Beth Alpert Nakhai
About Beth Alpert Nakhai
Beth Alpert Nakhai is a Professor in the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Arizona, and is an affiliated member of the School of Anthropology. In addition, she is affiliated with the School of Middle East and North African Studies and the Department of Religious Studies. She received her M.T.S. from Harvard Divinity School, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Near Eastern Archaeology from the University of Arizona. In 2022, Nakhai was honored with a festschrift volume, In Pursuit of Visibility: Essays in Archaeology, Ethnography, and Text in Honor of Beth Alpert Nakhai, eds. Jennie Ebeling and Laura Mazow (Oxford: Archaeopress). https://www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress/Products/9781803272313
Her publications focus on the lives of women in antiquity, on Canaanite and Israelite religion and culture, on Israelite ethnogenesis and village life, and on women working in the field of Near Eastern archaeology. Her books include Archaeology and the Religions of Canaan and Israel, as well as two edited volumes (The Near East in the Southwest: Essays in Honor of William G. Dever; The World of Women in the Ancient and Classical Near East) and four co-edited volumes (The Mummy under the Bed: Essays on Gender and Methodology in the Ancient Near East; Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Archaeology; Celebrate Her for the Fruit of Her Hands: Studies in Honor of Carol L. Meyers; Household Religion: Toward a Synthesis of Old Testament Studies, Archaeology, Epigraphy, Epigraphy, and Cultural Studies). In addition, she is the author of numerous articles and lectures widely on various topics.
Nakhai co-directed the Tell el-Wawiyat (Israel) Excavation Project and is currently preparing the publication of that site. She served on the Board of Directors of the American Schools of Overseas Research and chairs its Initiative on the Status of Women. She is an officer of the W. F. Albright School of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem, serving as its Secretary.
Selected Publications
PUBLICATIONS (book author):
2001 Archaeology and the Religions of Canaan and Israel. Atlanta: American Schools of Oriental Research.
PUBLICATIONS (book editor):
2022 Co-editor. The Mummy under the Bed: Essays on Gender and Methodology in the Ancient Near East; with A. Garcia Ventura, A. Goddeeris, and K. De Graef. wEdge Cutting-Edge Researches in Cuneiform Studies, vol. 1. Münster: Zaphon.
2015 Co-editor. Celebrate Her for the Fruit of Her Hands: Studies in Honor of Carol L. Meyers, with S. Ackerman and C. Carter. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.
2014 Co-editor. Household Religion: Toward a Synthesis of Old Testament Studies, Archaeology, Epigraphy, and Cultural Studies; Proceedings of the International Conference at Westfälisches Wilhelms-Universität Münster, April 1st-3rd, 2009, with R. Albertz, R. Schmitt and S. Olyan. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.
2013 Senior editor. Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Archaeology. Editor in-chief D. Master. New York: Oxford University Press.
2008 The World of Women in the Ancient and Classical Near East. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
2003 The Near East in the Southwest: Essays in Honor of William G. Dever. Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research 58. Atlanta: American Schools of Oriental Research.
PUBLICATIONS (articles):
2022 Revisiting Iron Age Israel: New Archaeological Approaches. In Pp. 37- 62 in Premodern Jewish Studies: A Handbook, eds. C. S. Ehrlich and S. R. Horowitz. Berlin: De Gruyter.
2022 Commemorative Volumes in Archaeology and the (Pre-classical) Southern Levant. In Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies 10:3-4: 359-61. Special edition eds. G. Erny and M. Godsey.
2021 Response to Darby and Deutsch. Pp. 215-19 in Iron Age Terracotta Figurines from the Southern Levant in Context, eds. Erin D. Darby and Izaak J. de Hulster. Leiden and New York: Brill. 2021.
2020 Gender and Archaeology in Israelite Religion. Pp. 55-69 in The Bible, Gender, and Sexuality: Critical Readings, eds. L. R. Huber and R. Graybill. Critical Readings in Biblical Studies. London: T & T Clark.
2019 Baby Burials in the Middle Bronze Age. Biblical Archaeology Review45/4-5: 41-44, 90.
2019 Women in Israelite Religion: The State of Research Is All New Research. Religions.
http://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions/special_issues/Israelite
doi:10.3390/rel10020122
2018 How to Avoid Gender-Based Hostility during Fieldwork. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Print 20 July 2018; online 15 July 2018 https://www.chronicle.com/article/How-to-Avoid-Gender-Based/243912?key=…
2018 A World of Possibilities: Jerusalem’s Women in the Iron Age (1000-586 BCE). Pp. 369-392 in Gender and Methodology in the Ancient Near East: Approaches from Assyriology and Beyond,eds. S. L. Budin, M. Cifarelli, A. Garcia-Ventura and A. Millet Albà. Barcino Monographica Orientalia 10. Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona.
2018 Factors Complicating the Reconstruction of Women’s Lives in Iron Age Israel (1200-587 B.C.E.). Pp. 289-313 in Studying Gender in the Ancient Near East, eds. S. Svärd and A. Garcia-Ventura. State College, PA: Eisenbrauns.
2018 When Considering Infants and Jar Burials in the Middle Bronze Age Southern Levant. Pp. 100-28 in Tell It in Gath: Studies in the History and Archaeology of Israel. Essays in Honor of A. M. Maier on the Occasion of His Sixtieth Birthday, eds. I. Shai, J. R. Chadwick, L. Hitchcock, A. Dagan, C. McKinney and J. Uziel. Ägypten und Altes Testament 90. Münster: Zaphon.
2015 Where to Worship? Religion in Iron II Israel and Judah. Pp. 90-101 in Defining the Sacred: Approaches to the Archaeology of Religion in the Near East, ed. N. Laneri. Oxford, UK: Oxbow Books.
2015 Plaque and Recumbent Figurines of the Late Bronze II. Pp. 327-56 in Celebrate Her for the Fruit of Her Hands: Studies in Honor of Carol L. Meyers, eds. S. Ackerman, C. Carter and B. Alpert Nakhai. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.
2014 The Household as Sacred Space.Pp. 53-71 in Household Religion: Toward a Synthesis of Old Testament Studies, Archaeology, Epigraphy, and Cultural Studies; Proceedings of the International Conference at Westfälisches Wilhelms-Universität Münster, April 1st-3rd, 2009, eds. R. Albertz, B. Alpert Nakhai, S. Olyan and R. Schmitt. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.
2014 Mother-and-Child Figurines in the Late Bronze–Persian Period Levant. Pp. 165-98 in Material Culture Matters: Essays on the Archaeology of the Southern Levant in Honor of Seymour Gitin, eds. J. Spencer, R. Mullins and A. Brody. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.
2011 Varieties of Religious Expression in the Domestic Setting. Pp. 347-60 in Household Archaeology in Ancient Israel and Beyond, eds. A. Yasur-Landau, J. R. Ebeling and L. B. Mazow. Culture and History of the Ancient Near East 50. Leiden: Brill.
2008 Female Infanticide in Iron II Israel and Judah. Pp. 245-60 in Sacred History, Sacred Literature: Essays on Ancient Israel, the Bible and Religion in Honor of R. E. Friedman on His 60thBirthday, ed. S. Dolansky. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns,
2008 Contextualizing Village Life in the Iron Age I. Pp. 121-37 in Israel in Transition: From Late Bronze II to Iron IIa (c. 1250-850 BCE). Volume 1: The Archaeology, ed. L. L. Grabbe. Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies 491; European Seminar in Historical Methodology 7. London: Continuum.
2008 Central Commenary: R'eih. Pp. 1115-33 in The Torah: A Women's Commentary, eds. T. C. Eskenazi and A. L. Weiss. New York: URJ Press and Women of Reform Judaism.
2007 Gender and Archaeology in Israelite Religion. Compass Religion1/5: 512-28.
2005 Daily Life in the Ancient Near East: New Thoughts on an Old Topic. Religious Studies Review: A Quarterly Review of Publications in the Field of Religion and Related Disciplines31/3-4: 147-53.
2003 Israel on the Horizon: The Galilee in the Iron I. Pp. 131-51 in The Near East in the Southwest: Essays in Honor of William G. Dever, ed. B. Alpert Nakhai. Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research 58. Atlanta: ASOR.
1999 Israelite Religion beyond the Temple: The Archaeological Witness. The World of the Bible 1: 38‑43.
1994 What's a Bamah? How Sacred Space Functioned in Ancient Israel. Biblical Archaeology Review20:18‑29, 77‑78.
1999 A Landscape Comes to Life: The Iron I Period. Near Eastern Archaeology62/2: 62-92, 101-27, with E. Bloch-Smith.
1993 Tell el‑Wawiyat. Pp. 1500-1 in The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, vol. 4, ed. E. Stern. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, with J. P. Dessel and B. L. Wisthoff.
1990 Tell el‑Wawiyat (Bet Netofa Valley) ‑ 1987. Excavations and Surveys in Israel 1988/89(Vol. 7‑8): 183-84. Jerusalem: Hadashot Archaeologiyot, with J. P. Dessel and B. L. Wisthoff.
1989 Tell el‑Wawiyat, 1987. Israel Exploration Journal39/1‑2: 102‑4, with J. P. Dessel and B. L. Wisthoff.
1988 Tell el‑Wawiyat. Revue biblique 95/2: 247‑51, with J. P. Dessel and B. L. Wisthoff.
1988 Tell el‑Wawiyat, 1986. Excavations and Surveys in Israel 1987/88(Vol. 6): 100-2. Jerusalem: Hadashot Archaeologiyot, with J. P. Dessel and B. L. Wisthoff.
1987 Tell el‑Wawiyat.Israel Exploration Journal 37/2‑3: 181‑85, with J. P. Dessel and B. L. Wisthoff.
BLOG POSTS (ASOR BLOG @ asorblog.org):
- Keeping Fieldwork Safe from Sexual Harassment and Violence (3/20/15)
http://asorblog.org/2015/03/20/keeping-fieldwork-safe-from-sexual-harassment-and-physical-violence/
- Celebrating Carol Meyers(2/13/2015)
http://asorblog.org/celebrating-carol-meyers/
- Breaking In: Women’s Representation in Archaeology(Valerie Schlegel, 1stauthor; 3/21/14)
- Women on ASOR’s Board of Trustees (3/20/14)
- The Status of Women in ASOR(7/9/12)
PODCASTS:
- Bloomberg podcast: Game Plan; hosts Rebecca Greenfield and Francesca Levy; 25 Oct. 2017
Episode entitled The Harvey Weinstein in Your Industry
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-25/the-harvey-weinstein-in-your-industry-j9742flyAssociation for Jewish Studies podcast: Adventures in Jewish Studies; host Jeremy Shere; 14 Feb. 2019
- Episode entitled The Origin of the Jews
https://www.associationforjewishstudies.org/public-programs/adventures-in-jewish-studies-podcast
SYMPOSIUM ORGANIZER and EXHIBITION CURATOR:
1. Torah Restoration Project: Daylong Workshop with Rabbi Menachem Salazar on the Judaic Studies Torah Scroll. 2/4/14
Interview on KUAT-TV’s Arizona Illustrated (4/8/14)
https://originals.azpm.org/p/azill-science/2014/4/8/32245-ua-houses-a-mysterious-biblical-document/
2. On the Verge of a Paradigmatic Shift? Symposium on the U.S.-Israel Relationship. The University of Arizona. 11/29/11
http://judaic.arizona.edu/sites/judaic.arizona.edu/files/filesnews/JUS%20Newsletter%20page%2011.pdf
http://judaic.arizona.edu/symposium_panel
http://azjewishpost.com/2011/u-s-israel-relations-topic-for-ua-symposium/
http://azjewishpost.com/2011/ua-symposium-delves-into-u-s-israel-ties
3. Writings Out of Time: The University of Arizona’s Cuneiform Collection. Archaeological exhibit on display in Special Collections Library, The University of Arizona. Fall semester 2009
http://www.library.arizona.edu/news/entries/view/2391
The Roots of Literacy in the Ancient Near East. Lecture series, held in conjunction with Writings Out of Time: The University of Arizona’s Cuneiform Collection. Fall semester 2009
Interview on KUAT-TV’s Arizona Illustrated 10/29/09
https://www.azpm.org/s/3650-cuneiform-collection/
https://ondemand.azpm.org/videoshorts/watch/2009/10/29/kuat-cuneiform-colllection/
Courses Taught
Ancient Near East: Ancient Civilizations of the Near East; In the Beginning: Roots of Western Culture
Israel in Antiquity: Archaeology and the Bible; History and Religion of Ancient Israel in the First Temple Period; History and Religion of Ancient Israel in the Second Temple Period; Women in Ancient Israel
Hebrew Language: Biblical Hebrew (Introductory, Advanced); Modern Hebrew (First Year)
Judaic Studies: Introduction to Judaism; Women in Judaism
Areas of Study
I am working on a new book, Un-Housewifely Skills: Women in Levantine Archaeology, to be published by Routledge. It explores the history and status of women working in the southern Levant, and emphasizes the importance of including women in all reconstructions of the past.
Projects
AMERICAN SCHOOLS OF OVERSEAS RESEARCH:
I served for more than a decade on ASOR’s Board of Trustees (2002-2015). Particularly important to me is my ongoing work as head of ASOR's Initiative on the Status of Women. I am working with others to document - and improve - the status of women in ASOR and in the field of Near Eastern archaeology.
WILLIAM F. ALBRIGHT INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH:
I have served on the Board of Trustees of the W. F. Albright School of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem since 2015. Since 2019, I have been the Board Secretary.
TELL EL-WAWIYAT (ISRAEL) EXCAVATION:
Tell el-Wawiyat, a four-dunam site in the Beit Netofah Valley in Israel’s Lower Galilee, was excavated in the mid-1980s, under the direction of J. P. Dessel, Bonnie L. Wisthoff, and me. Funding was provided by University of Arizona, with support from the Albright Institute of Archaeological Research and ASOR. Funding for publication is provided by a grant from The Shelby White – Leon Levy Program for Archaeological Publications. I am currently working on the site publication.
Research Interests
- Archaeology of Western Asia
- Women in antiquity
- Women working in Near Eastern archaeology
- Biblical studies and biblical Hebrew
- Religion in Canaan and Israel
- Israel in the Iron Age and later periods
- Israelite ethnogenesis
- Household religion