoxically we have all too often attempted to emulate foreign

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 Old Testament Essays 7(4) 1994 (Special Edition) 165

scholarship instead of challenging that scholarship on the basis of our

own experience and insight. Perhaps the time is now ripe for us to
begin to make such a contribution.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Banton, M (ed) 1966. Anthropological approaches to the study of

religion. London: Tavistock publications. ( A S A monographs.)
Berger, P L 1969. The sacred canopy: elements of a sociological theory
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Brueggetnann, 1983. Trajectories in Old Testament literature and the
S o c i o l o g y of Israel, in Gottwald (ed) 1983, 3 0 7 - 3 3 6 .
Carroll, M P 1985. O n e more time: Leviticus revisited in Lang, B (ed)
1985, 117-126.
Carroll, R P 1979. When prophecy failed. Reactions and responses to
failure in the Old Testament prophetic traditions. London: SCM.
C h a n e y , M L 1986. Systemic study of the Israelite monarchy, Semeia 'il,
53-76.
C o o t e , R B 1981. Amos among the Prophets. Composition and theology.
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C o o t e , R B and Whitelam, K L 1986. The e m e r g e n c e of Israel: Social
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De Geus, G H J 1986. T h e New City in Israel. A paper read at the
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D o m e r i s , W R 1991. Sociological and social historical investigations, in
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F r e e d m a n , D N and Graf, D F (eds) 1983. Palestine in transition. The
emergence of Ancient Israel. Sheffield: Almond. (Social World of
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rSt
Frick, F S 1977. TJte city in Ancient Israel. Missoula, Montana: Scholars
r—1
Press. ( S B L Dissertation Series.)
Frick, F S 1985. The formation of the State in Ancient Israel. A survey of
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Frick, F S 1986. Social science methods and theories of significance for
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37,9-51.
Gottwald, N K 1979. 77ie tribes of Yahweh: A sociology of the religion of
liberated Israel. 1250-1050 BCE. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis.
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Old Testament. American Baptist Quarterly 2, 142-156.
V Gottwald, N K (ed) 1983b. The Bible and liberation: Political and social
hermeneutics. Maryknoll, N e w York: Orbis.

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 166 Anthropological and socio-historical readings

Gottwald, N K 1986. The participation of free agrarians in the

introduction o f monarchy t o Ancient Israel: A n application o f H A
Landsberger's framework for the analysis of peasant movements.
Semeia 37, 7 7 - 1 0 5 .
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Hartin, P J and Petzer, J H 1991. Text and interpretation. New
approaches in the criticism of the New Testament. Leiden: Brill.
Hauer, C 1986. From Alt to anthropology: The rise of the Israelite state.
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Hopkins, D C 1985. The Highlands of Canaan. Agricultural life in Early
Iron Age Israel. Sheffield: Almond. (Social World of Biblical
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James, E O 1935. The Old Testament in the light of anthropology.
London: SPCK.
King, P J 1988a. Amos, Hosea, Micah — An archaeological
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King, P J 1988b. T h e Marzeah A m o s denounces. BAR 15 (4), 34-44.
Lang, B (ed) 1985. Anthropological approaches to the Old Testament.
London: SPCK.
Mendenhall, G E 1975. The monarchy. Interpretation 29, 155-170.
Mendenhall, G E 1983. Israel's hyphenated history in Freedman, D N
and Graf, D F (eds) 1983, 95-104.
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forward, two steps backward. JTHSA 55, 15-30.
Pixley, G V 1987. On Exodus. A liberation perspective. Maryknoll
Orbis.
R o g e r s o n , J W 1978. Anthropology and the Old Testament. Oxford
Blackwell.
Scroggs, R 1983. T h e sociological interpretation of the New Testament
The present state of research, in Gottwald, N K (ed) 1983, 3 3 7 - 3 5 6 .
Shiloh, Y 1981. The City of David Archaeological Project. The Third
Season — 1980. BA 44, 161-170.
Whitelam, K W 1986. Recreating the history of Israel. JSOT 35, 45-70.
W i l s o n , R R 1980. Prophecy and society in Ancient Israel. Philadelphia:
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Wilson, R R 1984. Sociological approaches to the Old Testament.
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Zeertal, A 1991. Israel enters Canaan — following the pottery trail. BAR
1 7 (5), 2 8 A 9 .
‫צר‬

William R Domeris, Department of Religious Studies, University of the

Witwatersrand, P O Wits, 2050. Republic of South Africa.
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