A Biblical History of Israel

by Provan, Iain W.

• ISBN13: 9780664220907
• ISBN10: 0664220908
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-08-01
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Pr

Summary

In this much-anticipated textbook, three respected evangelical biblical scholars have written a history of ancient Israel that takes the biblical text seriously as an historical document. While also considering nonbiblical sources and being attentive to what the disciplines of anthropology and sociology suggest about the past, those sources are used in the context and paradigm of the Old Testament canon, which is held as the primary document for reconstructing Israel's history. In Part I, Provan, Long, and Longman set the volume in context and review past and current scholarly debate about learning Israel's history, negating arguments against using the Bible as the central source. In Part 2, they seek to reconstruct the history itself.

Table of Contents

Preface	x
Simplified Chronology of Archaeological Periods in Canaan	xi
List of Abbreviations	xii
PART I: HISTORY, HISTORIOGRAPHY, AND THE BIBLE
Chapter 1 The Death of Biblical History?	3	(33)
Analysis of an Obituary	4	(2)
Is the Corpse Really Dead?	6	(3)
Biblical Texts and the Past	6	(1)
Archaeology and the Past	7	(1)
Ideology and the Past	8	(1)
A Premature Obituary?	9	(1)
A Long-Term Illness: Two Initial Case Studies	9	(9)
Soggin and the History of Israel	10	(5)
Miller and Hayes and the History of Israel	15	(3)
A Brief History of Historiography	18	(6)
The History of the History of Israel	24	(8)
The Patriarchal Traditions	25	(1)
The Moses/Joshua Traditions	26	(1)
The Judges Traditions	27	(4)
Conclusion	31	(1)
Can the Patient be Saved?	32	(4)
Chapter 2 Knowing and Believing: Faith in the Past	36	(15)
"Scientific History" Revisited	38	(5)
Science and the Philosophy of Science	38	(1)
History as Science: A Brief History of Dissent	39	(4)
Testimony, Tradition, and the Past	43	(8)
Testimony and Knowledge	45	(4)
The History of Historiography Reconsidered	49	(2)
Chapter 3 Knowing about the History of Israel	51	(24)
Verification and Falsification	54	(2)
Early and Later Testimony	56	(6)
Ideology and Israel's Past	62	(8)
Archaeology and the Past	63	(1)
Extrabiblical Texts and Israel's Past	64	(4)
Ideology and Historiography	68	(1)
Ideology and Critical Thought	69	(1)
Analogy and Israel's Past	70	(3)
Conclusion	73	(2)
Chapter 4 Narrative and History: Stories about the Past	75	(23)
The Near-Death and Revival of Narrative History	77	(2)
Literary Reading and Historical Study:
Happy Marriage or Overdue Divorce?	79	(3)
Narrativity: Reality or Illusion?	82	(4)
The Narrativity of Life	83	(1)
The Narrativity of (Biblical) Historiography and the Question of Fiction	84	(2)
Historiography: Art or Science?	86	(2)
On Reading Narrative Historiography	88	(3)
The Poetics of Biblical Narrative	91	(2)
Example: Solomon in Text and in Time	93	(3)
Summary and Prospect	96	(2)
Chapter 5 A Biblical History of Israel	98	(9)
PART II: A HISTORY OF ISRAEL FROM ABRAHAM TO THE PERSIAN PERIOD
Chapter 6 Before the Land	107	(31)
Sources for the Patriarchal Period: The Genesis Account	108	(1)
The Story of the Patriarchs	109	(2)
The Patriarchal Narratives as Theology and as History	110	(1)
The History of the Patriarchs and the History of the Text	111	(1)
The Patriarchs in Their Ancient Near Eastern Setting	112	(5)
The Sociological Setting of the Patriarchs	117	(2)
Genesis 14 and the History of the Patriarchal Period	119	(2)
The Joseph Narrative (Genesis 37-50)	121	(4)
Literary Analysis	121	(1)
The Theological Intention of the Joseph Narrative	122	(1)
Joseph in Egypt	123	(2)
The Birth of Moses	125	(2)
The Call of Moses and the Plagues of Egypt	127	(2)
The Exodus and Crossing of the Sea	129	(2)
The Date of the Exodus	131	(1)
The Wilderness Wandering	132	(5)
From Egypt to Mount Sinai	133	(2)
From Sinai to Kadesh-barnea and to the Plains of Moab	135	(2)
Conclusion	137	(1)
Chapter 7 The Settlement in the Land	138	(55)
Sources for the Israelite Settlement	139	(1)
Israel's Emergence in Cannan: A Survey of Scholarly Models	139	(9)
Conquest Model	139	(2)
Peaceful Infiltration Model	141	(1)
(Peasant) Revolt Model	141	(2)
Other Endogenous Models	143	(5)
Reading the Biblical Texts (Joshua and Judges)	148	(21)
The Book of Joshua	149	(7)
The Book of Judges	156	(10)
Considering Joshua and Judges Together	166	(3)
Reading the Extrabiblical Texts	169	(4)
The Merneptah Stela	169	(1)
The Amarna Letters	170	(3)
Reading the Material Remains	173	(16)
Archaeology of Jericho, Ai, Hazor, and Laish	174	(9)
Other Important Sites	183	(4)
Hill-Country Sites in Iron I	187	(2)
Integrating the Textual and Material Evidence	189	(2)
Conclusion	191	(2)
Chapter 8 The Early Monarchy	193	(46)
Sources for the Early Israelite Monarchy	195	(4)
The Chronology of the Early Israelite Monarchy	199	(2)
Preface to Monarchy: 1 Samuel l-7	201	(6)
Israel Demands and Gets Its King: 1 Samuel 8-14	207	(8)
David's Rise and Saul's Demise: 1 Samuel 15-31	215	(13)
Was David a Historical Person?	216	(1)
How Accurately Does the David of Tradition Reflect the Actual, Historical David?	217	(4)
How Accurately Does the Biblical Narrative Describe David's Specific Actions?	221	(4)
Is the Biblical Account of David's Rise to Power Historically Plausible?	225	(3)
David's Kingdom: 2 Samuel 1-10	228	(4)
The Jerusalem Question	228	(2)
The Empire Question	230	(2)
David's Family and Successor: 2 Samuel 11-24	232	(5)
Conclusion	237	(2)
Chapter 9 The Later Monarchy: Solomon	239	(20)
Sources for the Later Israelite Monarchy	239	(3)
The Chronology of the Later Israelite Monarchy	242	(4)
The Reign of King Solomon	246	(13)
Solomon: The Early Years	246	(2)
Solomon's Rule over Israel	248	(3)
Solomon and His World	251	(3)
Solomon's Building Projects	254	(2)
Solomon and the Religion of Israel	256	(3)
Chapter 10 The Later Monarchy: The Divided Kingdoms	259	(19)
The Division of Israel: Rehoboam to Omri	259	(4)
The Period of the Omrides	263	(3)
From Jehu to the Fall of Samaria	266	(5)
From the Fall of Samaria to the Surrender of Jerusalem	271	(7)
Chapter 11 Exile and After	278	(27)
Sources for the Exilic Period	278	(1)
The Fall of Jerusalem	279	(1)
The Extent of the Destruction	280	(1)
The Scope of the Deportation	281	(4)
Those Who Remained	283	(1)
Questioning the Exile	284	(1)
The Fall of Babylon	285	(1)
Sources for the Postexilic Period	285	(1)
The Early Postexilic Period	286	(8)
The Cyrus Decree	286	(2)
The Identity and Function of Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel	288	(2)
The Postexilic Governors of Yehud and Its Neighbors	290	(1)
A Citizen-Temple Community?	291	(1)
The Building of the Temple	292	(1)
Who Were the "Enemies of Yehud" in the Early Postexilic Period?	293	(1)
The Middle Postexilic Period: The Book of Esther	294	(3)
The Late Postexilic Period	297	(6)
The Order of the Missions of Ezra and Nehemiah	298	(1)
Ezra and Nehemiah in the Context of Persian Politics	299	(1)
Who Were the "Enemies of Yehud" in the Later Exilic Period?	300	(2)
Transitions to the Intertestamental Period	302	(1)
Conclusion	303	(2)
Notes	305	(84)
Index of Biblical Passages	389	(10)
Index of Scholars Cited	399	(13)
Index of Select Topics	412