Har Karkom interroga l’esegesi e la teologia. Un primo bilancio della ricezione dell’ipotesi di E. Anati nei dibattiti sulle origini di Israele

The archaeological site of Har Karkom, which has been unveiled for thirty years thanks to the excavations of Emmanuel Anati, is an important element of reflection for biblical history, exegesis and theology. As Emmanuel Anati has been expressing his assumption for a long time, that this mount is the Mount Sinai / Horeb of the biblical story, this article tries to offer a critical analysis suitable to decoupling the archaeological data from the direct relationship with biblical history. Only through this operation will it be possible to give the scientific world a fresh perspective of the debate that can welcome the importance of Har Karkom as sacred mountain of the Negev desert; and it will also allow to form a relationship with problems connected to the genesis and development of the biblical tales of origins. In all this, the thesis of Emmanuel Anati can be discussed alongside other theories that – starting from the site of Har Karkom – will investigate the origins of Israel in the context of the populations of the desert with a new contribution.