Of the many ancient civilizations we are aware of, few are smaller than the ancient Kingdom of Israel. Small both in geographical area and population, it was barely noticed by the major civilizations of the time in Egypt, Mesopotamia and elsewhere, which either ignored or crushed it. Yet, several millennia later, Israel is the civilization we remember most acutely, which we know - or think we know - the most about, and which has even been revised after a manner. Alas, what we know - or think we know - about Israel comes partly from the Old Testament and partly from fragmentary and sometimes...
Of the many ancient civilizations we are aware of, few are smaller than the ancient Kingdom of Israel. Small both in geographical area and population,...
It is an interesting consequence of the new reconstructions of the early history of Israel that the Israelites must originally have been Canaanites. Nevertheless, an outspoken hatred against Canaanites permeates the Old Testament. Lemche presents a new way of explaining the anti-Canaanite sentiments of the Old Testament historians, while at the same time disclosing some of the aims and ideas which governed Old Testament history writing.
It is an interesting consequence of the new reconstructions of the early history of Israel that the Israelites must originally have been Canaanites...
From its inception at the time of the Enlightenment until the mid-twentieth century, the historical-critical method constituted the dominant paradigm in Old Testament studies. In this magisterial overview, Niels Peter Lemche surveys the development of the historical-critical method and the way it changed the scholarly perception of the Old Testament. He describes the rise and influence of historical-critical approaches and traces their decline and fall. Then, he discusses the identity of the authors of the Old Testament, based on the content of the literature they wrote, demonstrating that...
From its inception at the time of the Enlightenment until the mid-twentieth century, the historical-critical method constituted the dominant paradi...
Of the many ancient civilizations we are aware of, few are smaller than the ancient Kingdom of Israel. Small both in geographical area and population, it was barely noticed by the major civilizations of the time in Egypt, Mesopotamia and elsewhere, which either ignored or crushed it. Yet, several millennia later, Israel is the civilization we remember most acutely, which we know--or think we know--the most about, and which has even been revised after a manner. Alas, what we know--or think we know--about Israel comes partly from the Old Testament and partly from fragmentary and sometimes...
Of the many ancient civilizations we are aware of, few are smaller than the ancient Kingdom of Israel. Small both in geographical area and population,...
When this provocative text was first published, Lemche presented a new model of how we should understand Israelite society, its history and its religion. Lemche argues first that 'Israel' was the result of a social development among the Canaanite population of Palestine in the second half of the second millennium BCE. This implies that Israelite religion was originally 'Canaanite' and that what we think of as typically 'Jewish' religion did not arise until c. 500 BCE.
Lemche's radical reassessment of Israelite history is based on the conviction that the Old Testament contains hardly...
When this provocative text was first published, Lemche presented a new model of how we should understand Israelite society, its history and its rel...
