Irresolution as Historical Practice and the Case of the Unnamed Woman in Timnah

Abstract

Abstract This article is an experiment with irresolution as methodology in historical re-presentation. The focus is identity irresolution in Timnah, an Iron Age site in the Shephelah of the southern Levant. In biblical narrative, Timnah is brought to life in the stories of an unnamed woman in Judg 14–15. In archaeology, the site has been identified with Tel Batash (Tell el-Batashi in Arabic). The purpose of this article is twofold: to write a counterhistory of the unnamed woman that emphasizes the mystery of her identity and to articulate how irresolution can expand the scope of the historical practice in biblical studies. After an introduction and a discussion of irresolution as methodology, I offer a deep reading and re-presentation of the textual evidence, followed by an examination of the archaeological interpretations at Tel Batash. I conclude by considering the ethics of history writing in biblical studies.