Expedition members treated living Arabs as evidence about ancient Hebrews

Evidence

In addition to the study of this particular branch of the Arabic language, the expedition was to seek out manuscripts (especially of the Bible), survey the topography, enquire into the effects of polygamy on population growth, and record the vegetation and wildlife. Michaelis was particularly keen to receive data that would help in identifying the flora and fauna of the Bible. He also thought that the contemporary Arabs had a way of life similar to that of the ancient Hebrews. — Robert Irwin, For Lust of Knowing, 233

Categorization

• XREF: The same present-as-past logic Said criticizes — treating contemporary subjects as fossilized ancients. Anticipates later critique of ethnographic timelessness.

Related

• Eighteenth-century scholars studied Arabic to illuminate the Bible (similarity 0.82)
• Michaelis subordinated Arabic study to biblical understanding (similarity 0.80)