ABSTRACT

This volume presents a collection of studies by international experts on various aspects of ancient Israel’s society, economy, religion, language, culture, and history, synthesizing archaeological remains and integrating them with discussions of ancient Near Eastern and biblical texts.

Driven by theoretically and methodologically informed discussions of the archaeology of the Iron Age Levant, the 47 chapters in The Ancient Israelite World provide foundational, accessible, and detailed studies in their respective topics. The volume considers the history of interpretation of ancient Israel, studies on various aspects of ancient Israel’s society and history, and avenues for present and future approaches to the ancient Israelite world. Accompanied by over 150 maps and figures, it allows the reader to gain an understanding of key issues that archaeologists, historians and biblical scholars have faced and are currently facing as they attempt to better understand ancient Israelite society.

The Ancient Israelite World is an essential reference work for students and scholars of ancient Israel and its history, culture, and society, whether they are historians, archaeologists or biblical scholars.

chapter 1|11 pages

An Introduction to the Ancient Israelite World

The State of the Field and Future Directions

part I|85 pages

Backgrounds and Methodological Considerations

chapter 2|19 pages

The Historical Geography of Ancient Israel

The Amalekite Spoil List (1 Sam 30:27–31) as a Case Study

chapter 3|20 pages

Competing Chronologies, Competing Histories

Ancient Israel and the Chronology of the Southern Levant ca. 1200–587 BCE

chapter 4|13 pages

The Historian and the Assemblage

On the Interpretation of Texts and Artifacts for the History of Ancient Israel

chapter 5|16 pages

Between the Biblical Story and History

Writing an Archaeological History of Ancient Israel

chapter 6|15 pages

Texts, Archaeology, and Ethnicity

Identifying Ancient Israel

part II|108 pages

Material Culture

chapter 10|19 pages

Stone Volutes

United by a Common Motif not by a Common Function

chapter 11|14 pages

From Urban Centers into Mounds of Ruins

The Destruction of Cities during the Iron Age

chapter 12|18 pages

Regional Continuity and Change in Ancient Israel

An Analysis of Iron Age Settlement Patterns and Systems

part III|125 pages

Society and Economy

chapter 16|12 pages

The Judahite Economy in First Temple Times

Remodeling the House of David—A Case Study from Tell en-Naṣbeh

chapter 18|14 pages

Gender in Ancient Israel

part IV|86 pages

Language

chapter 23|15 pages

More than the Sum of Their Parts

Multimodality and the Study of Iron Age Inscriptions

chapter 24|21 pages

Socio-political Gleanings from Northwest Semitic Paleography

The Inscriptions from Tel Reḥov, as a Test Case

chapter 25|20 pages

Language in Israel and Judah

A Sociolinguistic Reappraisal

chapter 26|15 pages

The Composition of the Hebrew Bible

Process in the Production of Israelite Literature 1

part V|101 pages

Religion

part VI|208 pages

Israel Among the Nations

chapter 33|14 pages

Amorites and Canaanites

Memory, Tradition, and Legacy in Ancient Israel and Judah

chapter 34|12 pages

New Kingdom Egypt and Early Israel

Entangled Identities

chapter 35|16 pages

Philistines and Israelites/Judahites

Antagonism and Interaction

chapter 37|18 pages

Phoenicians and Ancient Israel

chapter 41|17 pages

Egypt and the Levant in the Third Intermediate Period (Iron IB–IIIA)

Fragmentation, Foreignness, and Fungibility

chapter 42|18 pages

Reconstructing the Kushite Royal House

The Chronology of Egypt's 25th Dynasty and Its Relation to Judah

chapter 43|20 pages

Israel and Assyria, Judah and Assyria

chapter 44|16 pages

Babylon and Israel

Cultural Contact and Cultural Impact

part VII|48 pages

The Legacy and Future of Ancient Israel

chapter 45|10 pages

The Future of Studying Ancient Israel

Insights from the Archaeological Sciences with a Focus on Food and Society

chapter 47|21 pages

Israel, ancient and modern

Representations and Misrepresentations of the Past in Dialogue with the Present