So long as the community interest in the event commemorated is kept alive, the oral unit will survive. For each situation there was a proper pattern of utterance. As we shall see, analysis of the cultic use of the Psalms depends heavily upon the recognition of poetic forms associated with specific situations. It is the purpose of form criticism to recognize stylistic features, to analyze them in terms of life settings and tendencies, and to trace the history of the form or the way in which its use developed within biblical literature. The significance of this study for understanding oral tradition is obvious, for it aids in understanding how the literature could be preserved through the patriarchal period and even through the time of the Babylonian Exile.
Field work consists of the discovery, excavation and identification of sites.
Ancient cities were generally located near adequate water and agricultural resources and on trade routes. For purposes of defense, and perhaps to avoid flood waters, the cities were often built on hilltops. During the hundreds of years that these sites were occupied, they suffered destruction by enemies, earthquake, and fire, only to be rebuilt and reoccupied. As layers or strata of cultural deposit accumulated, the height of the mound or tell 19 rose higher and higher. Many tells have been mapped and some have been identified.