The Quest for the Historical Israel
Debating Archaeology and the History of Early Israel
Series: - SBL - Archaeology and Biblical Studies, Volume: 17
Three decades of dialogue, discussion, and debate within the interrelated disciplines of Syro-Palestinian archaeology, Israelite history, and Hebrew Bible on the question of the reliability of the biblical account of Israelâs history have made a balanced articulation of the issues and their resolution a desideratum. This book brings together for the first time under one cover the currently emerging âcentristâ paradigms articulated by Finkelstein and Mazar, two leading figures in the field of early Israelite history and archaeology. Articulating distinct views of Israelite history, the two perspectives presented here nevertheless share the position that the material cultural data, the biblical traditions, and ancient Near Eastern written sources are all significantly relevant to the historical quest for ancient Israel of the Iron Age. The results of their research are featured in an accessible dual-authored synthesis of the historical reconstruction of ancient Israel. The parallel histories readily facilitate comparison and contrast of the interpretations proposed by the authors.
These lectures were delivered at The Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaismâs Annual Colloquium. Detroit, October 2005.
Paperback edition is available from the Society of Biblical Literature (www.sbl-site.org)
These lectures were delivered at The Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaismâs Annual Colloquium. Detroit, October 2005.
Paperback edition is available from the Society of Biblical Literature (www.sbl-site.org)
Israel Finkelstein is Professor of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University. He is Co-director of the Megiddo Excavations and the co-author of David and Solomon: In Search of the Bibleâs Sacred Kings and the Roots of the Western Tradition and The Bible Unearthed, Archaeologyâs New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origins of Its Sacred Texts (both from Free Press).
Amihai Mazar is Professor of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Eleazar Sukenik Chair in the Archaeology of Israel). His ongoing projects include a series of publications in the Qedem series on the Tel Batash (Timnah) excavations and the Beth Shean Valley Archaeological Project. He is the author of Archaeology of the Land of the Bible (Anchor Bible Reference).
Brian B. Schmidt is Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient West Asia at the University of Michigan. He is the author of Israelâs Beneficent Dead: Ancestor Cult and Necromancy in Ancient Israelite Religion and Tradition (Eisenbrauns).
Amihai Mazar is Professor of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Eleazar Sukenik Chair in the Archaeology of Israel). His ongoing projects include a series of publications in the Qedem series on the Tel Batash (Timnah) excavations and the Beth Shean Valley Archaeological Project. He is the author of Archaeology of the Land of the Bible (Anchor Bible Reference).
Brian B. Schmidt is Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient West Asia at the University of Michigan. He is the author of Israelâs Beneficent Dead: Ancestor Cult and Necromancy in Ancient Israelite Religion and Tradition (Eisenbrauns).