The Quest for the Historical Israel: Debating Archaeology and the History of Early Israel (2007)

by Israel Finkelstein & Amihai Mazar

(Book Thread)

https://archive.org/details/thequestforthehistoricalisrael.debatingarchaeologyandthehistoryofearlyisrael/mode/2up

Three decades of dialogue, discussion, & debate within the interrelated disciplines of Syro-Palestinian archaeology, ancient Israelite history, & Hebrew Bible

over the question of the relevance of the biblical account for reconstructing early Israel’s history have created the need for a balanced articulation of the issues & their prospective resolutions.

This book brings together for the first time & under one cover, a currently emerging “centrist” paradigm as articulated by two leading figures in the fields of early Israelite archaeology & history.

Although Finkelstein & Mazar advocate distinct views of early Israel’s history, they nevertheless share position that material cultural data, biblical traditions, & ancient Near Eastern written sources are all significantly relevant to the historical quest for Iron Age Israel.

The results of their research are featured in accessible, parallel syntheses of the historical reconstruction of early Israel that facilitate comparison & contrast of their respective interpretations.

The historical essays presented here are based on invited lectures delivered in October of 2005 at the Sixth Biennial Colloquium of the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism in Detroit, Michigan.

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