A HISTORY OF

ISRAEL

Third Edition

JOHN BRIGHT

WESTMINSTER PRESS

PHILADELPHIA

© W. L. Jenkins, 1959

© The Westminster Press 1972, 1981

All rights reserved— no part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review in magazine or newspaper.

Scripture quotations from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible are copyrighted 1946, 1952, © 1971, 1973 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission.

Published by The Westminster Press®

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

9 8 7 6

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Bright, John, 1908-

A history of Israel.

Bibliography: p.

Includes indexes.

1. Jews—History—To 70 A.D. I. Title.

DS121.B72 1981 933 80–22774

ISBN 0–664–21381–2

To the Memory of

WILLIAM FOXWELL ALBRIGHT

in recognition of a debt of gratitude

that cannot be repaid

WESTMINSTER AIDS TO THE STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES

A History of Israel, Third Edition

by John Bright

Biblical Archaeology, Revised and Expanded Edition

by G. Ernest Wright

The New Westminster Dictionary of the Bible,

Edited by Henry Snyder Gehman

The Westminster Historical Atlas to the Bible, Revised Edition

Edited by G. Ernest Wright and Floyd V. Filson

Westminster Historical Maps of Bible Lands

A New Testament History: The Story of the Emerging Church

by Floyd V. Filson

A History of Israel, Third Edition by John Bright

CONTENTS

Foreword to the Third Edition

Foreword to the First Edition

Abbreviations

Prologue: THE ANCIENT ORIENT BEFORE ca. 2000 b.c.

A. BEFORE HISTORY: The Foundation of Civilization in the Ancient Orient

1. The Earliest Stone Age Settlements

2. Cultural Development in Mesopotamia

3. Egypt and Palestine in the Fourth Millennium

B. THE ANCIENT ORIENT IN THE THIRD MILLENNIUM b.c.

1. Mesopotamia in the Earliest Historical Period

2. Egypt and Western Asia in the Third Millennium

3. The Ancient Orient on the Eve of the Patriarchal Age

Part One

ANTECEDENTS AND BEGINNINGS:

The Age of the Patriarchs

1 The World of Israel’s Origins

A. THE ANCIENT ORIENT ca. 2000–1750 b.c.

1. Mesopotamia ca. 2000–1750

2. Egypt and Palestine ca. 2000–1750

B. THE ANCIENT ORIENT ca. 1750–1550 b.c.

1. The Power Struggle of the Eighteenth Century in Mesopotamia

2. A Period of Confusion in the Ancient Orient

2 The Patriarchs

A. THE PATRIARCHAL NARRATIVES: The Problem and Method of Procedure

1. The Nature of the Material

2. The Evaluation of the Traditions as Sources of History

B. THE HISTORICAL SETTING OF THE PATRIARCHAL NARRATIVES

1. The Patriarchs in the Context of the Early Second Millennium

2. The Date of the Patriarchs

C. THE HEBREW ANCESTORS AND HISTORY

1. The Migration of the Patriarchs

2. The Patriarchs as Figures of History

3. The Religion of the Patriarchs

Part Two

THE FORMATIVE PERIOD

3 Exodus and Conquest: THE FORMATION OF THE PEOPLE ...