Israelite history and religion

Dieses Studienbuch stellt die "Geschichte Israels" von den Anfängen bis zum Bar-Kochba-Aufstand 132-135 n. Chr. dar. Das für Exegese und Theologiestudium unverzichtbare Wissen vermittelt der Autor verständlich und vor dem Hintergrund der aktuellen Forschung. Er zieht für seine Darstellung alle verfügbaren Quellen heran. Exemplarisch wird aufgezeigt, wie diese Quellen zu interpretieren sind und wo die Grenzen der Rekonstruktion von Geschichte liegen. Dazu führt er in den Stand der archäologischen und historischen Forschung ein und bezieht die Ergebnisse kritisch auf die biblische Darstellung. So entsteht ein Bild der Geschichte des antiken Israel im Kontext der südlichen Levante, das manches Mal vertraut, oft aber auch frisch und unerwartet daherkommt. Für die Neuauflage wurden zahlreiche Abschnitte überarbeitet und neueste Literatur ergänzt. Der Charakter als Studienbuch wurde noch einmal methodisch reflektiert und verstärkt.

The question of Israel’s distinctiveness in the ancient Near East was a central concern of the biblical theology movement in the mid-twentieth century. The excessive claims and overstatements of that movement were corrected later in the twentieth century. Most scholars today assume the question is settled in a consensus that Old Testament Israel was not distinctive, and was completely at home in the ancient world in every respect. This paper explores three ways in which ancient Israel was indeed at home in ancient Near Eastern culture, while also suggesting ways in which Israel’s religious convictions led to a genuinely unique profile in the ancient world.

Of all that is studied and published concerning the Bible by parishioners, theologians, or intellectuals, the focus on Israel’s military history is almost nonexistent. However, there are a handful of books dedicated to the military topic from a secular view, including Chaim Herzog and Mordechai Gichon’s Battles of the Bible, T.R. Hobbs A Time for War: A Study of Warfare in the Old Testament, Martin Sicker’s The Rise and Fall of the Ancient Israelite States, and Richard A. Gabriel’s The Military History of Ancient Israel, just to name a few.

What this book will attempt to demonstrate is that if we read between the lines of the Biblical text, we will find convincing answers to some of the harder questions versus what many believe or are skeptical of concerning the wars and battles documented in the Bible. By focusing on the leaders, such as Abraham, Moses, and Joshua, to name a few, and reviewing their politics, strategies, tactics, and weapons, starting with Abraham all the way to the end of the book of Judges, we will be able to separate myth from reality. In doing so, we will discover a rich, painful, and vast military history, of which most are unaware.