Table Of Content

Ancient Canaan and Israel New Perspectives ABC-CLIO’s Understanding Ancient Civilizations The Ancient Maya The Ancient Greeks The Aztecs The Romans Ancient Canaan and Israel Forthcoming The Ancient Celts The Ancient Egyptians Ancient Mesopotamia The Incas Ancient Canaan and Israel New Perspectives JONATHAN M. GOLDEN Santa Barbara,California Denver,Colorado Oxford,England Copyright © 2004 by Jonathan M. Golden All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Golden, Joseph, 1928– Ancient Canaan and Israel : new perspectives / Jonathan M. Golden. p. cm. — (Understanding ancient civilizations) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-57607-897-3 (hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN 1-57607-898-1 (e-book) 1. Jews—History—1200–953 b.c. 2. Jews—History—953–586 b.c. 3. Jews—Politics and government—To 70 a.d. 4. Jews—Social life and customs. 5. Canaanites— History. 6. Palestine—History—To 70 a.d. I. Title. II. Series. DS121.55.G57 2004 933—dc22 2004009633 08 07 06 05 04 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is also available on the World Wide Web as an e-book. Visit abc-clio.com for details. ABC-CLIO, Inc. 130 Cremona Drive, P.O. Box 1911 Santa Barbara, California 93116-1911 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Manufactured in the United States of America. For my parents, Dorie and Carl Golden, who taught me a love of learning Contents List of Maps xi Series Editor’s Preface xiii Preface xv Acknowledgments xvii Chronology xviii PART 1: INTRODUCTION Chapter 1 Introduction 3 Cultural History of Ancient Israel: An Overview 3 Summary of Resources 8 PART 2: CANAANITE AND ISRAELITE CIVILIZATION Chapter 2 Environment and Ecology 15 The Physical Landscape 16 Shifting Patterns of Land Use 23 Chapter 3 Historical and Chronological Setting 28 Major Events in the History of Syro-Palestinian Cultures 28 Major Techniques in Chronology Building 29 ABrief History of Discovery 32 Israeli Archaeology 42 Literary Evidence from Ancient Israel 43 Chapter 4 Origins,Growth,and Decline of Levantine Cultures 45 Prehistoric Cultures: Major Developments in Late Prehistory 45 The Canaanites 53 Peoples of the Iron Age 62 The Israelites of the Iron 2 66 vii viii Contents Chapter 5 Economics 73 Chalcolithic Period: The Origins of Economic Complexity 74 Early Bronze Age 77 Middle Bronze Age 83 Late Bronze Age 87 Iron 1: The Economy of the Highlands and “Proto-Israelites” 93 Iron 1: The Economy of the Southern Coastal Plain 97 Iron 2: The Israelite Economy 99 The Economy of Philistia in the Iron 2 103 Chapter 6 Social Organization 108 Chalcolithic Period 108 Early Bronze Age 110 Intermediate Bronze Age 113 Middle Bronze Age 114 Late Bronze Age 119 Iron Age 1 127 Iron 1: Social Organization among the Coastal Peoples 130 Iron 2: Highland Culture 132 Iron 2: Coastal Culture 135 Philistine High Culture 137 Chapter 7 Politics 139 Chalcolithic Period 139 Early Bronze Age: The First Urban Revolution 141 The End of the Early Bronze Age and the Intermediate Bronze Age 144 Canaanite Kingdoms: Middle Bronze Age 144 Late Bronze Age 150 Iron Age 1: The Highlands and Inland Valleys 155 Iron Age 1: Southern Coastal Plain/Philistia 156 Iron Age 2–3: The Israelites 160 Iron Age 2–3: The Philistines 170 Chapter 8 Religion and Ideology 173 Chalcolithic Period 173 Early Bronze Age 175 Middle Bronze Age 178 Late Bronze Age 184 Iron Age 187 Iron 2–3 189 Broad Trends in the Evolution of Israelite Religion 196 Iron 1: Early Philistine Religion 196 Iron 2: Philistine Religion 200 Contents ix Chapter 9 Material Culture 206 Chalcolithic Period 206 Early Bronze Age 210 Intermediate Bronze Age 216 Middle Bronze Age 220 Late Bronze Age 223 Material Culture of the Interior during the Early Iron Age (Iron 1) 227 Israelite Material Culture of the Iron 2 229 Philistine Material Culture of the Iron 1 234 Material Culture of the Philistines in the Iron 2 237 Phoenician Material Culture 238 Chapter 10 Intellectual Accomplishments 241 The Alphabet (Alephbet) 241 Monotheism 246 PART 3: CURRENT ASSESSMENTS Chapter 11 Major Controversies and Future Directions 263 Controversies in Chalcolithic Archaeology 263 Archaeological Issues concerning the Early Bronze Age 264 Bronze Age Chronologies and the Intermediate Bronze Age 264 Problems in the Archaeology of the Middle Bronze Age 264 “Biblical Archaeology” and the Iron Age 266 Glossary 279 Chronology 299 Resources for Further Study 303 Index 379 About the Author 415