Table Of ContentAncient Canaan and Israel
New Perspectives
ABC-CLIO’s
Understanding Ancient Civilizations
The Ancient Maya
The Ancient Greeks
The Aztecs
The Romans
Ancient Canaan and Israel
Forthcoming
The Ancient Celts
The Ancient Egyptians
Ancient Mesopotamia
The Incas
Ancient
Canaan
and Israel
New Perspectives
JONATHAN M. GOLDEN
Santa Barbara,California
Denver,Colorado Oxford,England
Copyright © 2004 by Jonathan M. Golden
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a
review, without prior permission in writing from the publishers.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Golden, Joseph, 1928–
Ancient Canaan and Israel : new perspectives / Jonathan M. Golden.
p. cm. — (Understanding ancient civilizations)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-57607-897-3 (hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN 1-57607-898-1 (e-book)
1. Jews—History—1200–953 b.c. 2. Jews—History—953–586 b.c. 3. Jews—Politics
and government—To 70 a.d. 4. Jews—Social life and customs. 5. Canaanites—
History. 6. Palestine—History—To 70 a.d. I. Title. II. Series.
DS121.55.G57 2004
933—dc22
2004009633
08 07 06 05 04 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is also available on the World Wide Web as an e-book.
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ABC-CLIO, Inc.
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Santa Barbara, California 93116-1911
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
For my parents, Dorie and Carl Golden,
who taught me a love of learning
Contents
List of Maps xi
Series Editor’s Preface xiii
Preface xv
Acknowledgments xvii
Chronology xviii
PART 1: INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1 Introduction 3
Cultural History of Ancient Israel: An Overview 3
Summary of Resources 8
PART 2: CANAANITE AND ISRAELITE CIVILIZATION
Chapter 2 Environment and Ecology 15
The Physical Landscape 16
Shifting Patterns of Land Use 23
Chapter 3 Historical and Chronological Setting 28
Major Events in the History of Syro-Palestinian Cultures 28
Major Techniques in Chronology Building 29
ABrief History of Discovery 32
Israeli Archaeology 42
Literary Evidence from Ancient Israel 43
Chapter 4 Origins,Growth,and Decline of Levantine Cultures 45
Prehistoric Cultures: Major Developments in Late Prehistory 45
The Canaanites 53
Peoples of the Iron Age 62
The Israelites of the Iron 2 66
vii
viii Contents
Chapter 5 Economics 73
Chalcolithic Period: The Origins of Economic Complexity 74
Early Bronze Age 77
Middle Bronze Age 83
Late Bronze Age 87
Iron 1: The Economy of the Highlands and “Proto-Israelites” 93
Iron 1: The Economy of the Southern Coastal Plain 97
Iron 2: The Israelite Economy 99
The Economy of Philistia in the Iron 2 103
Chapter 6 Social Organization 108
Chalcolithic Period 108
Early Bronze Age 110
Intermediate Bronze Age 113
Middle Bronze Age 114
Late Bronze Age 119
Iron Age 1 127
Iron 1: Social Organization among the Coastal Peoples 130
Iron 2: Highland Culture 132
Iron 2: Coastal Culture 135
Philistine High Culture 137
Chapter 7 Politics 139
Chalcolithic Period 139
Early Bronze Age: The First Urban Revolution 141
The End of the Early Bronze Age and the Intermediate Bronze Age 144
Canaanite Kingdoms: Middle Bronze Age 144
Late Bronze Age 150
Iron Age 1: The Highlands and Inland Valleys 155
Iron Age 1: Southern Coastal Plain/Philistia 156
Iron Age 2–3: The Israelites 160
Iron Age 2–3: The Philistines 170
Chapter 8 Religion and Ideology 173
Chalcolithic Period 173
Early Bronze Age 175
Middle Bronze Age 178
Late Bronze Age 184
Iron Age 187
Iron 2–3 189
Broad Trends in the Evolution of Israelite Religion 196
Iron 1: Early Philistine Religion 196
Iron 2: Philistine Religion 200
Contents ix
Chapter 9 Material Culture 206
Chalcolithic Period 206
Early Bronze Age 210
Intermediate Bronze Age 216
Middle Bronze Age 220
Late Bronze Age 223
Material Culture of the Interior during the Early Iron Age (Iron 1) 227
Israelite Material Culture of the Iron 2 229
Philistine Material Culture of the Iron 1 234
Material Culture of the Philistines in the Iron 2 237
Phoenician Material Culture 238
Chapter 10 Intellectual Accomplishments 241
The Alphabet (Alephbet) 241
Monotheism 246
PART 3: CURRENT ASSESSMENTS
Chapter 11 Major Controversies and Future Directions 263
Controversies in Chalcolithic Archaeology 263
Archaeological Issues concerning the Early Bronze Age 264
Bronze Age Chronologies and the Intermediate Bronze Age 264
Problems in the Archaeology of the Middle Bronze Age 264
“Biblical Archaeology” and the Iron Age 266
Glossary 279
Chronology 299
Resources for Further Study 303
Index 379
About the Author 415
