Understanding the History of Ancient Israel

Edited by H. G. M. Williamson

A British Academy Publication

Proceedings of the British Academy

Brings new and comparative perspectives to a familiar debate.

Understanding the History of Ancient Israel

Edited by H. G. M. Williamson

A British Academy Publication

Proceedings of the British Academy

Description

In recent years the study of the history of ancient Israel has become very heated. On the one hand there are those who continue to use the Bible as a primary source, modified and illustrated by the findings of archaeology, and on the other there are some who believe that primacy should be given to archaeology and that the Biblical account is then seen to be for the most part completely unreliable in historical terms.

This volume makes a fresh contribution to this debate by inquiring into the appropriate methods for combining different sorts of evidence -- archaeological, epigraphical, iconographical, as well as Biblical. It also seeks to learn from related historical disciplines such as classical antiquity and early Islamic history, where similar problems are faced. The volume features contribution from a strong team of internationally distinguished scholars, frequently in debate with each other, in order to ensure that there is a balance of opinion. Chapters focus on the ninth century BCE (the period of the Omri dynasty) as a test case, but the proposals are of far wider application. The result is a work which brings together in mutually respectful dialogue the representatives of positions which are otherwise in danger of talking across one another.

This volume will be essential reading for students and scholars of the Bible, as well as being of great interest to all for whom the Bible is a work of fundamental importance for religion and culture.

Understanding the History of Ancient Israel

Edited by H. G. M. Williamson

A British Academy Publication

Proceedings of the British Academy

Introduction, H.G.M. Williamson
Setting the Scene: A Brief Outline of Histories of Israel, J.W. Rogerson
Setting the Scene: A Response to John Rogerson, Keith W. Whitelam
The History of Ancient Israel: What Directions Should We Take?, Hans M. Barstad
Biblical Israel in the Ninth Century?, Philip R. Davies
Some Recent Issues in the Study of the History of Israel, Lester L. Grabbe
Classical History: A Sketch, with Three Artefacts, T.P. Wiseman
Early Islamic History: Parallels and Problems, Chase F. Robinson
Ancient Near Eastern History: The Case of Cyrus the Great of Persia, Amélie Kuhrt
Archaeology of the Biblical Period: On Some Questions of Methodology and Chronology of the Iron Age, David Ussishkin
The Spade and the Text: The Interaction between Archaeology and Israelite History Relating to the 10th-9th centuries BCE, Amihai Mazar
Neither Eyewitnesses, nor Windows to the Past, but Valuable Testimony in its own Right, Christoph Uehlinger
Akkadian Sources of the Ninth Century, M.J. Geller
Neo-Assyrian and Israelite History in the Ninth Century: The Role of Shalmaneser III, K. Lawson Younger, Jr.
West Semitic Inscriptions and 9th Century BCE Ancient Israel, André Lemaire
Method in the Application of Biblical Source Material to Historical Writing (With Particular Reference to the Ninth Century BCE), Marc Zvi Brettler
Reading Kings on the Divided Monarchy: What Sort of Narrative?, Graeme Auld
Social History of Ancient Israel, Rainer Albertz
Law in the 9th Century: Jehoshaphat's 'Judicial Reform', Bernard S. Jackson
The Northern Kingdom in the Late Tenth-Ninth Centuries BCE, Nadav Na'aman

Understanding the History of Ancient Israel

Edited by H. G. M. Williamson

A British Academy Publication

Proceedings of the British Academy

Author Information

Contributors:

Rainer Albertz, Professor Für Altes Testament, University of Münster
Graeme Auld, Professor of Hebrew Bible, University of Edinburgh
Hans M. Barstad, Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament, University of Edinburgh
Marc Zvi Brettler, Dora Golding Professor of Biblical Studies, Brandeis University
Philip R. Davies, Emeritus Professor of Biblical Studies, University of Sheffield
Mark J. Geller, Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies, University College London
Lester L. Grabbe, Professor of Hebrew Bible and Early Judaism, University of Hull
Bernard S. Jackson, Alliance Family Professor of Modern Jewish Studies, University of Manchester
Amélie Kuhrt, Professor of Ancient Near Eastern History, University College London
André Lemaire, Directeur d'études, École Pratique des Hautes Études, Paris
Amihai Mazar, Professor of Archaeology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Nadav Na'aman, Professor of Jewish History, University of Tel Aviv
Chase F. Robinson, Lecturer in Islamic History, University of Oxford
J. W. Rogerson, Emeritus Professor of Biblical Studies, University of Sheffield
Christoph Uehlinger, Professor of the History of Religions, University of Zurich
David Ussishkin, Emeritus Professor of Archaeology, University of Tel Aviv
Keith W. Whitelam, Professor of Biblical Studies, University of Sheffield
T.P. Wiseman, Emeritus Professor of Classics and Ancient History, University of Exeter
K. Lawson Younger, Professor of Old Testament, Semitic Languages and Ancient Near Eastern History, Trinity International University