YIGAEL YADIN PRESENTED BY JONATHAN ESTERMAN MARCH 2012
Copyright 2012, Jonathan Esterman. All rights reserved. No portion of this article may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means - electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other - except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Published by Scripted Genius. Visit us online at scriptedgenius.com.
Introduction! 4 Early & Later Life! 5 Archeological Life! 8 Hazor! 8 The Dead Sea Scrolls! 9 Masada! 10 Bibliography! 13
Introduction Biblical archeology has been a recent development, but the concept of discovering archeological evidence that is in support of Scriptures surely is not. Even back in the Old Testament days, thieves, scavengers, and even conquering kingdoms would discover older artifacts. These artifacts, such as discovering the Law, would support the history of Israel. Of all the discoveries supporting the biblical historicity, the Dead Sea Scrolls is probably the most immense discovery to date. From eleven caves, mined over the course of seven years, over 15,000 documents supporting biblical historicity have been unearthed at Qumran. One of the archeological players in the scene was the famed Yigael Yadin of Israel. If biblical archeology were to be considered an adventure in the least, then Yigael Yadin would be the Indiana Jones of those adventures. His adventures include not just the mundane research, but also espionage, secrecy, and theft. In Yadin s time, he not only contributed to the discovery and research of the Dead Sea Scrolls more than any other archeologist, but he also unearthed mysteries surrounding the history of Israel at Masada, Hazor, and Tel Megiddo. Yadin was not simply an archeologist, but truly the Jones from the big screen. In addition to his archeological life, he had a public life and military life to make him a more whole person of interest. In this paper, we will briefly review Yadin s life, as well has his archeological achievements and contributions, and see how Yigael Yadin truly is the Indiana Jones of biblical archeology.
Early Life Yigael Yadin was born Yigael Sukenik on March 20, 1917. 1 The first photograph of Yadin was when he was the age of three, in Jerusalem. It was said, even then, how remarkable Yadin was an a child and an infant, and it seemed that such would only hold true for him in later life. 2 Yadin was born to Chassiya Sukenik, mother, and Lipa Sukenik, father. He was considered part of the middle-class Jewish society, and his name was of Polish descent (Sukenik). Chassiya was in line to be a businesswoman of fine imported furniture, a position that promised wealth, but desired rather to participate in the Zionist movement and teach children of Jewish pioneers. Lipa, from Bialystok (the same has Chassiya), has a much more shrouded history, and did not belong to wealth. Lipa was sent off at a young age to train to be a rabbi, but it would seem that fate had no such plan for him. Lipa left the yeshiva and met Chassiya in a Zionist program. 3 Chassiya happily paved her way as a kindergarten teacher, while Lipa begrudgingly served as a high school teacher in math and geography. Lipa s disinterest in his money-making employment (in so much as to keep them off the streets) resulted in a difficult home life. Lipa would substitute his unhappy hours at home to explore the areas in Jerusalem in which they lived, dreaming of a life of archeology. It was still the early 1920s, however, and individuals did not qualify for archeology - only institutes did. 1 "Yigael Yadin," Wikipedia (2012). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/yigael_yadin. 2 Neil Asher Silberman, A Prophet from Amongst You: The Life of Yigael Yadin: Soldier, Scholar, and Mythmaker of Modern Israel (Reading: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1993), 7. 3 Ibid., 8-9.
It was the time when the age of archeology had arrived, but it was not welcoming to Palestinian Jews. 4 Growing in this troubled household scenario of a busy mother and absentminded (sometimes absentee) father, Yadin entertained himself and took care of his own personal affairs at such an early age. 5 As he grew, he leaned heavily into repeating the activities that his father desired to complete, which could cause one to wonder if it was a result of desperately seeking his father s approval. It was known, however, that his father s absence had created a hole that left Yadin, at least in his childhood, fragile. One time, his mother requested him to get an orange for her, and he returned with a tomato. His mother determined at that point that Yadin, like much of his family, was color blind. All Yadin could do in response was break down in tears. 6 Just as Indiana Jones had an absentee father and followed his steps in archeology, it would seem that Yadin was destined to follow the course. Yadin was not an exceptional student in grade school. He was remembered as quiet and reserved. 7 During Yadin s time in the school system, his father left for periods to study at the University of Berlin, to gain credentials as an archeologist. It was the education Lipa received, and taught to Yadin, that would greatly influence his pursuit of archeology, and his practices thereof. 8 4 Ibid., 10-11. 5 Ibid., 12. 6 Ibid., 12-13. 7 Ibid., 18. 8 Ibid., 19.
By the Summer of 1927, Lipa had obtained a doctorate s and arranged for a Jewish archeological dig. These trips would permit the rest of the family to have a vacation by the sea, and as time passed each year, Yadin began observing his father s work, and realized that his goal in life would be the creation of Jewish archeology altogether. 9 Yadin joined the Haganah military organization in 1932 and served in it until 1948. In 1949, he assumed the duties of Chief of General Staff for the Israeli Defense Force, and departed the position in 1952. It was at this time that he entered into archeology, and would not return to any political or military positions until 1977, as the Deputy Prime Minister, a role that he would serve until 1981. 10 It was in 1952, when he left the military, that he enrolled in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His studies there gained him a Ph.D in 1955 for his research on one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, for which he was also awarded the Israel Prize in Jewish Studies (1956). It was from this point that his archeology career took off. 11 Yadin served prominent positions within the military field and political landscape, despite his unimpressive gymnasium academic achievements. One thing was clear, is that he was not destined for conventional job markets. With an average education and military background, Yadin set out in his calling of archeology, recognized as such since he was five and watched is father, and found great success. 9 Ibid., 23. 10 "Yigael Yadin," Encyclopaedia Britannica Online (2012). http://www.britannica.com/ebchecked/topic/ 651139/Yigael-Yadin. 11 "Yigael Yadin," Jewish Virtual Library (2012). http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/ yadin.html.
Archeological Life Yadin s success with the Dead Sea Scrolls in the university gained him popularity and prestige as a Jewish archeologist. His discoveries are many, and what has become of them, and in all honesty, are too numerous to detail here. For brevity sake, and the lower-level of this scholarly research involved in this paper, we will briefly outline major accomplishments in archeology by Yadin. Each archeological dig mentioned here will contain information directly from Yadin, who published numerous books, and at least one book on each dig he accomplished. We will briefly see his motivation for involvement, and attempt to determine the results of his efforts. Hazor The archeological efforts at Hazor is what is considered to be Yadin s first archeological success. Yadin s effort for Hazor can be tied to his view of the importance of it. Yadin considered the efforts at Hazor to be the veil of the Canaanite and Israelite cultures of the northern part of the Holy Land (Galilee in particular). According to Yadin, Hazor played a crucial role in the history of the Holy Land in biblical times. 12 The Bible directly speaks about Hazor. The most important biblical reference, according to Yadin, is about Joshua s war against Jabin, king of Hazor. Jabin was considered the head of the Canaanite coalition that fought Joshua, and his role was crucial to the Israelite conquest of Canaan. 13 12 Yigael Yadin, Hazor: The Rediscovery of a Great Citadel of the Bible (New York: Random House, 1975), 11. 13 Ibid.
Yadin s efforts at Hazor have confirmed the existence of Hazor within biblical historicity expectations. That is, the discoveries at Hazor have confirmed the traditional conquest models mapped out in Old Testament scriptures. Even through the 90 s, Hazor has been a site for modern biblical archeology, despite Yadin s retirement from this 175- acre location much earlier. The work accomplished with location and unearthing Hazor have confirmed many of the wars mentioned in scripture. 14 The Dead Sea Scrolls Qumran had already been unearthed. In fact, Yadin had published a thesis on the scrolls at university, which gained him his prestige. However, much work was still to be done in regards to the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Dead Sea Scrolls, seven complete scrolls and over 15,000 fragments, were worth more than their weight in gold in verifying Jewish customs, history, and New Testament accuracy. 15 Yadin s father had purchased the first three scrolls for Jerusalem, and so Yadin himself would go about purchasing the last four, via transport to America and pseudonym usage to avoid Palestinian involvement. 16 Yadin acquired the final texts at the induction of the State of Israel, which lends a certain appreciation to these texts coming to light to a Jewish archeologist the same time the Jewish land is restored. 17 14 Randall Price, The Stones Cry Out (Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 1997), 149-150. 15 Randall Price, "The Dead Sea Scrolls," (Torrance: Rose Publishing, 2005). 16 Yigael Yadin, The Message of the Scrolls (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1957), 12-13. 17 Ibid., 14.
The impact of the acquisition of this scrolls is enormous, as it has influenced the views of archeologists on the cultures and lifestyles of those from 2,000 years ago, and there is no doubt that Yadin s involvement with translation, acquisition, and further digging was paramount to the successes with the Dead Sea Scrolls. Masada Masada was considered to be one of the most dramatic episodes in Jewish history. In the first century A.D., Palestine was under the authority of the Romans. The Romans had overthrown the Jewish Maccabees in the previous century. In 66 AD, the Jewish revolt against the Romans struck up, and as a result, the Romans destroyed the Temple in 70 AD. The fortress of Masada was the only outpost that resisted the excursion from the Jewish lands, until 73 AD. This garrison originally belonged to the Romans, but was overrun in 66 AD by Jewish zealots. 18 Yadin s involvement with Masada brought him great pride, not because of the connection to Herod, but because he had the dutiful blessing of unearthing an archeological site that represented Jewish courage, where the Jewish people chose death instead of serfdom to the Romans, both physically and morally. 19 Prior to Yadin s excavations, all that was known of Masada is what Josephus Flavius wrote of, there was no other documentation or record available. 20 While Yadin did not directly discover 18 Yigael Yadin, Masada: Herod's Fortress and the Zealot's Last Stand (New York: Random House, 1966), 11. 19 Ibid., 13. 20 Ibid., 15.
the physical inscription proving Herod s existence, it was made possible only because of Yadin s initial efforts on the site. 21 Megiddo There is currently not much to report on Megiddo. Biblically, there is reference in Revelation. Yadin was consigned to dig the area in the 1960s, but no formal results have yet been posted on the dig. It is considered one of Yadin s popular digs, but ranks lower when compared to Masada, the Dead Sea Scrolls (Qumran), and Hazor. Later Life Most of Yadin s digs were encouraged and/or sponsored by the Hebrew University. In 1959, Yadin accepted a position as a professor of archeology at the Hebrew University, and dedicated his efforts into teaching, in addition to archeological digs, writing books on his digs, and fulfilling his obligations as a political and military representative for the State of Israel. 22 Yadin received the Rothschild Humanities prize in 1964. In 1977, he resumed his political and military duties at the Deputy Prime Minister, until 1981. He was scheduled to help host a conference on biblical archeology and the history of the dead sea scrolls in 1984, which he helped organize, but unfortunately passed before the conference took place, June 28, 1984. 23 21 Price, The Stones Cry Out, 302. 22 "Yigael Yadin." 23 Ibid.
Conclusion If biblical archeology were to be considered an adventure in the least, then Yigael Yadin would be the Indiana Jones of those adventures. His adventures include not just the mundane research, but also espionage, secrecy, and theft. He joined the ritualistic process of the archeologist with the mundane research that seemed to pump passion through his veins and keep him going. He participated in the military and politics. He snuck to American with a pseudonym to acquire coveted artifacts. He was stolen from consistently, forging himself archenemies. He served as a professor archeology at his alma mater. In Yadin s time, he not only contributed to the discovery and research of the Dead Sea Scrolls more than any other archeologist, but he also unearthed mysteries surrounding the history of Israel at Masada, Hazor, and Tel Megiddo. Yadin was not simply an archeologist, but truly the Jones from the big screen. In addition to his archeological life, he had a public life and military life to make him a more whole person of interest. We took a brief look at Yadin s life, as well has his archeological achievements and contributions. Without a doubt, after viewing the evidence in favor, Yigael Yadin truly is the Indiana Jones of biblical archeology.
Bibliography Price, Randall. The Stones Cry Out. Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 1997. Price, Randall. "The Dead Sea Scrolls." Torrance: Rose Publishing, 2005. Silberman, Neil Asher. A Prophet from Amongst You: The Life of Yigael Yadin: Soldier, Scholar, and Mythmaker of Modern Israel. Reading: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1993. Yadin, Yigael. The Message of the Scrolls. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1957. Yadin, Yigael. Masada: Herod's Fortress and the Zealot's Last Stand. New York: Random House, 1966. Yadin, Yigael. Hazor: The Rediscovery of a Great Citadel of the Bible. New York: Random House, 1975. "Yigael Yadin." Wikipedia (2012). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/yigael_yadin. "Yigael Yadin." Encyclopaedia Britannica Online (2012). http://www.britannica.com/ EBchecked/topic/651139/Yigael-Yadin.
"Yigael Yadin." Jewish Virtual Library (2012). http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/ biography/yadin.html.