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The Origins of Biblical Israel
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Description
The book starts from the problem defined by recent archaeological discovery about the societies that formed the backbone of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, their origins and their relationship. It has become clear that the biblical notion of a 12-tribe 'nation' united by descent and religion does not correspond to these findings. The challenge is not to argue endlessly about how far the differing accounts can be reconciled, as a prolongation of an old debate about biblical 'historicity', but to try and understand what historical, social and cultural process led to the production of the biblical portrait of an Israel of 12 tribes embracing two kingdoms. Davies argues for the importance of the role of Bethel as a royal sanctuary, then a central sanctuary of the Neo-Babylonian and Persian province of Judah. In particular, the figure of Jacob as the ancestor of 'Israel', associated with Bethel, became the eponym of the biblical 'all Israel' and the name 'Israel' survived as the name of a new society, even as Jerusalem was re-established as the major, and subsequently the only, official Judaean temple.
Table of Contents
Chapter 2 The Historical Relationship Between Israel and Judah Chapter 3 The Tribe of Benjamin and 'Northern Traditions' Chapter 4 The Importance of Bethel
Chapter 5 The Figure of Jacob
Chapter 6 Jerusalem Judah and 'Israel': Creating a United Past for the Future.
Product details
Published | Sep 01 2009 |
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Format | Paperback |
Edition | 1st |
Extent | 208 |
ISBN | 9780567137616 |
Imprint | T&T Clark |
Dimensions | Not specified |
Series | The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies |
Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
About the contributors
Reviews
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"Suffice it to say that Davies' hypothesis will undoubtedly stand as one of the principal proposals for solving the puzzling Israel=Judah terminological equation...He has demonstrated convincingly that ''Israel' in the Hebrew Bible is not a historical community but an identity claimed by several communities' (172)." -Norman K. Gottwald, Biblical Interpretation, Vol. 18, 2010