הרצאת המכון ללימודים מתקדמים: האם קריית יערים נמצאת במוצא?

CAN ARCHAEOLOGY RESHAPE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE BIBLICAL LANDSCAPE?

The Institute of Advanced Studies is honored to welcome Professor Dr. Anselm C. Hagedorn, Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Judaism at the Institute of Protestant Theology, Universität Osnabrück, Germany.

In this lecture, "Moẓa and Kiriath-Jearim – A New Proposal from Archaeology and (Some) Philology," Professor Dr. Hagedorn will explore how new archaeological discoveries and fresh philological perspectives are challenging long-standing identifications of biblical sites. Focusing on the widely accepted identification of Kiriath-Jearim with Deir el-ʿAzar near Abu Ghosh, he will present new evidence suggesting that the biblical site should instead be identified with Tel Moẓa, offering a thought-provoking reassessment of one of the region's most enduring historical and archaeological questions.

View the full invitation here

  LECTURE DETAILS

When:  Monday, 17 August 2026, 11:00

Where: Room 204, Gilman Building

Light refreshments will be served before the lecture. 

The lecture will be conducted in English and is open to the public.
 

 MORE ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Professor Anselm C. Hagedorn is Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Judaism at the Institute of Protestant Theology, Universität Osnabrück, Germany. His research focuses on the Hebrew Bible, ancient Judaism, and the history and archaeology of the ancient Near East. His work explores the relationship between biblical texts, archaeological evidence, and the historical contexts in which these traditions developed, contributing to a deeper understanding of the cultural, religious, and historical landscapes of the biblical world.

 FULL ABSTRACT

MOẒA AND KIRIATH-JEARIM – A NEW PROPOSAL FROM ARCHAEOLOGY AND (SOME) PHILOLOGY

Three vectors shaped the patterns of the Jewish agricultural settlement in Ottoman and Mandatory Palestine. The first, philanthropic in character, was based on the colonial model of a plantation economy and was implemented in the late nineteenth century by Baron Rothschild in the coastal plain colonies. The second, animated by eugenic ideology, was implemented in the early twentieth century in the Galilee colonies by the JCA - the largest migration organization in the world at the time - which sought to improve the Jewish race through frugal dry farming. The third, socialist in character, was implemented in the Jezreel Valley after the First World War by the Zionist movement and was animated by socialist ideology and a commitment to mixed farming. These three approaches were marked by different and often conflicting ideologies, epistemologies, and visions. The confrontation among them was inevitable, and its resolution in the early 1920s shaped the character of Jewish settlement, and of the State of Israel, for generations.

The Institute of Advanced Studies
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