Arab-Israeli Conflict
A sane place to discuss this conflict.
Absent endless ”bumps” and repeated spam.
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Origin: Israel, c. 1500 BCE
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Origin: Israel, c. 1500 BCE
The earliest known reference to Israel is in Egyptian records (the Berlin Pedestal), dated to the 14th century BCE. By then Israel was sufficiently established to merit mention by the Egyptians.
By the late 13th century, Israel is again mentioned, this time in the Egyptian Merneptah Stele. It records the Egyptian defeat of Israel (reference to “his seed is not” is not about genocide but the destruction of grain – indicating that this was a sedentary rather than nomadic population).
The Israelite Confederation may only have risen in the 12th century BCE, during the Late Bronze Age Collapse. It was an amalgamation of existing Canaanite tribes (e.g. Asher), long settled sea peoples (e.g. Dan/una) and regional migratory tribes (e.g. Shasu).
While the Biblical Book of Judges tells the story of a slow evolution and consolidation (from Judges to a King), the stories of Joshua may be better known – if less accurate. The archaeological record shows pork bones gradually disappearing from hearths across a century as the new religion spread. That’s quite different from a “conquest” with a new population replacing the old.
The battles attributed to Joshua spanned several centuries (it’s like attributing victories in the Revolutionary War, Civil War and WW II to Gen. Patton). But there may be a clue in the stories as well, indicating that the Israelite “conquest” may have been smaller or uncontested battles (rather than older ones). It starts with Jericho, but it was abandoned during the LBAC. Perhaps the walls had already tumbled down before “Joshua” arrived and took the city? Likewise the story of the battle of Ai has the defenders lured out, ambushed, and then the defenseless city is taken. Perhaps the city was already mostly defenseless to begin with?
In any event, by the 11th century a King may have been anointed, splitting up into 2 Kingdoms in the 10th century BCE. From that period on, more evidence has survived.
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The Tel Dan Inscription: The First Historical Evidence of King David from the Bible
https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-artifacts/the-tel-dan-inscription-the-first-historical-evidence-of-the-king-david-bible-storyFew modern Biblical archaeology discoveries have caused as much excitement as the Tel Dan inscription—writing on a ninth-century B.C. stone slab (or stela) that furnished the first historical evidence of King David from the Bible.
The Tel Dan inscription, or “House of David” inscription, was discovered in 1993 at the site of Tel Dan in northern Israel in an excavation directed by Israeli archaeologist Avraham Biran.
digs.bib-arch.org
Tel Dan is one of the most important sites in the ancient Near East and for biblical archaeology in particular.
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By the 9th century BCE, we have extra-Biblical references to both the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Juda.
biblicalarchaeology.org
What Does the Mesha Stele Say?
The Mesha Stele details the victories of King Mesha of Moab over the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. It was found at Dibon, the capital of Moab, and dated
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The Kurkh Stele (853 BCE) tells of the Battle of Qarqar.
Aramean King Hadadezer commanded 1,200 chariots, 1,200 horsemen and 20,000 soldiers;
King Ahab of Israel sent 2,000 chariots and 10,000 soldiers.
King Gindibu of Arabia sent 1,000 camel cavalryThis is the first ever known reference to Arabs.
Gindibu was in the Syrian desert east of Transjordan.
biblicalarchaeology.org
The Kurkh Monolith and Black Obelisk
This is the first part of an exclusive Bible History Daily series on historical texts that are important for understanding the history and world of the
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The northern Kingdom of Yisrael (Israel) would be defeated by the Assyrian Empire in 721 BCE.
Refugees fled south to the Kingdom of Juda, others may have been exiled and lost.
The Samaritans may descend from those who remained.The southern Kingdom of Yehuda (Juda) was defeated by the Babylonian Empire in 586 BCE.
The upper class exiled to what today is Iraq, leading the famous Psalm:|| By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, When we remembered Zion.
Zionism may well date back 2,600 years.
Under Babylonian occupation, Jews were autonomous in a province called Yehud.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yehud_(Babylonian_province)
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The Babylonian occupation was brief, with the Persian Empire overtaking them by 539 BCE.
King Cyrus allowed the Jews, exiled 2 generations earlier, to return and rebuild the Temple.
This begins the period of Jewish history known as the Second Temple period.Now under Persian occupation, Jews were autonomous in the Yehud Medinata.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yehud_Medinata
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