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.
1. An Introduction to the Ancient Israelite World: The State of the Field and Future Directions, Kyle H. Keimer and George A. Pierce; Part I: Backgrounds and Methodological Considerations; 2. The Historical Geography of Ancient Israel: The Amalekite Spoil List (1 Sam 30:27-31) as a Case Study, Chris McKinny; 3. Competing Chronologies, Competing Histories: Ancient Israel and the Chronology of the Southern Levant ca. 1200–587 BCE, Koert van Bekkum; 4. The Historian and the Assemblage: On the Interpretation of Texts and Artifacts for the History of Ancient Israel, Daniel Pioske; 5. Between the Biblical Story and History: Writing an Archaeological History of Ancient Israel, Avraham Faust; 6. Texts, Archaeology, and Ethnicity: Identifying Ancient Israel, William G. Dever; Part II: Material Culture; 7. A Technological and Sociological Perspective on Ancient Israelite Pottery, Nava Panitz-Cohen; 8. Domestic Architecture, the Household, and Daily Life in Iron Age Israel, Jeffrey R. Zorn; 9. Monuments, Monumental Architecture, and Monumentality in Ancient Israel, Kyle H. Keimer; 10. Stone Volutes: United by a Common Motif not by a Common Function, Norma Franklin; 11. From Urban Centers into Mounds of Ruins: The Destruction of Cities During the Iron Age, Igor Kreimerman; 12. Regional Continuity and Change in Ancient Israel: An Analysis of Iron Age Settlement Patterns and Systems, George A. Pierce; Part III: Society and Economy; 13. Ancient Israel’s Social Structure(s), Gunnar Lehmann; 14. Tribal Kingdoms and the Tribal Element in Southern Levantine Iron Age Polities, Øystein S. LaBianca and Jeffrey P. Hudon; 15. Israel’s Political and Administrative Structures in the Pre-Monarchic and Monarchic Periods, Zachary Thomas; 16. The Judahite Economy in First Temple Times: Remodeling the House of David–A Case Study from Tell en-Naṣbeh, Aaron Brody; 17. The Socioeconomics of Food and Feasting in Pre-Exilic Israel and Judah, Rebekah Welton; 18. Gender in Ancient Israel, Jennie Ebeling; 19. Children in Ancient Israel, Kristine Henriksen Garroway; 20. Social Issues in the Establishment of Biblical Law in the Iron Age, Eckart Otto; 21. Warfare and Intelligence Gathering in Ancient Israel, Charlie Trimm; Part IV: Language; 22. Literacy and Scribalism in Israel during the Iron Age (ca. 1200/1150-586 BCE), Matthieu Richelle; 23. More than the Sum of their Parts: Multimodality and the Study of Iron Age Inscriptions, Alice Mandell; 24. Sociopolitical Gleanings from Northwest Semitic Paleography: The Inscriptions from Tel Reḥov as a Test Case, Nathaniel E. Greene; 25. Language in Israel and Judah: A Sociolinguistic Reappraisal, Timothy Hogue; 26. The Composition of the Hebrew Bible: Processes in the Production of Israelite Literature, Joel S. Baden; Part V: Religion; 27. Religion in the House in Ancient Israel, Jeremy D. Smoak; 28. Visual Culture and Religion in Ancient Israel and Judah, Christoph Uehlinger; 29. The Archaeology of Israelite Cult: Yahwisms across Space and Time, George A. Pierce and Kyle H. Keimer; 30. The Role of Ritual in Biblical Narrative, Dan Belnap; 31. Israelite Prophecy from its Origins to the Exile, Shawn Zelig Aster; 32. Death and Afterlife, Christopher B. Hays; Part VI: Israel Amongst the Nations; 33. Amorites and Canaanites: Memory, Tradition, and Legacy in Ancient Israel and Judah, Aaron A. Burke; 34. New Kingdom Egypt and Early Israel: Entangled Identities, Aaron A. Burke; 35. Philistines and Israelites/Judahites: Antagonism and Interaction, Aren M. Maeir; 36. Early Interactions between the Arameans and Israelites, Scott W. Booth; 37. Phoenicians and Ancient Israel, Ilan Sharon; 38. Ammonites in the World of Israel, Randall W. Younker; 39. The Invention of Ancient Moab, Benjamin W. Porter; 40. Edom and Southern Jordan in the Iron Age, Juan Manuel Tebes; 41. Egypt and the Levant in the Third Intermediate Period (Iron IB-IIC): Fragmentation, Foreignness, and Fungibility, Krystal V. L. Pierce; 42. Reconstructing the Kushite Royal House: The Chronology of Egypt’s 25th Dynasty and its Relation to Judah, Jeremy Pope; 43. Israel and Assyria, Judah and Assyria – Ido Koch; 44. Babylon and Israel: Cultural Contact and Cultural Impact, Laurie E. Pearce; Part VII: The Legacy and Future of Ancient Israel; 45. The Future of Studying Ancient Israel: Insights from the Archaeological Sciences, with a Focus on Food and Society, Lidar Sapir-Hen; 46. Cyber-Archaeology and the Study of Ancient Edom and Israel, Matthew D. Howland and Thomas E. Levy; 47. Israel, Ancient and Modern: Representations and Misrepresentations of the Past in Dialogue with the Present, Rachel Hallote.
"Kyle H. Keimer is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow in the Archaeology, History, and Language of Ancient Israel at Macquarie University, Australia. He co-edited Registers and Modes of Communication in the Ancient Near East: Getting the Message Across and is co-editing ""See the Whole Land is Before You"": New Directions in the Historical Geography of the Ancient Near East. His research focuses on integrating the archaeology of ancient Israel and the biblical texts. He also co-directed excavations at Khirbet el-Ra‘i, Israel. George A. Pierce is Associate Professor of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University, USA. He recently co-edited ""To Explore the Land of Canaan:"" Studies in Honor of Jeffrey R. Chadwick. His research interests include environmental reconstruction, regional settlement patterns, and digital application in archaeology. He is the supervisor of the GIS team for the Tel Shimron excavations, Israel."
Reviews for The Ancient Israelite World
"""Dit boek zal voor de komende jaren ongetwijfeld hét standaardwerk zijn op dit gebied, voor archeologen, historici en bijbels theologen."" - Theologia Reformata [This book will undoubtedly be the standard work on this area, for archaeologists, historians and biblical theologians, for years to come.]"
