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Explore the theological interpretation of Israel's settlement in Canaan through archaeology and extra-biblical texts. Discover evidence from the Merneptah Stele and Iron Age I settlements aligning with biblical accounts.
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The Emergence of the Israelites Part 3: The Historical Origins of Collective Israel
Traditional Route of the Exodus between Egypt and the plains of Moab in Jordan.
The Israelites in Transjordan and at Gilgal, Jericho, and Ai.
The Territories of the Tribes of Israel in the land of Canaan (Joshua 13.1-21.45).
See Finkelstein and Mazar, The Quest for the Historical Israel, pp. 69-98): • B. B. Schmidt, A Summary Assessment for Part 3; • Finkelstein, When and How did the Israelites Emerge? pp. 73-83; • Mazar, The Israelite Settlement, pp. 98. • H. Shanks, ed., Ancient Israel: From Abraham to the Roman Destruction of the Temple. Third Edition. Washington, DC: Biblical Archaeology Society, 2011, “The Settlement in Canaan: The Period of the Judges,” pp. 59-83.
Settlement of Israel in the Land of Canaan: • The books of Joshua and Judges are part of the Deuteronomistic History – a history written from the point of view of the Book of Deuteronomy or the theology of the Deuteronomist: Deuteronomy provides a criterion by which to interpret Israel’s national successes and failures: - Obedience to the Mosaic Torah/Law ensures prosperity and divine protection; - Disobedience brings national defeat and death;
Theology of the Deuteronomistic History: Theology of this history may be summarized (Deut 28-30): when Israel is faithful to Yahweh and follows the Torah/Law it will prosper (Deut. 30.15-20); when Israel sins, e.g., mixing the cult of Yahweh with Canaanite elements, the nation will suffer national defeat; thus, a cycle: sin; punishment; repentance; forgiveness; restoration. (see Judges 3.7-11; 3.12-30; 4.1-5.31; etc.).
Settlement: • thus, the narrative on the settlement of Israel in the land of Canaan is a theological interpretation of history; • as a result, Finkelstein says that we must turn to archaeology and extra-biblical texts to learn about the emergence of Israel in the Central Highlands of Palestine in the 12th-11th century; • the Merneptah Stele: testifies to the presence of an “Israel” in Canaan in the late 13th century BC; • archaeology provides evidence of a wave of settlement in the highlands of Canaan at about the same time.
Merneptah Stele: • Merneptah (1213-1203 BC) (13th son of Ramesses II); • the stele primarily commemorates a victory in a campaign against the Libu and Meshwesh Libyans and their Sea Peoples allies ( in Year 5…, that is, 1209/1208 BC); • however, final two lines refer to a prior military campaign in Canaan at the end of the 13th century; • the conquest of three cities: Ashkelon, Gezer, and Yanoam; and • the annihilation of a group of people called “Israel”; • thus, evidence for the presence of a group by the name “Israel” in Canaan at this time (a people; not a country).
Settlement: (See Textbook, pp. 69-98) • Intensive archaeological surface surveys in the central hill country of Palestine and elsewhere; • reveal an entirely new settlement pattern in Iron Age I (1200-1000 BC – traditional dating for the settlement); • hundreds of new, small sites were inhabited in the mountainous areas of the Upper and Lower Galilee, in the hills of Samaria and Ephraim, in Benjamin, in the northern Negev, and in parts of central and northern Transjordan (however, not in southern Transjordan); • can much of this activity be related to the “Israelites” or “proto-Israelites” (Bill Dever’s term)?
Settlement: • in Galilee: small agricultural villages ca. 1 acre in area; • at Hazor and Dan: occupational strata attributable to the Israelites? • in Lower Galilee; • in the Central Hill Country: evidence of intensive settlement: • largest villages were 10-20 acres in area; • others ranged between 2-5 acres or less; • in Ephraim: very small, extending from a few houses to 1.00-1.50 acres of built-up area; • for example: Shiloh, `Ai, Bethel, Khirbet Raddanah, and `Izbet Sartah.
House – typical stone built house in Jordan (not unlike Iron Age Israelite house)
Collared-rim jars from the site of Dan (in the north of Israel)
Settlement: • In the land of Benjamin: • some 12 Iron Age I (1200-1000 BC) sites, for example, Tell en-Nasbeh, Tell el-Ful. • In the hills of Judah: • sites attributable to the Israelite settlement are almost completely non-existent in the Hebron hills south of Bethlehem; • the site of Giloh, south of Jerusalem, is an exception.
Settlement: • In the region of Arad and the Beersheba Valley: • no Late Bronze Age settlements, and only a few sites established in the Iron Age I, for example, Tel Masos (a 20-acre site);
