Orientalism in Moab: The Palestine Exploration Fund and Biblical Scholarship in Transjordan, 1871–85

The Survey of Eastern Palestine was the second major survey produced by the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF), a society of archaeologists and orientalists interested in empirically studying the Levant to advance Biblical understanding. The PEF survey teams were staffed by Royal Engineers and funded in part by the War Office, intricately involving their work with British imperial aims in the late 19^th century Levant. At the same time, the PEF contributed to the empirical validation of the accuracy of the Bible during a period where its historical validity was in doubt. The land of Eastern Palestine (the modern-day Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan) was understood as the location of the Biblical kingdom of Moab. Launched in 1881 and published in 1889, the survey produced several volumes of maps, archaeological findings, and ethnographical reports about the state of the contemporary land and people of Moab.

This study will explore how the exegetical interpretation of Moab as a Biblical antagonist figured into British descriptions of Bedouin Arabs living in the Transjordan region in the latter half of the 19^th century. I argue that the biblical-orientalist writings of survey lead C. R. Conder portrayed the Bedouin Arabs of Transjordan as genealogical descendants of the pagan, idol-worshipping, and warlike Moabites of the Bible, linking them to a narrative of oriental spiritual degradation that acted as a foil to Western spiritual progress. This project serves as a comparison point for other relevant studies on the utilization of biblical narratives in the dehumanization of Palestinians, particularly because the contemporary occupation of Palestine displays the discursive power of such rhetoric. Further, my work adds a layer of psychological nuance to the conversation about the role of religion in imperial ideologies, in showing an example of genuine faith in a constructed biblical-civilizational historicism, and its participation in imperial work.

This study surveys the academic and theological milieus within which Conder wrote and published his findings, drawing from the work of his academic peers and the primary exegetical positions of Anglican Broad-Church theology. I explore the reports written by Conder in the Transjordan, engaging in a discursive analysis of his descriptions of the topography, archaeological findings, and social and religious culture of the Bedouin Arabs. Conder’s reports, supplied by the archives of the PEF, make up the primary source base of this study. I also draw from the published work of the Palestine Exploration Quarterly from 1871-1885 to display Conder’s contribution to contemporary scholarship. Finally, I draw from biblical exegesis on the Book of Numbers published in Britain from roughly 1869-1889.

My poster will highlight the map of Eastern Palestine drawn by C. R. Conder, along photographs of excerpts of his reports discussing his archaeological and ethnographic observations-- particularly those focusing on the folklore and culture of Bedouins, and his theories of ethnic genealogy. These visual aids will supplement blocks of text discussing the main arguments and research questions of this project, as well as an overview of my source base and relevant analysis of selected quotes.