A Scheme for a Revised Chronology
The origin of Israel seems to be the hottest topic in the archaeological world at the present time. In the November 2000 edition of the magazine Eretz, Yadin Roman summed up the case presented by Israel Finkelstein, who fails to find any evidence for an invasion of Palestine in the time of Joshua. Now Professor Amihai Mazar has weighed in with his argument that, although there is no archaeological evidence for the Exodus and invasion of Palestine, there must be "a kernel of historical truth" in these Biblical records.
Where there are such apparent conflicts between the Bible stories and archaeological evidence, Dr Mazar does not hesitate to give precedence to archaeology. In his splendid book, Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, he wrote, "It is more feasible that the Biblical stories were formulated as a literary tradition of no historical value when the Israelites began settling this region." p. 330
But while Israeli archaeologists are mostly agreed that the Biblical records are unhistorical, it is only natural that they should feel a little uncomfortable about what all this does to their origins. At best the evidence suggests that the invasion was a minor incursion by incoming nomads into Palestine. At worst it sees the Jewish people as merely an offshooot of the original Canaanites, which could leave them wondering what right they have to the Holy Land after all!
The letters to the editor of Eretz in this current edition reflect this uneasiness. Micah Rabin says,
"This article offers fuel and ammunition for those who would question our right to the land of Israel." p. 66 Yadin Roman rushes to the defence of Israel despite the lack of evidence printed in his own magazine. He wrote, "The claim that Jerusalem in David's time was a small village and only 300 years later, in the time of Hezekiah, was transformed into a flourishing and important settlement, does not add nor detract from our rights to the land of Israel." Eretz p. 66
In the light of this controversy, Ami Mazar softens the critical attitude stated in his book. He claims that there is plenty of evidence to show that Israel existed at the time of Joshua, even though the evidence for a triumphant invasion is lacking. He refers to the Merneptah Stela, which mentions the people of Israel in the 13th century BC; the Amarna letters, which are addressed to the king of Jerusalem as though he was a prominent monarch rather than the headman of a minor village; and the Shishak inscription which seems to claim conquest of Israel - rather a hollow boast if Israel hardly existed!
He summarises it all by saying, "We can't look at the Biblical stories as pure history, but we can find in them memories of authentic historical realities." Eretz, Jan 2001, p. 32
Divorced of chronological restrictions the whole problem can be resolved by looking at the archaeological evidence and relating the Biblical stories to it. The broad outline of history taken from the Biblical records is as follows: notice the remarkable synchronisms between this outline and the periods mentioned in the Irael Museum website. (The dates in the right-hand column are as given on the museum website.)
| Biblical description | Israel Museum description |
| The Exodus from Egypt and Invasion of Palestine: cities destroyed, local population largely annihilated and replaced by nomadic people, who struggle to maintain their identity against threats of invasion during the time of the Judges. | "The period between the Early Bronze Age and Middle Bronze Age is called the Intermediate Bronze Age (2300-2000 BC). This indicates that economic, social and political organisation were different from what immediately preceded and followed. Society had fragmented into smaller, more mobile (often nomadic) groups when the large urban centres of the Early Bronze Age collapsed." |
| A period of power, security and prosperity under Kings David, Solomon and their successors. | "The Middle Bronze (Canaanite) Age (2000-1550 BC) saw the resurgence of city-states, whose main urban centres were surrounded by massive earthwork fortifications. Contrary to what such ramparts would lead us to expct, destruction layers are conspicuously lacking in archaeological strata of this era until its last century. The impression is generally one of peraceful co-existence. Commerce - with Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Aegean region - was on a larger scale than ever before; this was truly a period of internationalism." |
| Invasion of Israel by the Assyrians and Babylonians, the land largely de- populated by the exile of Israel and Judah into these foreign countries. | "Through much of the Late Bronze (Canaanite) Age (1550-1200 BC) Canaan was subjected to Egyptian rule. The exhibits from this period include numerous imported luxury goods - pottery, metals, jewellery - from Egypt, Greece Cyprus, Syria, Anatolia and Mesopotamia. These have been found throughout the country in tombs, temples and palaces. All this glitter once induced scholars to see the Late Bronze Age as a period of great prosperity, but there is another face to this period: the number of settlements decreased markedly from the previous period and few rural settlements are known. This tells us that a large element of the popularion had reverted to nomadism again." (It might tell the museum authorities that. It tells us that the population had gone into exile.) |
| Restoration of Israel to its land following the decrees issued by the Persian kings for their return and rebuilding programmes. | "The Early Israelite Period (Iron Age I 1200-1000 BC) The permanent exhibits of this period thus reflect the various people who occupied different parts of the land; the Philistines by pottery decorated with birds and fish in metopes indicating its Mediterranean inspiration; Canaanite cult stands, pottery and tools showing continuity from the Late Bronze Age; and the simple utilitarian pots and large storage jars, made by the inhabitants of the central hill country - the early Israelite settlers. The Israelite Period II (Iron Age II 1000-587 BC) There is a special significance in the finds exhibited from this period as nearly all are associated in some way with events and information described in the Bible, especially from the Books of Kings, Prophets and Chronicles. Among the highlights are the decorated architectural elements from large royal structures at Jerusalem, Hazor and Megiddo, ivories from the palace of Ahab in Samaria and ostraca and seals written in paleo-Hebrew, some of which mention names familiar to us from the Bible. Such inscriptions often look unimportant, but they can be momentous. The 'House of David' stele inscription from Tel Dan and two minute silver scrolls inscribed with the Priestly Benediction (cf. Num 6:24-26; Ps 67:2) found recently in a Jerusalem tomb are both of great import for historical and Biblical studies." |
© David K. Down 2001
