Jezreel

Tel Jezreel was extensively excavated in 1990-1996 by David Ussishkin and John Woodhead. The present paper summarizes the data concerning the Iron Age fortified enclosure, most likely built and used by the kings of the House of Omri (882-846 BCE).
The paper was published in Hebrew in Eretz-Israel 25, 1996, pp. 1-14.

In this dissertation, we will investigate if the name Israel derived its biblical name from earlier historical text. It is my contention that the name we know as “Israel,” derived from various people who were defeated (i.e., destroyed) in battle. These same people that were defeated in war were scattered in a famous place where many historical battles were fought known as Jezreel Valley. In addition I will provide evidence from the primary Egyptian language to various historical attestations supporting my contention which argues; the name “Israel” is not found in Egyptian records, and is a mistranslation. I will further expound on the etymological meaning of Israel and where it derived its name from. Here we focus on the Jezreel Valley, which derived its toponym name from Zyra-ir meaning “to scatter seed (progenitor),” which I argue is the more proper historical definition of “Israel.” Results from various sources in this study agrees with my convictions, which is, Israel does not exist in any primary text, the word mistranslated as “Israel” was used as a exonym to identify various groups of people whose seed was scattered (i.e., destroyed) in battle.

Simpson, E., ed. The Adventure of the Illustrious Scholar: Papers Presented to Oscar White Muscarella. Leiden: Brill, 2018.

The Adventure of the Illustrious Scholar: Papers Presented to Oscar White Muscarella, edited by Elizabeth Simpson, is a Festschrift celebrating the career of one of the foremost archaeologists of the ancient Near East. Oscar Muscarella is a former curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a formidable scholar who has excavated at sites in Turkey, Iran, and the United States. He has published eight books and nearly 200 articles, excavation reports, and reviews on topics ranging from the arts of antiquity and the importance of connoisseurship, to the difficulties of dating and the problems of forgeries, the looting of ancient sites, and the antiquities trade. The forty-seven contributors are experts in the areas of Muscarella's interests and are major scholars in their fields. This volume constitutes an unusual, important, and timely addition to the archaeological and art historical literature.

In light of the large wine processing installation found in Jezreel in 2013, the pre-Deuteronomistic Naboth story is imagined as featuring a rich Naboth who offended a weak Israelite king. Since the Assyrian conquest of the Jezreel Valley, the Israelite king had little political clout over the region and could thus be snubbed, til the queen of the rump kingdom of Samaria arranged a meeting with the governor of Megiddo.

This paper examines the function of the Omride enclosure at Jezreel in the Israelite kingdom's administration. The excavated remains, the similarity between the plan of the enclosure and that of the Assyrian "Fort Shalmaneser", and Biblical passages all argue in favour of a military function for this enclosure. Based on this military function, the symbolic meaning of the toponmym "Jezreel" in Hosea 1-3 is explored. The role of Jezreel in Jehu's revolt is also discussed.
In Hosea 2, the destruction of Israel's military emplacements, which is called “the day of Jezreel,” is seen as a positive development. As a result of this destruction, Israel resumes its reliance on God and the chapter concludes with a dialogue of mutual commitment. Jezreel's symbolism then reverts to its literal meaning “God will sow,”reinterpreted to refer to God’s acceptance of Israel’s renewed reliance on Him. An addendum to the paper argues for attributing the authorship of the Tel Dan stele to Hazael.

In 746 BCE, Tiglath-pileser III came to the Assyrian throne as a usurper.¹ His foreign policy was markedly different to that of his predecessors: he enlarged the area of Assyrian control, annexed former client states and converted them into Assyrian provinces.² His rule marks the beginning of Assyria's imperial phase³ and, significantly, also the beginning of the end of the Kingdom of Israel. The Northern Kingdom rebelled against Assyrian domination circa 734 BCE – an event heralded by the murder of Pekahiah, the son of Menachem, and the accession of Pekah to the Israelite throne in 736 BCE.⁴ Tiglath-pileser responded to the general unrest in the region by conducting three campaigns⁵ to the west, including at least one against Israel, between the years 734 and 732 BCE.⁶ This resulted

The development of the text at the beginning of the Book of Hosea
(Hos 1:1–2:3) is investigated synchronically. Special attention is paid to the development of the horizons of meaning of “Jezreel”, since it is of central importance. “The bloodshed of Jezreel” refers, in view of the theme of “whoring”, to the idolatry of Ahab’s family (especially Jezebel). Analogous to the judgement on the house of Omri which began in 747 BCE and which was connected to Jezreel, judgement on the dynasty of Jehu is announced in 1:2–9. This takes the form of a reinterpretation of the promise of the dynasty as a judgement on the dynasty. In 2:1–3, growth and an increase in the population is announced for the future. Jezreel, the place of bloodshed, becomes a place of fertility. The synchronic analysis suggests a diachronic perspective according to which 1:2–9 comes from the time around 750 BCE (Jeroboam II), while 2:1–3 probably dates from after 720 BCE (Hezekiah).

SUMMARY: Lecture-21 discusses the Iron IIB-C periods (925-586 BC), equated with the Divided Monarchies of Israel and Judah, including a discussion regarding archaeological finds in the Northern kingdom of Israel, at Omri and Ahab's royal capital at Samaria (e.g., the palace; the Samaria Ostraca; regional administration), settlement patterns and use of solid wall fortifications and water cisterns (e.g., Hazor; Megiddo); the beginning of a discussion on the Southern Kingdom of Judah, including Jerusalem, its expansion, fortifications, and growing affluence, a nearby military stronghold and subsequent royal retreat at Ramat Rahel, and featuring the Assyrian siege and capture of Lachish. This lecture is designed mainly as an educational resource/aid for college students (i.e., normally posted only on my institution's course website), the public (e.g., people auditing my course), and interested colleagues from other disciplines (to whom I periodically provide copies privately).  I am posting it here, both as a broader access, educational tool, and especially to promote the study of this region and its past societies.  For further knowledge about this region and period, I refer interested parties to the textbooks and other sources from which the initial materials were extracted for this ppt. (see syllabus; e.g., initially Mazar, Archaeology of the Land of the Bible), and/or the bibliographies in these works and my online resource guides (see other files in my academia folders).  Much of this and the other lectures summarize the pertinent materials in the course textbook(s), add in other data, including my own research materials, and furnish numerous images to clarify/illustrate the wealth of information encountered in the textbook(s).  Some generic imagery (usually indicated as such) is posted to aid in transmitting various concepts visually, and/or when a specific image remains not located (temporarily).  I update and revise such lectures each time, with such elective courses normally being taught once every two years.  I try to cover the most current, mainstream views, and usually place summary notes at the end of each lecture (or in separate test study guides).  Over time, each lecture is improved, errors rectified, and additional data placed within the lecture.  These ppt. lectures take many hours to compile, but they have proved useful to many of my more serious students (who have since pursued graduate degrees), and a few colleagues, who, like me, often teach outside our main fields of specialty, and I hope they can be of benefit to others as well.  My apologies for any errors I may have made (over time, as I teach this course every two years, I try to rectify any errors that might slip in inadvertently), and for my liberal usage of educational imagery from professional sources and vetted internet sources. UPDATED: New formatting, additional images and text, some new slides and text, revisions, etc. November 2023.

The discovery, excavation, function, typology, and probable
date of an ancient winery excavated by the present
Jezreel Expedition in 2013 are the focus of this article.
Its method of construction and its function are discussed,
and a comparison is made with other simple
treading installations. The demand for wine is discussed
with reference
to the military nature of Jezreel during
the period of Assyrian hegemony, and a probable
date for the winery’s initial use is proposed. The Jezreel
winery
continued in use until at least the first century
CE, when new grape-pressing installations appear in the
Byzantine-period village
of Jezreel.

This thesis proposes that due to its historic significance Jezreel should be developed as a heritage site. Furthermore, it investigates the significance of the ruins of the church and tower located on the site to the area of Greater Jezreel and proposes that as the only standing architecture of any antiquity present, they would serve as the natural focal point for site development and provides recommendations for how stakeholders might proceed to initiate and invest in site development. It proposes a program of conservation and research which will facilitate further study of the history of the site while simultaneously making the area safely accessible to visitors.