By subjecting biblical writings to a political analysis, Sicker constructs a plausible political history of the ancient Israelite states that dealt with virtually every issue faced by governments throughout subsequent history. As he makes clear, the way they dealt with those issues, successfully or otherwise, is highly instructive and relevant to today's analysis of geopolitical issues. Our knowledge of the political history of ancient Israel is almost exclusively dependent on the information that may be gleaned from biblical writings, which reflect a historiosophical perspective very different from that employed in modern historical writing. Nonetheless and despite all the problems encountered in dealing with the biblical texts, the history of the ancient Israelite states that can be derived from them has much to offer a student of politics. Instead of the critical literary analysis common to contemporary biblical studies, Sicker constructs a plausible political history of the ancient Israelite states that takes into consideration the geopolitical realities that directly conditioned much of that history as well as the religious dimensions of Israelite political culture that played a critical role in it. He demonstrates that the ancient Israelite states were confronted by virtually every political dilemma, domestic and international, encountered by states and governments throughout the subsequent history of the world. The way they dealt with the issues, successfully or otherwise, is highly instructive and relevant to the complex issues faced by states and governments today.

This work offers a reconstruction of the politics of ancient Israel within the wider political environment of the ancient Near East. Gottwald begins by questioning the view of some biblical scholars that the primary factor influencing Israel's political evolution was its religion.

In this groundbreaking work that sets apart fact and legend, authors Finkelstein and Silberman use significant archeological discoveries to provide historical information about biblical Israel and its neighbors. In this iconoclastic and provocative work, leading scholars Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman draw on recent archaeological research to present a dramatically revised portrait of ancient Israel and its neighbors. They argue that crucial evidence (or a telling lack of evidence) at digs in Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon suggests that many of the most famous stories in the Bible—the wanderings of the patriarchs, the Exodus from Egypt, Joshua’s conquest of Canaan, and David and Solomon’s vast empire—reflect the world of the later authors rather than actual historical facts. Challenging the fundamentalist readings of the scriptures and marshaling the latest archaeological evidence to support its new vision of ancient Israel, The Bible Unearthed offers a fascinating and controversial perspective on when and why the Bible was written and why it possesses such great spiritual and emotional power today.

The Arab Spring, the continuing Israel - Palestine conflict... why does the Middle East dominate the news headlines so often? One obvious answer is oil, the lifeblood of our modern world. The crucial importance of oil alone ensures that the Middle East will remain in the headlines for years. The Middle East is also the birthplace of the world's three great monotheistic religions—Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It has also been the battlefield for each religion—trying to control the territory they consider holy. Nowhere are these conflicts more obvious than in Israel, and specifically in Jerusalem. Whether you understand it or not, events in the Middle East are destined to affect the lives of every person on earth! Bible prophecy gives us the clues to understand what will happen. This ebook, "The Middle East in Bible Prophecy", will help you better understand the troubled history of the Middle East—and its tumultuous future. Chapters in this ebook: -- Introduction: Worlds in Turmoil -- The Middle East: Worlds in Collision -- The Sons of Abraham -- The Rise and Fall of Ancient Israel -- The Four Empires of Daniel's Prophecies -- The Coming of Islam -- The Jews: From the Dispersion to the Modern Israeli State -- The Creation of the Modern Middle East -- A Rising Tide of Arab Nationalism -- Fundamentalist Islam Resurges -- Anger Mounts Following Gulf War -- Not Enemies Forever -- "Why Do People Hate Us So Much?" -- War and Peace in the Middle East -- What Is the "Abomination of Desolation"? -- Prophecy of an Arab Confederation -- What Should You Do? Inside this Bible Study Aid ebook: "It’s impossible to understand the present Middle East without a knowledge of the three great religions that emanate from the area—Judaism, Christianity and Islam. These three faiths all trace their spiritual roots back to the same individual, Abraham." "However, conflict between Christians and Muslims has been a constant theme of history for 14 centuries." "Many other factors have contributed to the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and subsequent terrorism, including the Israeli-Palestinian problem and the domination of American culture." "After so much death and destruction, and centuries of war and unrest in the Middle East, imagine what a difference the second coming of Jesus Christ will make."

A bold reassessment of what caused the Late Bronze Age collapse In 1177 B.C., marauding groups known only as the "Sea Peoples" invaded Egypt. The pharaoh's army and navy managed to defeat them, but the victory so weakened Egypt that it soon slid into decline, as did most of the surrounding civilizations. After centuries of brilliance, the civilized world of the Bronze Age came to an abrupt and cataclysmic end. Kingdoms fell like dominoes over the course of just a few decades. No more Minoans or Mycenaeans. No more Trojans, Hittites, or Babylonians. The thriving economy and cultures of the late second millennium B.C., which had stretched from Greece to Egypt and Mesopotamia, suddenly ceased to exist, along with writing systems, technology, and monumental architecture. But the Sea Peoples alone could not have caused such widespread breakdown. How did it happen? In this major new account of the causes of this "First Dark Ages," Eric Cline tells the gripping story of how the end was brought about by multiple interconnected failures, ranging from invasion and revolt to earthquakes, drought, and the cutting of international trade routes. Bringing to life the vibrant multicultural world of these great civilizations, he draws a sweeping panorama of the empires and globalized peoples of the Late Bronze Age and shows that it was their very interdependence that hastened their dramatic collapse and ushered in a dark age that lasted centuries. A compelling combination of narrative and the latest scholarship, 1177 B.C. sheds new light on the complex ties that gave rise to, and ultimately destroyed, the flourishing civilizations of the Late Bronze Age—and that set the stage for the emergence of classical Greece.

The history of Israel is a much-debated topic in Old Testament studies. On one side are minimalists who find little of historical value in the Hebrew Bible. On the other side are those who assume the biblical text is a precise historical record. Many serious students of the Bible find themselves between these two positions and would benefit from a careful exploration of issues in Israelite history. This substantive history of Israel textbook values the Bible's historical contribution without overlooking critical issues and challenges. Featuring the latest scholarship, the book introduces students to the current state of research on issues relevant to the study of ancient Israel. The editors and contributors, all top biblical scholars and historians, discuss historical evidence in a readable manner, using both canonical and chronological lenses to explore Israelite history. Illustrative items, such as maps and images, visually support the book's content. Tables and sidebars are also included.

This volume explores the advantages of seeing a topic from two different but complementary perspectives. All of the papers in the volume were read at two sessions at SBL (2005 and 2006) that were co-sponsored by the Social Sciences and the Hebrew Bible Section of SBL and the American Schools of Oriental Research. The sessions were designed to promote dialogue among scholars by juxtaposing research based in the social sciences and archaeology. Scholars contributed papers from within their own methodological and research perspective, but addressed possible interactions and overlaps that their research might contribute to the complementary perspective. Significant intersections between the approaches emerged when patterns of social interactions accessed by social scientific methods paralleled patterns in material remains accessed by archaeological methods. The sessions and thus the book achieve coherence because all of the papers attended to aspects of the family in ancient Israel. While the presenters selected their own topics in the subject area, several foci emerged that reflect current research interests in these fields. These foci include research on ancestors and the cult of the dead, configurations of family house structures, and family relational interactions. All of the papers make their methods and approaches visible and delineate clearly the textual or material basis of their research, so that the dialogue among the papers is facilitated.

Chronicles the ancient history of Israel and its prophets, from Samson to Elijah.

The geopolitical history of the Middle East in antiquity is principally the story of the continuing struggle for domination of the trade routes of the eastern littoral of the Mediterranean Sea, some of the most valued of which passed through the relatively narrow strip of territory stretching from the Egyptian frontier in the Sinai desert to southern Syria, and from there to Mesopotamia. That strip of territory, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the west and the Jordan River to the east, known as Cisjordan, constituted the primary land-bridge between northeastern Africa and southwestern Asia. As a consequence of its geopolitical role as a buffer zone between Egypt and the major powers of antiquity, it was always in the interests of the dominant powers of the region to keep that strip of territory divided into numerous small city-states that would be dependent on one or the other of the major powers for their political survival. The present study is primarily concerned with the political history of the Jewish states that emerged in Cisjordan in antiquity, in effect continuing the narrative of my previous study, The Rise and Fall of the Ancient Israelite States, which concluded with the final destruction of the First Hebrew Commonwealth by the Babylonians, including the Temple built in Jerusalem by Solomon, in 586 BCE. This study begins with a brief discussion of the circumstances that led to that disastrous event and its aftermath. The subsequent Persian conquest of Babylonia unexpectedly led to the emergence of what is frequently spoken of as the Second Hebrew Commonwealth or the Second Temple period. The present study reviews the political history of the Jews in the Land of Israel between the destruction of the First Temple to the destruction of the Second Temple, nearly seven hundred years later, and its aftermath, until the early second century CE.

Israel frequently features in the news today, often for the wrong reasons. Violence in the Holy Land is an all-too-common occurrence. To understand why this part of the Middle East is such a flashpoint, knowing its long history is essential, and Norman Gelb's 'Kings of the Jews' illuminates the evolution of the Jewish nation, forerunner of the modern State of Israel. This is the story of the lives and times of the men and women who ruled it in a Middle East arguably even more turbulent than it is today, from Saul, its first king, to Herod Agrippa II, its last. It is also the story of key formative experiences of the Jews, including the disperson of the 'Lost Tribes of Israel', the traumatic Babylonian Exile, the Maccabee uprising and the war with Rome. Including informative illustrations and maps, it is an essential guide to the early history of the Jewish people. "Makes Jewish history more approachable to the modern reader - rich, epic and certain to maintain interest" - Kirkus Review.