The Quest for the Historical Israel Debating Archaeology and the History of Early Israel: Invited Lectures Delivered at the 6th Biennial Colloquim of the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism, Detroit, October 2005

includes index and biblioraphy

Part 1: Archaeology and the quest for historical israel in the hebrew bible ......3 A summary assessment for part 1 .....5 Digging for the truth: Archaeology and the bible ....9 On archaeology, biblical history, and biblical archaeology .....21 Part 2: Using archaeology to assess the bible`s traditions about the earliest times .....35 A summary assessment for part 2 .....37 Patriarchs, exodus, conquest: Fact or fiction .....41 The patriarchs, exodus and conquest narratives in light of archaeology .....57 Part 3: The historical origins of collective israel .....67 A summary assessment for part 3 .....69 When and how did the israelites emerge ....73 The israelite settlement ......85 Part 4: The tenth centuty: The new litmus test for the bible`s historical relevance ....99 A summary assessment for part 4 .....101 King solomon`s golden age?: History or myth .....107 The search for david and solomon: An archaeological perspective ......117 Part 5: On more secure ground? the kingdoms of israel and Judah the Iron 11 Period .....141 A summary assessment for part 5 ....143 The two kingdom: Israel and Judah .....147 The divided monarchy: Comments on some archaeological .....159 Part 6: What? Implications for scholars and communities .....181 A short summary: Bible and archaeology .....183 Concluding summary: AArchaeology`s message ....189