How Israel became a people
By: Ralph K. Hawkins
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Published: 2013
Place of publication: Nashville
Language: eng
Number of pages: 288
ISBN-13: 9781426754876
Subjects: Origin; History; Bible; Judaism; Jews; Antiquities; Sources; Excavations (Archaeology); The Exodus
Description: How did Israel become a people? Is the biblical story accurate? In what sense, if any, is the biblical story true? Are the origins of these ancient people lost in myth or is there hope to discovering who they were and how they lived? These questions divide students and scholars alike. While many believe the "Conquest" is only a fable, this book will present a different view. Using biblical materials and the new archaeological data, this title tells how the ancient Israelites settled in Canaan and became the people of Israel. The stakes for understanding the history of ancient Israel are high. The Old Testament tells us that Yahweh led the Hebrews into the land of Canaan and commanded them to drive its indigenous inhabitants out and settle in their place. This account has often served as justification for the possession of the land by the modern state of Israel. Archaeology is a "weapon" in the debate, used by both Israelis and Palestinians trying to write each other out of the historical narrative. This book provides needed background for the issues and will be of interest to those concerned with the complexity of Arab-Israeli relations.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 215-279) and index.
Table of contents: title: Why must we reconstruct the history of the Israelite settlement?; title: Classical and recent models of the Israelite settlement; title: The date of the Exodus-conquest Part I: biblical evidence; title: The date of the Exodus-conquest Part II: extrabiblical evidence; title: Major cities of the conquest; title: Reconstructing the Israelite settlement archaeologically; title: The material culture and ethnicity of the highland settlers; title: Izbet Sartah: a prototypical Israelite settlement site; title: Early Israelite sanctuaries and the birth of a nation; title: A culture-scale model of the early Israelite settlement.