SOCIAL HISTORY
of
ANCIENT ISRAEL
An Introduction
Rainer Kessler
Translated by Linda M. Maloney
Fortress Press
Minneapolis
The Social History of Ancient Israel
An Introduction
Copyright © 2008 Fortress Press, an imprint of Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Visit http://www.augsburgfortress.org/copyrights/contact.asp or write to Permissions, Augsburg Fortress, Box 1209, Minneapolis, MN 55440.
Translated from Rainer Kessler, Sozialgeschichte des alten Israel: Eine Einführung
(© 2006 by Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt).
Line drawings on pp. 43, 47, 115, and 116 taken from Othmar Keel / Christoph Uelinger, Göttinnen, Götter und Gottessymbole © 1992, Verlag Herder Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. Used by permission.
Line drawings on pp. 52, 80, 107 by Christa Rubsam, © Augsburg Fortress.
Maps © 2008 Lucidity Information Design, LLC. Used by permission.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kessler, Rainer.
[Sozialgeschichte des alten Israel. English]
The social history of ancient Israel: an introduction / Rainer Kessler; translated by Linda M. Maloney.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8006-6282-0 (alk. paper)
1. Sociology, Biblical. 2. Jews—Civilization—To 70 A.D. 3. Palestine—Social life and customs—To 70 A.D. I. Title.
DS112.K45513 2008
933—dc22 2007044771
Social History as Discipline and as Method
The History of Events and “the Long Term”
A Description of Social History
Methods for Studying the Social History of Israel
Archaeology: Artifacts and Interpretation
Epigraphic Material from Israel and Its Environment
4 The Texts of the Hebrew Bible
The Historical Reliability of the Biblical Accounts
Intentional and Unintentional Tradition
Societies in Israel’s Environment
Ethnology: From Empirical Studies to Theory
The Epochs of Israel’s Social History
6 Israel’s Origins as a Kinship-Based Society
The Beginnings of Something Called Israel
Structures of Kinship-Based Societies
7 Israel and Judah: From Early Statehood to Full Development
From Initial Statehood to the Middle of the Eighth Century
Society and State under Monarchical Rule
Profiles of Monarchy in Israel and Judah
8 The Formation of an Ancient Class Society
The Political Background from the Eighth to the Sixth Century
Israel and Judah as an Ancient Class Society
9 Exiles and Their Consequences
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About The Social History of Ancient Israel: An IntroductionHistories of ancient Israel have usually focused attention on major figures in powerful positions: kings, prophets, and patriarchs. Kessler asks about the larger social patterns that shaped the everyday life of ordinary people, from the emergence of Israel in the hills of Canaan, to the Jewish populations of Greek city-states in the Hellenistic age. The introductory section includes discussion of social history as discipline and as method, event history and the “long haul,” the representation of social history, and the history of research. Two other sections explore the methods of the social history of Israel and the epochs of Israel’s social history, including discussions of environment as living space, Israel’s emergence as a kinship-based society, exile and its consequences, and more. |
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