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Internet History Sourcebook:
Israel

See Main Page for a guide to all contents of all sections.

• People of Israel
• Pre-Israelite Canaan/Palestine/Syria
• The Bible as a Source
  • The Documentary Hypothesis
• Ethnogenesis
  • Later Stories
• Moses and Monotheism
• Conquest of the Land (1250-1000 BCE?)
  • The Judges (c.1200-1050 BCE)
• The National Monarchy (c.1020-586 BCE)
  • David (1000-961 BCE)
  • Saul (c.1020-1000 BCE), 1 Samuel 8
  • Solomon (961-922 BCE)
  • Israel and Judah (922-586 BCE)
• The Exile (587-538 BCE)
• The Prophets (750-550 BCE)
• Mythological Foundations
  • Creation
  • The Origin of Language
  • The Problem of Evil
  • The Problem of Life
  • Sex
• Hellenistic Judaisms: Diasporas
  • The Macabbees and After
  • Jews in the Diaspora
  • Conflict with Rome
• Hellenistic Judaism: Religious Development
  • The Emergence of Judaism
    • The Invention of the Synagogue
    • Samaritans
  • Editing of the Bible
  • The Septuagint (?made under Ptolemy II r. 283-246 BCE)
  • Philo Judaeus (c.30 BCE-45 CE):
  • Pharisees
  • Sadducees
  • Zealots
  • Essenes
  • The Qumran Sect
    • The Dead Sea Scrolls
  • Proselytism
• Rabbinic Judaism
  • The Talmud
• Gender and Judaism
• Modern Perspectives on Ancient Israel

• WEB Internet Jewish History Sourcebook
  A companion sourcebook to the Ancient History Sourcebook, it covers Jewish history from its origins until the state of Israel.
• WEB Photo Gallery of Syria and Palestine [At Hanson's website]
• WEB Biblical Ancestors and Heroes [At Creighton][Modern Account]
  Very interesting online course
• WEB Inscriptions from the Land of Israel 330 BCE-614 CE [At Iath]
• Timeline for the History of Judaism [At Jewish Virtual Library]

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• Danel's Need for a Son [At piney.com]
• The Baal Epic [At Theology WebSite]
• Myth of Baal [At Geocities-Qadash Kinahu Site]
• The Descent of Anath into the Underworld [At Theology WebSite]
• WEB Ancient Near East Texts Related to the Bible [At Internet Archive, from Brandeis]
• WEB Qadash Kinahnu [Website]
  An attempt to "reconstruct" a Canaanite Temple of Baal, by a current believer.
• WEB The Middle Bronze Age 2220-1570 BCE [At BU]
• WEB The Late Bronze Age 1570-1200 BCE [At BU]
• WEB The Iron Age 1200-550 BCE [At BU]
  All three are outstanding webpages by John R. Abercrombie which contain modern accounts of the periods' material cultures, and very extensive image files connected to the ANEP by Pritchard.
• WEB Archeology of Syria-Palestine [At Creighton][Online Course]

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• MEGA Resources for Biblical Studies [Website]
• MEGA Diotima's Resources For Biblical Studies [Website-Diotima]
• 2ND Gerald A. Larue: Old Testament Life and Literature [Modern Text]
  The entire book is online at infidels.com. This is a "secularist" website, which attitude can be just as distorting as Biblical literalism. In this case the text is useful.
• 2NDRonald A. Simkins: Composition of the Pentateuch [At Internet Archive, from Creighton][Modern Account]
• Genesis 6-9: Flood Story J and P [At Internet Archive, from Creighton]
• Exodus 14: The Exodus According to J and P [At Internet Archive, from Creighton]
• The Documentary Hypothesis
  • WEB The Documentary Hypothesis [At UPenn]
  • The Flood Story in J and P Forms [At UPenn]
  • 2ND Criticism of the Documentary Hypothesis [Modern Annotated Bibliography]
    Literalist Jews and Christians have long rejected the documentary hypothesis, and, as in this link, many modern scholars agree that it is not as simple as was proposed in the past. The problems of the Bible's creation and editing are real, however, and admission by scholars of difficulties with one theory does not indicate that these can be ignored..
• 2ND Hidden Messages and Bible Codes? [Modern Article]
  From the Skeptical Inquirer. Discusses whether the Bible contains codes from God.

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• 2ND Who Where the Hebrews? [At Infidels.org][Modern Account]
  Has useful maps.
• 2ND The Hebrews [Modern Account][At WSU]
• Later Stories
  • Abraham, Genesis 12-24 [At Bible Gateway]
  • The Binding of Isaac, Genesis 22:1:19 [At Bible Gateway]
  • Jacob, Genesis 25-36 [At Bible Gateway]
  • Joseph, Genesis 37-50 [At Bible Gateway]
  • Book of Genesis [At this Site]
• The Gezer Calendar c.925 BCE [At Hanson's website]
  The oldest example of written Hebrew.

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• Moses (c.1250 BCE?), Exodus 1-15 [At Bible Gateway]
• Book of Exodus [At this Site]
• The Covenant, Exodus 20:22-23:33

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Conquest of the Land (1250-1000 BCE?)

• Stele of Merneptah [At Internet Archive, from ANET]
• Stele of Merneptah c. 1220 BCE [At Christian Answers][Image and Discussion]
• Joshua 1-12 - aggressive account  [At Bible Gateway]
• Judges 1-2 - peaceful account  [At Bible Gateway]

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The National Monarchy (c.1020-586 BCE)

• Problems with Philistines: 1-2 Samuel
  • The Ekron Inscription 7th cent BCE [At Hanson's website]
• Saul (c.1020-1000 BCE), 1 Samuel 8   [At Bible Gateway]
• David (1000-961 BCE)
  • Rise to Power: (1 Samuel 16:14-23; 17:1-11, 32-35)  [At Bible Gateway]
  • The Succession Document (aka Court History): 2 Samuel 9-20; 1 Kings:1-2   [At Bible Gateway]
  • The Tel Dan Inscription 9th-7th Cent BCE [At Hanson's website]
  • WEB The Tel Dan Inscription [Internet Archive]
    Concerns the discovery of an Aramaic inscription in 1993, which may be first extrabiblical evidence for the House of David.
• Solomon (961-922 BCE)
  • The United Kingdom of Israel, II Samuel 5-8; I Kings 4-6, 9-11 [At Bible Gateway]
  • Building of the First Temple: I Kings 6-7; 2 Chronicles 3-4.[At Bible Gateway]
  • 2ND The Byt Yhwh Ostracon 9th-7th Cents. BCE [At Hanson's website]
    Image and text of the oldest extra biblical mention of Soloman's temple.
• Israel and Judah (922-586 BCE)
  • Sennacherib's Campaign vs. Judea 701 BCE [At Internet Archive, from ANET]
  • Accounts of the Campaign of Sennacherib, 701 BCE  [At this Site]
  • II Kings 15-17, Conquest of Israel by the Assyrians, 722BCE [At Then Again] [Ignore typo of Judah for Israel in the document]
  • II Chronicles 36:9-23
  • II Kings 23-25, Conquest of Judah by Babylon (Chaldea), 586 BCE [At Then Again]

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The Exile (587-538 BCE)

• Number of Exiles (4,600): Jeremiah 52:28-30 [At Bible Gateway]
• In Babylon, Psalm 137 [At Bible Gateway]
• First Isaiah, Isaiah 1, explaining the calamity [At Then Again]
• Cyrus as Liberator, 539 BCE, Isaiah 45 [At Bible Gateway]
• Kurash (Cyrus) the Great: The Decree of Return for the Jews, 539 BCE [At this Site]
  From Persian and Biblical sources.

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The Prophets (750-550 BCE)

• Amos (8th Cent. BCE): Book of Amos [At this Site]
  The first of the prophets to write.
• Jeremiah (526-586 BCE), Jeremiah 7-8, 23, 31 .[At Bible Gateway]
  The notion of a "new covenant".
• Second Isaiah (c.550 )[from Isaiah 40 on] [At Bible Gateway]
  • Absolute Monotheism, Isaiah 44-45 .[At Bible Gateway]
  • Universalism, Isaiah 48-49, 53 .[At Bible Gateway]
  • Life after Death, Isaiah 56..[At Bible Gateway]

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• Creation
  • Genesis 1-2: The Creation Story [At Then Again]
  • Genesis: The Flood Story in J and P Forms [At UPenn]
• The Origin of Language
  • Genesis 11:1-9 [At Bible Gateway]
• The Problem of Evil
  • Book of Job [At this Site]
• The Problem of Life
  • Ecclesiastes .[At Bible Gateway]
• Sex, The Song of Songs
  • WEB Song of Songs: History of Interpretation [Website-UPenn]
  • WEB Sights and Sounds of the Song of Songs [Website - UPenn]
    Includes audio files of Ashkenazi, Sephardie and Yemani cantors.
• WEB Lilith Stories [Website-UPenn]
  But see 2ND Eliezar Segal: Looking for Lilith [At U Alberta]

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• The Macabbees and After
  • I Macabbees , written. c. 100 BCE [At Then Again]
• Jews in the Diaspora
  • Petition to Authorize Elephantine Temple Reconstruction, 410 BCE [At Hanson's website]
    A remarkable (Aramaic) document in which Jews living in Egypt petition to build a Temple to Yahweh at Elephantine in Egypt.
  • WEB The Jews of Ptolemaic & Greco-Roman Egypt [Website]
• Conflict with Rome
  • Josephus (37- after 93 CE): Complete Works [At CCEL]
    Includes Antiquities of the Jews, The Jewish War and Against Apion
  • Josephus (37- after 93 CE): Siege and Fall of Jerusalem 70CE [Jewish War 6:8][At PBS]
  • Josephus (37- after 93 CE): Masada [Jewish War 7:9][At PBS]
  • Roman Sources on the Jews and Judaism, 1 BCE-110 CE [This Site]
    Texts from Josephus, Augustus, Claudius, Strabo and Tacitus.
  • Roman Governors of Judea [At Internet Archive, from Trinity]
  • Documents on Jews and Judaism in the Greco-Roman Diaspora [At UPenn]
  • 2ND Rome and the Jews and Part II [At Internet Archive, from Reed College][Modern Account]
  • Arch of Titus [Images, including Destruction of Jersualem][At Bluffton]

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• WEB Old Testament Pseudepigrapha [Website]
  Full texts.
• WEB Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Web Page [At St. Andrews]
  Secondary discussions.
• The Emergence of Judaism
  • Reforms By Hezekiah (r. 715-687 BCE): 2 Chronicles 30:1-
    The enforcement of Monotheism.
    See 2ND Oded Borowksi: Hezekiah's Reforms and the Revolt against Assyria [At FBA][Modern Account]
  • Discovery of Deuteronomy (c.621 BCE): Kings 18:4, 22
  • The Restoration of the Temple (c 520-515 BCE): Ezra 1-2, 6:3-5, Haggai 1-2
  • Ezra, excerpts [At Then Again]
    Nehemiah (gov. c.445-c.433) and Ezra (mid-5th Cent. BCE) define the Community
  • The Invention of the Synagogue
    • The Theodotos Inscription,1st Cent CE [At Hanson's website]
    • WEB Ancient Synagogue Literary Library [Website]
      Contains many texts about the institution of the synagogue in the Second Temple period.
  • Samaritans
    • 2ND Lester L. Grabbe: The Samaritans in the Hasmonean Period [At Ioudaios][Modern Account]
• Editing of the Bible
  • Josephus (37- after 93 CE): Against Apion 1:37-41
    First mention of a five book Torah.
• The Septuagint (?made under Ptolemy II r. 283-246 BCE)
  • The Letter of Aristeas 3rd Cent BCE [At CCEL]
    The main source of the story of the composition of the Septuagint. The authorship is disputed.
  • 2ND The Septuagint [At Catholic Encyclopedia]
• Philo Judaeus (c.30 BCE-45 CE):
  • Philo Judaeus (c.30 BCE-45 CE): The Creation of the World, c. 30 CE [At this Site]
  • Philo Judaeus (c.30 BCE-45 CE): On Ascetics 30 CE [At this Site]
  • WEB Resources on Philo [Website]
• Competing Jewish Groups
  • Pharisees
    • 1 Maccabees 7:12-25
    • Josephus (37- after 93 CE): Antiquities 13:10:6, 297
    • 2ND D R de Lacey: In Search of a Pharisee [At Ioudaios][Modern Account]
    • 2ND Steve Mason: Current Scholarship on the Pharisees [At Ioudaios][Modern Account]
  • The Qumram Sect
    • The Dead Sea Scrolls
    • The Community Rule [At ibiblio]
    • WEB Scrolls from the Dead Sea [Website-UNC]
      See especially the extensive text page.
    • WEB Dead Sea Scroll Texts [At UPenn]
    • WEB Dead Sea Scrolls [At LCongress]
  • 2ND Lawrence H. Schiffman: Origin and Early History of the Qumran Sect [At Internet Archive, from Emory/Bib.Arch.][Modern Account]
• Proselytism
  • 2ND A.T. Kraabel: Review of Martin Goodman: Mission and Conversion: Proselytizing in the Religious History of the Roman Empire, Journal of Early Christian Studies 4.1 (1996) 114-116 [At Internet Archive, from Johns Hopkins]

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• The Talmud
  • WEB Post Biblical Judaism [Online Course-U Alberta]
  • Page from the Babylonian Talmud [At Calgary]

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• 2ND Ronald Simkins: Gender Construction in J [At Internet Archive, from Creighton][Modern Text]
• For homosexuality see WEB People With a History: Ancient and Medieval Jews

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• 2ND Eliazear Segal: Abraham, Our Father and Theirs [At U Alberta]

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NOTES:

Dates of accession of material added since July 1998 can be seen in the New Additions page..

The date of inception was 4/8/1998.

Links to files at other site are indicated by [At some indication of the site name or location].

Locally available texts are marked by [At this Site].

WEB indicates a link to one of small number of high quality web sites which provide either more texts or an especially valuable overview.

The Internet Ancient History Sourcebook is part of the
Internet History Sourcebooks Project