The Origins and Early History of Israel

• Origins and naming of the Hebrews• Conquest or Settlement• Emergence of the monarchy and the

kingdom of Israel• Textual problems of the biblical narratives

(sources, dating, authenticity and inconsistencies)

• The impact of archaeological evidence

Origins of the Hebrews

• There are two main theories for the origins of the Hebrews. Both arguments originate from the bible. The Patriarchs from the book of GenesisThe Exodus out of Egypt from the book of

Exodus

The Patriarch Model

• Genesis tells as that Abraham was born in 1900BC and emigrated from Ur in southern Iraq. The story then continues with Abraham’s sojourn at Haran, near the present Turkish-Syrian border, his arrival in Canaan, and the interaction of the three generations of the Patriarchs with the local city states.

Patriarch Support

• E.A. Speiser argues that the culture of the Patriarchs is very similar to the culture of the Haran region at the time.The stories of Abraham and Isaac describing their wives as sisters to ensure their safety in Egypt is a Hurrian customs.

• Abraham is also blessed by Melchizedek, king and high priest of Jerusalem, the city whose ancient origins are confirmed by both the Tel El-Amarna Letters and the excavation of the Jebusite city of Jerusalem by Kathleen Kenyon between 1961 and 1967

Patriarch Criticism

• However Leonard Woolley’s Excavations at Ur does not particularly verify the Abrahamic claim to Mesopotamian origins. The excavations reveal a non-Semitic Sumerian city at the time of Abraham’s occupation

The Exodus

• Some 400 years after Abraham there is a second originating moment, with the escape from slavery in Egypt, the journey in the Sinai desert and the return to the Land promised to the Patriarchs.

The Egyptian wall art depicts Ramses holding what is suspected to be three slaves. One is black, one appears to be East Asian, and the third, in the foreground, is Semitic. Supporting the argument that the Hebrews were in Egypt between 1290-1224.

Support for the Exodus

• The Exodus model is mainly supported by biblical references in the book of Exodus

• However the “Merneptah Stele” recording the victories of Ramses’ son in about 1220 BC, mentions Israel by name, showing that by this time the Israelites were a separate nation.

Merneptah Stele

Merneptah pylon at University of Penn Museum

Criticism of the Exodus

• The records of the Pharaohs make no mention of military defeats or the escape of tribes of slaves.

Naming of the Hebrews

• The Jewish people are described by three alternative names, as Hebrews, Israelites and Jews.

The Hebrews

• The word 'Hebrew' – ‘Ivri’ – is used as an ethnic description in the bible.

• R. Laird Harris, "The biblical record quite definitely indicates 'Ibri' is derived from ‘Eber', the name of one of Shem's sons. Abraham is identified as a descendant of Shem, 'Ibri' is used of the descendants of Eber, through Abraham."

• A contrasting view argues that Genesis probably came into existence after the national identifier was already established. ‘Ibri’ could have derived from the linguistic root 'abar’ a non-Israelite word with the connotation of “crossing over”, conveying the idea of "stranger” or “immigrant“.

Conquest or Settlement

• There is a debate as to how the Hebrews acquired the land of Israel. The two main theories are:Gradual Nomadic InfiltrationMass Nomadic Invasion

Gradual Nomadic Infiltration

• Gradual Nomadic Infiltration suggests that the Israelite occupation of Western Palestine began with gradual and peaceful movements of individual tribes and clans from the desert into the central hills

• Historian A. Alt put forward this theory and is supported by Egyptian sources and later confirmed by Palestinian archeology.

• J.R Kooper and M. Noth also support this view

Mass Nomadic Invasion

• Mass Nomadic Invasion argues for the military invasion of Israel and the conquest of the Mesopotamia by the Jews.

• This view is supported by the bible in Joshua 10 and Judges 1

• Historians S. Moscati and W. F. Albright support this idea of conquest.

Emergence of the Monarchy and the Kingdom of Israel

• Israel emerged as a kingdom as the period of judgeship and clans transitioned into a monarchy, but it is debated as to how the monarchy emerged. There are two main theories as to how the monarch emerged: The anti-monarchical The Pro-monarchical

Anti-monarchic

• The anti-monarchical theory describes Samuel to have begrudgingly accepting that the people demanded a ruler, and thus appointing Saul by cleromancy.

• This is supported by the First Book of 1 Samuel, 8: 10-19.

Pro-monarchical

• The pro-monarchical theory describes the divine birth of Saul and his later leading of an army to victory over the Ammonites, which resulted in the people clamouring for him to lead them against the Philistines, whereupon he is appointed king.

• This theory is supported by 1 Samuel, 9: 5

Textual problems of the biblical narratives

• K. A. Kitchen proposes 2 basic criticisms when dealing with biblical narratives Supposed doublets. Two versions of a story or

event, usually held to be incompatible.The evolutionary theories of developing

religion. The Old Testament was written based thematically rather than a chronologically.

Supposed doublets

• The origins of the Hebrews presents two versions of history, the patriarch theory and the exodus theory contradict and create problems for the authenticity of the bible as a historical source.

• The emergence of the monarchy also creates inconsistencies for the history of the Israelites.

Developing Religion

• The developing nature of the Old Testament at this time creates issues for dating the history of the Early Israel.

• The composition of 1 Samuel: 13 has led historians to question the length of Saul’s reign and to question the authenticity of the Unification of Israel under one king.

The Impact of Archaeological Evidence

• Archaeological evidence has helped solve some of the debates about the origins and early history of the Israelites.

• Numerous archaeologists have excavated Palestine and the ancient sites of Israel and Canaan but to date no evidence has been found for a Joshua-style Israelite invasion of Canaan. Supporting the theory of Gradual Nomadic Infiltration.

• Sociological studies have helped archaeologists and historians understand how these small settlements evolved into a Kingdom -- the Kingdom of Israel.

The Impact of Archaeological Evidence

• The main issue that archaeology presents with the study of the origins and early history of Israel is that often the archaeological record and the biblical record do not match. This presents a problem for a subject that is the underlying history of the Christian faith

Bibliography

• Albright, W. F. Biblical Period from Abraham to Ezra: An Historical Study, London, Harper, 1963

• Alt, A. Essays on Old Testament history and religion. Doubleday, London, 1967.

• Finkelstein I. and Silberman N., The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts, New York, Free Press 2002

• Kitchen, K. A. Ancient Orient and Old Testament New York, InterVarsity Press, 1975

Bibliography

• Laird, Harris, R. Exploring the Basics of the Bible, New York, Crossways Books, 2002

• Moscati, S. Semites in Ancient History, University of Wales, London, 1959

• Renn, S. Expository Dictionary of Bible Words: Word Studies for Key English Bible Words Based on the Hebrew And Greek Texts, Sydney, Hendrickson Publishers 2005

• Speiser, E.A. found in Freedman, D The Anchor Bible, Volume 1, Doubleday, London 1998