This course is no longer offered

10422 History of Israel: From the Patriarchs to the Judges

Credits: 6 intermediate credits in Ancient History of the Jewish People or in Bible

Prerequisites: none

Author: Hanoch Raviv

The course evaluates the historical reliability of the biblical description of the patriarchal and pre-monarchic periods through critical analysis of the biblical texts, extra-biblical textual evidence, material finds and analogous sociological models. The course surveys the historical background against which Israel emerged in the second millennium BCE, and acquaints students with the institutions of Israelite and Canaanite society in order to understand the changes which transpired with the transition from nomadism to permanent settlement.

Topics: The problem of the historical background of the patriarchal stories; Canaan in the Middle Bronze Age; Canaan in the Late Bronze Age; The emergence of Israel; Evaluating the biblical Exodus and conquest traditions; The process of settlement at the beginning of the Iron Age.