Israel's Ethnogenesis: Settlement, Interaction, Expansion and Resistance (Approaches to Anthropological Archaeology) - Softcover

Faust, Avraham

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1845534565 ISBN 13: 9781845534561

Publisher: Routledge, 2008

Synopsis

Winner (for best semi-popular book) of the 2008 Irene Levi-Sala Prize for publications on the archaeology of Israel. The emergence of Israel in Canaan is a central topic in biblical/Syro-Palestinian archaeology. However, the archaeology of ancient Israel has rarely been subject to in-depth anthropological analysis until now. 'Israel's Ethnogenesis' offers an anthropological framework to the archaeological data and textual sources. Examining archaeological finds from thousands of excavations, the book presents a theoretical approach to Israel's ethnogenesis that draws on the work of recent critics. The book examines Israelite ethnicity - ranging from meat consumption, decorated and imported pottery, Israelite houses, circumcision, and hierarchy - and traces the complex ethnic negotiations that accompanied Israel's ethnogenesis. 'Israel's Ethnogenesis' is unique in its contribution to the archaeology of ethnicity, offering an anthropological study that will be of interest to students of history, Israelite culture and religion, and the evolution of ethnic groups.

About this title

Product Description

Israel's Ethnogenesis This study of ethnicity in the emergence of Israel in Canaan, is wholeheartedly archaeological in scope, using the Bible only as a secondary source of information. Full description

Review

'Covers a wide range of important and interesting ground and is a must read for anyone interested in Israelite ethnicity. [Faust's] approach to Israel's ethnogenesis, which eclectically combines the strongest points of the major theories, is gradually becoming the standard view among scholars who specialize in Israelite origins and identity.' --Kenton L. Sparks, Eastern University, St. Davids, Pennsylvania, The Review of Biblical Literature, 2008

'Throughout the discussion, Faust employs a wide range of socio-anthropological models, making this book the most innovative and successful analysis yet of Israelite ethnicity.' --William G. Dever, Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Arizona, in Biblical Archaeology Review, November/December 2008

'This is an authorative tour across 400 odd years of early Israel's development. Faust leaves a clear and deep understanding of how Israel came to take the ethnogenesis it embraced. He writes in a clear manner and pauses to ask the right questions about why events unfolded as they did, giving lucid answers drawn from a deep understanding of the Iron I and II periods. This fascinating and powerful book is true to its subtitle, early Israel's 'settlement, interaction, expansion and resistance'.' --Levi-Sala Prize Committee

'Throughout the discussion, Faust employs a wide range of socio-anthropological models, making this book the most innovative and successful analysis yet of Israelite ethnicity.' --William G. Dever, Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Arizona, in Biblical Archaeology Review, November/December 2008

'This is an authorative tour across 400 odd years of early Israel's development. Faust leaves a clear and deep understanding of how Israel came to take the ethnogenesis it embraced. He writes in a clear manner and pauses to ask the right questions about why events unfolded as they did, giving lucid answers drawn from a deep understanding of the Iron I and II periods. This fascinating and powerful book is true to its subtitle, early Israel's 'settlement, interaction, expansion and resistance'.' --Levi-Sala Prize Committee

'Throughout the discussion, Faust employs a wide range of socio-anthropological models, making this book the most innovative and successful analysis yet of Israelite ethnicity.' --William G. Dever, Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Arizona, in Biblical Archaeology Review, November/December 2008

'This is an authorative tour across 400 odd years of early Israel's development. Faust leaves a clear and deep understanding of how Israel came to take the ethnogenesis it embraced. He writes in a clear manner and pauses to ask the right questions about why events unfolded as they did, giving lucid answers drawn from a deep understanding of the Iron I and II periods. This fascinating and powerful book is true to its subtitle, early Israel's 'settlement, interaction, expansion and resistance'.' --Levi-Sala Prize Committee

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1845534565
• ISBN 13: 9781845534561
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 308