How Israel Became a People
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.
Top Highlights
“The only piece of data from the Hebrew Bible that seems to provide a clue to the date of these events is Exod 1:11, which states that the Hebrews were put to forced labor and compelled to build a supply city called ‘Rameses’ for the pharaoh. The city of Qantir, discovered in the 1950s, has been identified with Pi-Ramesses, and the archaeological data suggest that it only flourished from about 1270–1120 B.C.E. In sum, the biblical data provides little clear information regarding the date of the exodus-conquest. The naming of the city of Rameses is the only reference that may provide chronological clarity, and it seems to situate the events of the exodus-conquest in the thirteenth rather than the fifteenth century B.C.E.” (source)
“Regardless of one’s preferences, the Merneptah stele clearly sets a terminus ante quem of about 1210 B.C.E. for the arrival of the Israelites in Canaan.” (source)
“the ‘objective’ history, i.e., what actually happened in the process of Israel’s appearance in the land of Canaan.” (source)
“The second problem has to do with Young’s methodology for utilizing the rabbinic materials” (source)
“but only three cities—Jericho, Ai, and Hazor—are specifically claimed to have been burned” (source)
Product Details
- Title : How Israel Became a People
- Author: Hawkins, Ralph K.
- Publisher: Abingdon Press
- Publication Date: 2013
- ISBN: 9781426755439