Archaeology, History, and Identity Formation in Ancient Israel
Archaeology, History, and Identity Formation in Ancient Israel

Author: Filip Čapek

Publisher: Charles University in Prague, Karolinum Press

Published: 2024-07-01

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 8024654172

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

When did Israel begin? The origins of ancient Israel are shrouded in mystery and those hoping to explore the issue must utilize resources from three different fields – archaeology, epigraphy, and biblical texts – and then examine their interrelations, while keeping in mind that the name Israel was not used to describe just one state but referred to numerous entities at different times. This book attempts to provide a critical reading of Israel’s history. It is neither a harmonizing reading, which takes the picture painted by texts as a given fact, nor a reading supporting biblical texts with archaeological and epigraphic data; instead, it offers the reader multiple options to understand biblical narratives on a historical and theological level. In addition to presenting the main currents in the field, the book draws upon the latest discoveries from excavations in Israel to offer new hypotheses and reconstructions based on the interdisciplinary dialogue between biblical studies, archaeology, and history.

Rethinking Israel
Rethinking Israel

Author: Oded Lipschits

Publisher: Eisenbrauns

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781575067872

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"Israel Finkelstein is perhaps the best-known Israeli archaeologist in the world [...] His work has greatly changed the face of archaeological and historical research of the biblical period. His unique ability to see the comprehensive big picture and formulate a broad framework has inspired countless scholars to reexamine long-established paradigms. His trail-blazing work covering every period from the beginning of the Early Bronze Age through the Hasmonean period, while sometimes controversial, has led to a creative new approach that connects archaeology with history, the social sciences, and the natural and life sciences [...] This volume, dedicated to Professor Finkelstein's accomplishments and contributions, features 36 articles written by his colleagues, friends, and students in honor of his decades of scholarship and leadership in the field of biblical archaeology"--back cover.

The Bible Unearthed
The Bible Unearthed

Author: Israel Finkelstein

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2002-03-06

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 0743223381

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In this groundbreaking work that sets apart fact and legend, authors Finkelstein and Silberman use significant archeological discoveries to provide historical information about biblical Israel and its neighbors. In this iconoclastic and provocative work, leading scholars Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman draw on recent archaeological research to present a dramatically revised portrait of ancient Israel and its neighbors. They argue that crucial evidence (or a telling lack of evidence) at digs in Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon suggests that many of the most famous stories in the Bible—the wanderings of the patriarchs, the Exodus from Egypt, Joshua’s conquest of Canaan, and David and Solomon’s vast empire—reflect the world of the later authors rather than actual historical facts. Challenging the fundamentalist readings of the scriptures and marshaling the latest archaeological evidence to support its new vision of ancient Israel, The Bible Unearthed offers a fascinating and controversial perspective on when and why the Bible was written and why it possesses such great spiritual and emotional power today.

Temples in Transformation
Temples in Transformation

Author: Filip Čapek

Publisher: LIT Verlag Münster

Published: 2023-04

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13: 3643913982

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The focus of this book is on temples in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age (ca. 1200-600 BC) and their transformations. In order to capture the long-term context, some significant sites with temples from the Late Bronze Age are also presented and discussed. The author traces both material culture related to the temples and the way in which the same themes are treated in Old Testament texts concentrated primarily on Israel and Judah. From the analysis of these texts, he deduces a threefold transformation of the form of memory in relation to the temples and the cult. The first concerns a contrastive reshaping (Philistia and other neighbouring political entities), the second an external (Israel) and the third an internal (Judah) silencing of the actual form of religious practice in the Iron Age.

The Old Testament in Archaeology and History
The Old Testament in Archaeology and History

Author: Jennie Ebeling

Publisher:

Published: 2019-01-15

Total Pages: 686

ISBN-13: 9781481309271

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

One hundred and fifty years of sustained archaeological investigation has yielded a more complete picture of the ancient Near East. The Old Testament in Archaeology and History combines the most significant of these archaeological findings with those of modern historical and literary analysis of the Bible to recount the history of ancient Israel and its neighboring nations and empires. Eighteen international authorities contribute chapters to this introductory volume. After exploring the history of modern archaeological research in the Near East and the evolution of biblical archaeology as a discipline, this textbook follows the Old Testament's general chronological order, covering such key aspects as the exodus from Egypt, Israel's settlement in Canaan, the rise of the monarchy under David and Solomon, the period of the two kingdoms and their encounters with Assyrian power, the kingdoms' ultimate demise, the exile of Judahites to Babylonia, and the Judahites' return to Jerusalem under the Persians along with the advent of Jewish identity. Each chapter is tailored for an audience new to the history of ancient Israel in its biblical and ancient Near Eastern setting. The end result is an introduction to ancient Israel combined with and illuminated by more than a century of archaeological research. The volume brings together the strongest results of modern research into the biblical text and narrative with archaeological and historical analysis to create an understanding of ancient Israel as a political and religious entity based on the broadest foundation of evidence. This combination of literary and archaeological data provides new insights into the complex reality experienced by the peoples reflected in the biblical narratives.

Language Contact, Colonial Administration, and the Construction of Identity in Ancient Israel
Language Contact, Colonial Administration, and the Construction of Identity in Ancient Israel

Author: Samuel L. Boyd

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2021-02-15

Total Pages: 513

ISBN-13: 9004448764

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In Language Contact, Colonial Administration, and the Construction of Identity in Ancient Israel, Boyd offers the first book-length incorporation of language contact theory with data from the Bible. It allows for a reexamination of the nature of contact between biblical authors and the Assyrian, Babylonian, and Achaemenid empires.

Historical Biblical Archaeology and the Future
Historical Biblical Archaeology and the Future

Author: Thomas Evan Levy

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-04-08

Total Pages: 392

ISBN-13: 1134937466

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Joint winner of the 2011 Biblical Archaeology Society Publication Award in the category "Best Scholarly Book on Archaeology" The archaeology of the Holy Land is undergoing major change. 'Historical Biblical Archaeology and the Future' describes the paradigm shift brought about by objective science-based dating methods, geographic information systems, anthropological models, and digital technology tools. The book serves as a model for how researchers can investigate the relationship between ancient texts (both sacred and profane) and the archaeological record. Influential archaeologists and biblical scholars examine a range of texts, materials and cultures: the Vedas and India; the Homeric legends and Greek Classical Archaeology; the Sagas and Icelandic archaeology; Islamic Archaeology; and the Umayyad, Abbasid, and Ayyubid periods. The groundbreaking essays offer a foundation for future research in biblical archaeology, ancient Jewish history and biblical studies.

The Origins of Biblical Monotheism
The Origins of Biblical Monotheism

Author: Mark S. Smith

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2003-11-06

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 0195167686

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

One of the leading scholars of ancient West Semitic religion discusses polytheism vs. monotheism by covering the fluidity of those categories in the ancient Near East. He argues that Israel's social history is key to the development of monotheism.

The Oxford Handbook of Archaeological Theory
The Oxford Handbook of Archaeological Theory

Author: Andrew Gardner

Publisher:

Published:

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9780191750977

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This handbook is currently in development, with individual articles publishing online in advance of print publication. At this time, we cannot add information about unpublished articles in this handbook, however the table of contents will continue to grow as additional articles pass through the review process and are added to the site. Please note that the online publication date for this handbook is the date that the first article in the title was published online.

From Nomadism to Monarchy?
From Nomadism to Monarchy?

Author: Ido Koch

Publisher: Penn State Press

Published: 2024-07-11

Total Pages: 556

ISBN-13: 1646022696

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Archaeological exploration in the Central Highlands of the Southern Levant conducted during the 1970s and 1980s dramatically transformed the scholarly understanding of the early Iron Age and led to the publication of From Nomadism to Monarchy: Archaeological and Historical Aspects of Early Israel, by Israel Finkelstein and Nadav Na’aman. This volume explores and reassesses the legacy of that foundational text. Using current theoretical frameworks and taking into account new excavation data and methodologies from the natural sciences, the seventeen essays in this volume examine the archaeology of the Southern Levant during the early Iron Age and the ways in which the period may be reflected in biblical accounts. The variety of methodologies employed and the historical narratives presented within these contributions illuminate the multifaceted nature of contemporary research on this formative period. Building upon Finkelstein and Na’aman’s seminal study, this work provides an essential update. It will be welcomed by ancient historians, scholars of early Israel and the early Iron Age Southern Levant, and biblical scholars. In addition to the editors, the contributors to this volume are Eran Arie, Erez Ben-Yosef, Cynthia Edenburg, Israel Finkelstein, Yuval Gadot, Assaf Kleiman, Gunnar Lehmann, Defna Langgut, Aren M. Maeir, Nadav Na’aman, Thomas Römer, Lidar Sapir-Hen, Katja Soennecken, Dieter Vieweger, Ido Wachtel, and Naama Yahalom-Mack.