The Emergence of Israel in Syrian-Palestine; the Archaeological Perspective of History and Religion of Israel

Author(s)

Ogaro Davis Nyaoko ,

Download Full PDF Pages: 44-49 | Views: 715 | Downloads: 191 | DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3456921

Volume 8 - May 2019 (05)

Abstract

Historians find it difficult to explain some phenomena that might not be empirically proven by scriptures hence opt to seek answers from other sources such as archaeology. This study sought to examine the emergence of Israel in Syrian Palestine from the archaeological point of view. On one hand, the study analysed the Old Testament writings vis-à-vis the existence of Israel in Syrian-Palestine since the Patriarchal age and on the other hand, consults archaeology for the same reason. This is because an internal examination of the Old Testament writings cannot yield its full results apart from the application of the external evidence supplied by archaeology; nor, can the results of archaeology be profitably assimilated without a painstaking and critical examination of the historical documents in an attempt to ascertain the fact that the land in which modern Jews occupy is the ancestral land given to their forefathers rightfully by God as recorded in the Old Testament writings. The study found out that there is interlink between archaeological findings and Biblical narrative concerning Israel’s occupation of Palestine.  The study was qualitative in nature and employed both descriptive and phenomenological approaches

Keywords

Bible history, Archaeological findings, Hebrew identity, Israel’s Occupation.

References

  1. Aharoni,Y., at el (1957).The Macmillian Bible Atlas, Completely Revised Third Edition, Map 68, New York: Simon & Schuster Macmillian Company, p. 58
  2. Albrecht, Alt., & Wilson, R. Translator (1967). Essays on the Old Testament, History and Religion. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, p.208
  3. Albright, John (1981). A History of Israel, Third Edition. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, p.129-143
  4. Becker, Tal (2011). The Claim for Recognition of Israel as the Jewish State: A Reassessment. Policy Focus No.108 Feb 2011, p. 5
  5. Bright, John (1981).  A History of Israel, Third Edition. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, p. 129-133.
  6. Burney, C. F. (1919). Israel's Settlement in Canaan the Biblical Tradition and its Historical Background: The Schweich Lectures of 1917 second edition London: Oxford University Press, p.1-25.
  7. Coyt, David Hargus (2000). “Theories of the Israelite occupation of the Land of Canaan” Master’s Thesis presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Texas, Austin: p. 126.
  8. Dever, William G. (2008). Early Israelites: Cambridge: Eerdmans, p.216-221.
  9. Farrington, Karen (2002). Historical Atlas of Religions: The story of Judaism. London: Mercury Books London, p.10.
  10. Garstang, John, (1931). Joshua Judges – the foundations of Bible history. London: Constable & Co. LTD, Press, p. 377-378.
  11. Gnuse, R. (1999). ‘The Emergence of Monotheism in Ancient Israel: A Survey of Recent Scholarship.’ Religion 29: p.315-336.
  12. Hoffmeier, J. K. (1997). Israel in Egypt: The Evidence for the Authenticity of the Exodus Tradition.Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  13. Hutchinson, J. and A. D. Smith, ed., (1985).Ethnicity.Oxford: Oxford University Press, p.5
  14. Junkkaala, Eero (2006). Three conquests of Canaan: a comparative study of two Egyptian military campaigns and Joshua 10-12 in the light of recent archaeological evidence. Åbo :ÅboAkademi University Press, p. 227-230
  15. King, P. J. & L. E. Stager (2001). Life in Biblical Israel.Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox, p.43-45
  16. Kuntillet, Ajrud& A. Mazar (1990).Archaeology and the Land of the Bible 10,000-586 BCE. New York: Doubleday, p.446-450
  17. Noth, Martin (1960). The History of Israel, Second Edition. New York and Evanston: Harper & Row Publishers, p. 34-35 & 81.
  18. Smith, William, Compiler, Smith's Bible Dictionary - Complete Concordance, Nashville, NA: Holman Bible Publishers, p. 182
  19. Thompson T. L. (1992).Early History of the Israelite People: From the Written and Archaeological Sources. Studies in the History of the Ancient Near East, 4; Leiden: Brill.
  20. Wenham, G. J. (1999). ‘Pondering the Pentateuch: the Search for a New Paradigm’ in The Face of Old Testament Studies: A Survey of Contemporary Approaches, ed. D. W. Baker and B. T. Arnold; Grand Rapids: Baker, p.116-144
  21. Zertal, Adam (October 1991). Following the Pottery Trail - Israel Enter Canaan. Biblical Archaeology Review, Vol. XVII, No. 5, p.30

Cite this Article: