Understanding the History of Ancient Israel: (143 Proceedings of the British Academy)

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.

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

Review :
[a] well-produced volume International Review of Biblical Studies For all its brevity, this elegantly written paper is a basic-and convincing-contribution to understanding 1/2 Kings. International Review of Biblical Studies This volume is a 'must read' for all who are interested in current debates concerning the history of Israel, especially ninth century, and the editor is to be congratulated on putting together such an excellent volume. J. Day, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament The contributions in this volume represent some of the most nuanced thinking currently available regarding the study of Israelite history, and the book engages many of the historical issues that will continue to stimulate and bedevil biblical scholars throughout the 21st century ... Williamson and the authors whose work appears in this volume are to be congratulated for their stimulating and useful contributions to a debate that will continue to rage, rationally or irrationally for many years to come. Brian R. Doak, Religion