Avraham Biran, the excavator of Tel Dan and
other important sites, the Director of the Nelson Glueck School of Biblical
Archaeology at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Israel
since 1974, died on September 16, 2008 in Jerusalem. Here is a well-written
obituary. (HT: Jim
West)
Together with a group of students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison under the leadership of Prof. Keith Schoville, I remember well participating in excavations at Tel Dan with Biran as director in the summer of 1976. I was nothing more than a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed teenager, but Biran took me by the arm, shared anecdotes about what it was like to be a student of William Foxwell Albright, and communicated his passion for the land of Israel and the Bible.
Biran arranged for us to tour the nearby hills
with a kibbutznik paleontologist. We were thereby introduced to the depth
dimension of archaeology extending back into Paleolithic and Neolithic times. It
was an unforgettable lesson. Thanks to Biran’s easy way with everyone, the
excavation team was an amicable composite of Jews and Gentiles, Americans and
Israelis. Our work drew visitors from all around and camera crews from Israeli
national television. I remember making the acquaintance of fighter pilots from
Kfar Giladi. A boisterous couple who had immigrated from Yemen, part of the excavation staff, took
me along with them all the way to Jerusalem on a weekend. One of the HUC students I
excavated with told me that he didn’t believe in God even though he was
studying to be a rabbi. Through the friendship that ensued, and many others
since, I began to understand a way of believing that describes itself as
non-believing.
Participation in an archaeological excavation
is a life-experience of the first order. Those of us who had the privilege of
working under Avraham Biran remember him with affection.
I have a friend, Avi Biran, who is an artist. He is alive and well.
Posted by: Michael P. | September 19, 2008 at 01:40 PM
Hi Michael,
The Biran I knew was an artist in his own way. He didn't think of scholarship as a dry subject. He connected it in a responsible way with his other cultural loyalties.
Posted by: JohnFH | September 19, 2008 at 01:45 PM