Every year hundreds—even thousands—of scholars and students go to Israel and pay for the privilege of working hard at uncovering its past. Why? The appeal of the Hebrew Bible lies pre-eminently in its link with history and archaeology. Questions of Israelite origins have dominated much of the twentieth century scholarship on biblical history, and continue to fascinate scholars and laypersons from both Christian and Jewish traditions around the world. This volume examines the history of the Israelite and Judean states. The contributors cover method, society, and historical sources.
Contributions to this volume include:
- “Historiography of Ancient Palestine and Early Jewish Historiography: W. G. Dever and the Not So New Biblical Archaeology,” Thomas L. Thompso
- “The Construction of the Davidic State: An Exercise in Historiography,” Baruch Halpern
- “Sociological and Biblical Views of the Early State,” Christa Schafer-Lichtenberger
- “From Patronage Society to Patronage Society,” Niels Peter Lemche
- “Bare Bones: Putting Flesh on the Economics of Ancient Israel,” David Hopkins
- “Saul ben Kish in History and Tradition,” Diana Edelman
- “Re-Reading Samuel (Historically): ‘Etwas mehr Nichtwissen’,” Graeme Auld
- “Sources and Composition in the History of David,” Nadav Na’Aman
- “Monarchy and Re-urbanization: A New Look at Solomon’s Kingdom,” Volkmar Fritz
- “The ‘Ban’ in the Age of the Early Kings,” Walter Dietrich
