Hensel, B., 2024, New Impulses from Archaeology, Cultural Studies and Hebrew Bible Studies on Transjordan, 1-12. (original) (raw)
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The volume focuses on Transjordanian regions in biblical times, covering the early Iron Age I down to the Hellenistic periods. Unlike current research, Transjordan is not perceived here as a geographical or cultural marginal phenomenon, but the volume takes it upon itself to describe the integration of Transjordan both within the Southern Levant and then, however, also into the major supra-regional references of world of antiquity in the ancient Near East, namely its connections with the regions of the Mediterranean, Egypt and Mesopotamia along with their major political powers. Many questions surrounding Transjordan and its influence on history, religious history, and cultural history are currently unresolved. This volume captures these areas of discussion in its breadth. In particular, this volume is the first to present studies that deal with the Persian period in Transjordan from a multi-disciplinary perspective – a period that has been almost completely ignored in current research in favor of the Iron Age. The task of understanding the complex history of Transjordan and its entanglement with Cisjordan and especially Judah during these periods requires a multidisciplinary perspective. This task will be met by combining for the first time the research and methodological perspectives from the disciplines of archaeology, Hebrew Bible studies, social/cultural history, Assyriology, ancient history, and religious history, which will enable a comprehensive and precise treatment of the topic. Hensel, B. (ed.), Transjordan and the Southern Levant. New Approaches Regarding the Iron Age and the Persian Period from Hebrew Bible Studies and Archaeology - in collaboration with Jordan Davis, hg. von Benedikt Hensel (ArchB), Mohr Siebeck: Tübingen 2024 (accepted for publication; expected to be published: early 2024).
2021
International Conference: 8th-10th June 2021 Organisation: Katharina Schmidt, German Protestant Institute of Archaeology (GPIA) in Amman Benedikt Hensel, University of Zurich - Theologische Fakultät Rocío Da Riva, Facultat de Geografia i Història/Universitat de Barcelona Mohammad al Najjar, Amman Conference-Website: www.edomarchaeology.com (with information how to register for the conference. Participation is free of charge. So, everyone welcome!). About the Conference: The conference focusses on Edom in the Transjordan regions. The region of Edom in Southern Transjordan played a key role in the early to middle First Millennium BCE, especially in the Iron Age II period, and – as most recent research suggests – already in the early Iron Age I. Edom was strategically positioned alongside well frequented trade routes leading from the North to the South, and from the East to the Western regions of Southern Levant and the Mediterranean – thereby connecting different cultural, political and economic zones. The presence of Edomite trade in the respective regions is very well documented in epigraphical and archaeological sources. Interest in the archaeology and history of Southern Jordan during the First Millennium BCE started in the 19th century and then accelerated in the middle of the 20th century. The history of the exploration is long and certainly multifaceted since it was strongly connected to the search for the ancient sites relating to the events and peoples mentioned in the Bible. Despite a long history of research, the ar-chaeological coverage of Edom still remains fragmentary, as large areas have not been surveyed, and others have provided data that are not stratigraphically controlled. Only a few sites have been excavated, and even fewer have been published in final form such as, e.g. Tawilan, Busayra and Umm al-Biyara; others, such as e.g. Baja III, have been presented in the form of articles, reports and overviews. It is therefore difficult to provide a comprehensive overview of the sites and finds. Moreover, major questions such as the precise chronology of the sites have not yet been sufficiently resolved. The archaeological record shows itself as quite complex. The settlement patterns are diverse and highly flexible. This most probably results from more uncertain conditions directly related to socioec-onomic factors. Yet the different forms of land-tied tribalism, the degree of centralized political rule and level of urbanization are still a matter of discussion. Additionally, the traditional view, that the kingdom of Edom only came to existence from the 8th century onwards, seems to be challenged in the light of recent findings. And, last but not least, the discussion about the extent to which the Edomite territory also covered areas of the Southern Negev in the Iron Age has been very much debated lately in the light of recent findings; it definitively needs further investigation. Beyond this, from a religious-historical perspective there is the still unresolved question of the Edomite main deity “Qos”/ “Qaus” and the relation with other Levantine gods. The aim of this conference is to bring together researchers from different disciplines (Archaeology; Assyriology; Biblical Studies) to discuss the current state of research on the Iron Age in Southern Transjordan. The perspectives of history, archaeology, philology and Biblical studies will be included in the discussion at the same level, as all these disciplines are equally interested in the topic and have left their mark on the history of research. Through this holistic approach, all aspects of Edom should be combined to a uniform, albeit multifaceted picture. Conference Website: www.edomarchaeology.com
2024
Hensel, B., 2024, “Transjordan and Judah from the Babylonian to Hellenistic Periods: Their Cultural, Religious, Economic, and Political Entanglements and Their Impact on the Formation of the Hebrew Bible.” In: Hensel B. (ed.), Transjordan and the Southern Levant. New Approaches Regarding the Iron Age and the Persian Period from Hebrew Bible Studies and Archaeology - in collaboration with Jordan Davis (ArchB 7), Mohr Siebeck: Tübingen 2024, 195-234. In “Transjordan and Judah from the Babylonian to the Hellenistic Periods (6th–2nd Centuries BCE): Their Cultural, Religious, Economic, and Political Entanglements and Their Impact on the Formation of the Hebrew Bible and Emerging Judaism,” Benedikt Hensel (University of Oldenburg, Germany) pre- sents a reconstruction of the historical development of Transjordan (in tradi- tional terms: Ammon, Moab and Edom), the Jordan Valley and the western Arabah Valley and Idumea from the Babylonian to Hellenistic periods (6th to 2nd centuries BCE) in the context of the Southern Levant. The article first pre- sents a brief history of research relating to the Transjordan in the context of the Southern Levant, in particular the changing perspective on the limitations of research on Transjordan concerning the Persian period realities, as well as a discussion on the possibilities of identifying and characterizing findings of the Persian period. This is followed by an analysis of the presently available ar- chaeological, epigraphic, iconographic, and literary (i.e., biblical) sources. A particular emphasis will be dedicated to Transjordan’s cultural, political and economic entanglement with Cisjordan, especially regarding questions of group identity and the attribution of ethnicity, as well as the possible reflections of these historical realties in different biblical traditions. The article demon- strates that despite lying on the fringes of the Southern Levant, the Transjordan regions (together with the Jordan Valley and Idumea in the western Arabah Valley) prove rather impactful for the entire eastern Mediterranean and espe- cially for the formation of Judah and early Judaism, and their normative scrip- tures that later became the Hebrew Bible.
The archaeological and historical study of the Southern Levant during the first millennium BCE – the Iron Age kingdoms and their societies, as well as their successors in the Persian and Hellenistic periods – has dramatically developed in recent decades. This is the result of two common and overlapping trends: the vast archaeological exploration of the Southern Levant, and the dramatic shift that has taken place in the treatment of textual sources – first and foremost, the Hebrew Bible. The ten contributions in this volume demonstrate the range of questions, methods and theoretical frameworks employed in the current study of Judah and neighbouring regions in the first millennium BCE and beyond. They were all written by Oded Lipschits’ close circle of colleagues – his former teacher and ten of his students, who have dedicated their contributions to honour his scholarship. These include contributions that present new perspectives on destructions and their impact on the Israelite and Judahite societies, contributions that focus on Jerusalem, elaborating on the immense exploration of the city and its environs, contributions that discuss the importance of the rural hinterlands of Judah and beyond, and contributions that evaluate biblical narratives in light of material remains. Together, they present new views on the history and archaeology of the Southern Levant based on diverse methodologies and research tools.
Levant, 1998
POB 39040) Ramat Aviv) Tel Aviv 69978) Israel The archaeology of the United Monarchy has recently become a focus of a fierce dispute. The debate has far-reaching consequences for archaeological, historical and biblical studies. In a recent article, Mazar (1997) criticized my views on this topic and supported the prevailing theory. In this rejoinder, I demonstrate that the Low Chronology for the material remains of the eleventh-ninth centuries E.G.E., whether right or wrong, is based on archaeological considerations. The prevailing scheme is based on uncritical reading of the biblical text and on irrelevant sentiments regarding the grandeur of the early Israelite state.
This Handbook aims to serve as a research guide to the archaeology of the Levant, an area situated at the crossroads of the ancient world that linked the eastern Mediterranean, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. The Levant as used here is a historical geographical term referring to a large area which today comprises the modern states of Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, western Syria, and Cyprus, as well as the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and the Sinai Peninsula. Unique in its treatment of the entire region, it offers a comprehensive overview and analysis of the current state of the archaeology of the Levant within its larger cultural, historical, and socio-economic contexts. The Handbook also attempts to bridge the modern scholarly and political divide between archaeologists working in this highly contested region. Written by leading international scholars in the field, it focuses chronologically on the Neolithic through Persian periods - a time span during which the Levant was often in close contact with the imperial powers of Egypt, Anatolia, Assyria, Babylon, and Persia. This volume will serve as an invaluable reference work for those interested in a contextualised archaeological account of this region, beginning with the 'agricultural revolution' until the conquest of Alexander the Great that marked the end of the Persian period.
Archaeological exploration in the Central Highlands of the Southern Levant conducted during the 1970s and 1980s dramatically transformed the scholarly understanding of the early Iron Age and led to the publication of From Nomadism to Monarchy: Archaeological and Historical Aspects of Early Israel, by Israel Finkelstein and Nadav Na’aman. This volume explores and reassesses the legacy of that foundational text. Using current theoretical frameworks and taking into account new excavation data and methodologies from the natural sciences, the seventeen essays in this volume examine the archaeology of the Southern Levant during the early Iron Age and the ways in which the period may be reflected in biblical accounts. The variety of methodologies employed and the historical narratives presented within these contributions illuminate the multifaceted nature of contemporary research on this formative period. Building upon Finkelstein and Na’aman’s seminal study, this work provides an essential update. It will be welcomed by ancient historians, scholars of early Israel and the early Iron Age Southern Levant, and biblical scholars. In addition to the editors, the contributors to this volume are Eran Arie, Erez Ben-Yosef, Cynthia Edenburg, Israel Finkelstein, Yuval Gadot, Assaf Kleiman, Gunnar Lehmann, Defna Langgut, Aren M. Maeir, Nadav Na’aman, Thomas Römer, Lidar Sapir-Hen, Katja Soennecken, Dieter Vieweger, Ido Wachtel, and Naama Yahalom-Mack.
In this study, Assaf Kleiman discusses the settlement history and material culture of complex communities that flourished in the shadow of Israel and Aram-Damascus. A detailed examination of the finds from the Lebanese Beqaa, through the Sea of Galilee, to the Irbid Plateau, offers an exceptional portrayal of the developments experienced by these communities, before and after the emergence of the territorial kingdoms; these advances include the rise and fall of local polities, the adoption and rejection of certain cultural traits, and even the background for the dissemination of writing. The study provides, therefore, a new and exciting way to look at the political relations and cultural exchange between the indigenous communities and the elites that ruled over them. Rather than interpreting the local populations simply as "Israelites" or "Aramaeans," the archaeological record reveals their diversity and highlights the discrete historical trajectories they followed from the 12th to 8th centuries BCE. See details in: https://www.mohrsiebeck.com/en/book/beyond-israel-and-aram-9783161615436?no\_cache=1