The Myth of the Twelve Tribes of Israel is the first study to treat the history of claims to an Israelite identity as an ongoing historical phenomenon from biblical times to the present. By treating the Hebrew Bible's accounts of Israel as one of many efforts to construct an Israelite history, rather than source material for later legends, Andrew Tobolowsky brings a long-term comparative approach to biblical and nonbiblical “Israelite” histories. In the process, he sheds new light on how the structure of the twelve tribes tradition enables the creation of so many different visions of Israel, and generates new questions: How can we explain the enduring power of the myth of the twelve tribes of Israel? How does “becoming Israel” work, why has it proven so popular, and how did it change over time? Finally, what can the changing shape of Israel itself reveal about those who claimed it?

Rawlinson chronicles the history surrounding each king, giving account of the politics, warfare, religion, and culture of the reign. With close reference to the Bible throughout, Rawlinson's study has become an essential part of Old Testament studies and is important tool to aid with the examination of The Books of Kings and Chronicles in particular. In addition to this, Rawlinson provides a close look at the lives of the various kings of Israel and Judah: the events of their reigns; the battles fought; and the effect on the kingdoms of the decisions made by the monarchs.

A handbook for biblical scholars and historians of the Ancient Near East William G. Dever offers a welcome perspective on ancient Israel and Judah that prioritizes the archaeological remains to render history as it was—not as the biblical writers argue it should have been. Drawing from the most recent archaeological data as interpreted from a nontheological point of view and supplementing that data with biblical material only when it converges with the archaeological record, Dever analyzes all the evidence at hand to provide a new history of ancient Israel and Judah that is accessible to all interested readers. Features A new approach to the history of ancient Israel Extensive bibliography More than eighty maps and illustrations

Sir Martin Gilbert, renowned author of many authoritative works of history and biography, speaks in a charming, personal voice in this fascinating volume, the saga of five thousand years of Jewish life laid out in a series of intimate, storytelling letters to a lifelong friend. Sir Martin first met “Auntie Fori” in 1958,when he arrived in New Delhi with a letter of introduction from her son, a fellow Oxford student. Their friendship flourished for forty years through correspondence and visits to the capitals where her husband, the diplomat B. K. Nehru, was posted. Then, at her ninetieth birthday celebration in 1998, Auntie Fori told her “adopted nephew” that she was not of Indian birth but was actually Hungarian–and Jewish. She did not know what this Jewish identity involved–historically or spiritually–and she asked him to enlighten her. In response, Sir Martin embarked on the series of letters that have been gathered to form this book, shaping each one as a concise, individually formed story. He presents Jewish history as the narrative expression–the timeline–of the Jewish faith, and the faith as it is informed by the history. Starting with Adam and Eve, he then brings us to Abraham and his descendants, who worshiped a God who repeatedly, and often dramatically, intervened in their lives. The stories of Genesis and Exodus lead seamlessly on to those of the eras when the land was ruled by the Israelite kings and then by Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome–the Biblical and post-Biblical periods. In Sir Martin’s hands, these stories are rich in incident and achievement. He then traces the long history of the Jews in the Diaspora, ending with an unexpected visit to an outpost of Jewry in Anchorage, Alaska. Ranging through almost every country in the world–including China and India–he maintains a chronological structure, weaving in the history of other peoples and faiths, to give Auntie Fori–and us–a sense of the larger stage on which Jewish history has played out. The last fifty letters are devoted to an explanation of Jewish faith and worship, intertwined with the history and observance of holy days and festivals. These letters are fascinating in their objectivity and at the same time infused with a deep personal warmth. Written for one beloved friend,Letters to Auntie Foribrings to life the events and sequence of Jewish history with a special charm that will endear this volume to readers old and young.

(New revised edition) Considered the classic and comprehensive work in reckoning the accession of kings, calendars, and coregencies based upon the Old Testament text and other extra-biblical sources.

2 Kings 17 narrates the fall of Samaria. The cuneiform inscriptions dealing with this event are prima facie contradictory: the conquest is ascribed to both Shalmaneser V and Sargon II. The surmise of H. Tadmor that Samaria was conquered twice is investigated. At the same time the events are interpreted in their socio-historical framework. Tadmor's assumption cannot be falsified, although his theory should be modified on the date of the first conquest: 723 BCE. The fall of Samaria can be interpreted as an inevitable result of the expansion of the Assyrian Empire in combination with internal strives in Israel. Traces of deportation make clear that deportees were treated as normal citizens. The significance of this book consists in its thorough discussion of the sources and their interpretation.