History of Biblical Israel: Major Problems and Minor Issues (Culture and History of the Ancient Near East)

494 Pages·2001·23.24 MB·English

by  Abraham Malamat

HISTORY OF BIBLICAL ISRAEL
CULTURE AND HISTORY OF
THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST
EDITED BY
B. HALPERN, M.H.E. WEIPPERT
TH. PJ. VAN DEN HOUT, I. WINTER
VOLUME 7
HISTORY
OF
BIBLICAL ISRAEL
Major Problems and Minor Issues
BY
ABRAHAM MALAMAT
BRILL
LEIDEN • BOSTON • KOLN
2001
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Malamat, Abraham.
History of Biblical Israel : major problems and minor issues / by Abraham Malamat.
p. cm.—(Culture and history of the ancient Near East; v. 7)
Includes bibliographical references (p.) and index.
ISBN 9004120092 (alk. paper)
1. Palestine—History—To 70 A.D. 2. Bible. O.T.—History of contemporary events.
3. Jews—History—953-586 B.C. 4. Jews—History—586 B.C.-70 A.D. I. Title.
II. Series
DS121 .M33 2001
933—dc21 00-069780
CIP
Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufnahme
Malamat, Avraham:
History of biblical Israel : major problems and minor issues / by Abraham Malamat. -
Leiden ; Boston ; Koln : Brill, 2001
(Culture and history of the ancient Near East; Vol. 7)
ISBN 90-04-12009-2
ISSN 1566-2055
ISBN 9004 120092
© Copyright 2001 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored
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PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS
To
Dana Iddo
Roci Hadas
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CONTENTS
Preface xi
Abbreviations xiii
PART ONE
THE DAWN OF ISRAEL
1. The Proto-History of Israel: A Study in Method 3
2. Mari and Early Israel 17
3. Pre-Monarchical Social Institutions in Israel in the
Light of Mari 28
4. Tribal Societies: Biblical Genealogies and African
Lineage Systems 41
PART TWO
FORMING A NATION
5. The Exodus: Egyptian Analogies 57
6. Conquest of Canaan: Israelite Conduct of War
According to Biblical Tradition 68
7. The Period of the Judges 97
7a. Appendix: The Punishment by Gideon of Succoth
and Penuel in the Light of Ancient Near Eastern
Treaties 148
8. Charismatic Leadership in the Book of Judges 151
9. The Danite Migration and the Pan-Israelite
Exodus-Conquest: A Biblical Narrative Pattern 171
Vlll CONTENTS
PART THREE
THE RISE OF THE DAVIDIC DYNASTY
10. A Political Look at the Kingdom of David and
Solomon and its Relations with Egypt 189
11. Aspects of the Foreign Policies of David and
Solomon 208
12. Naamah, The Ammonite Princess, King Solomon's
Wife 234
13. Organs of Statecraft in the Israelite Monarchy 240
PART FOUR
TWILIGHT OF JUDAH AND THE DESTRUCTION
OF THE FIRST TEMPLE
14. The Historical Background of the Assassination of
Amon, King of Judah 277
15. Josiah's Bid for Armageddon: The Background of the
Judaean-Egyptian Encounter in 609 B.C 282
16. The Twilight of Judah: In the Egyptian-Babylonian
Maelstrom 299
17. The Kingdom of Judah between Egypt and Babylon:
A Small State within a Great Power Confrontation 322
PART FIVE
HISTORICAL EPISODES IN THE FORMER
PROPHETS AND IN THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS
18. Doctrines of Causality in Hittite and Biblical
Historiography: A Parallel 341
19. Military Rationing in Papyrus Anastasi I
and the Bible 353
20. Foot-Runners in Israel and Egypt in the
Third Intermediate Period 362
21. Amos 1:5 in the Light of the Til Barsip Inscriptions 366
CONTENTS IX
22. The Historical Background of Two Prophecies of the
Nations 370
23. Jeremiah and the Last Two Kings of Judah 381
EXCURSUS
24. Longevity: Biblical Concepts and Some Ancient
Near Eastern Parallels 389
25. "You Shall Love Your Neighbour As Yourself":
A Case of Misinterpretation? 401
26. Distant Lands and Cities as a Specific Category in
International Relations in the Bible and in the
Ancient Near East 406
Addenda, Date 2000 (Part 1 to 5) 411
Index of the Sources 418
Subject Index 430