Jerusalem In Ancient History And Tradition (Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series)

An international team of historians, archaeologists and biblical scholars discuss new perspectives on the archaeology, history and biblical traditions of ancient Jerusalem and examine their ethical, literary, historical and theological relationships. Essays range from a discussion of the Hellenization of Jerusalem in the time of Herod to an examination of its identity and myth on the Internet, while Thomas L. Thompson's informed Introduction queries whether a true history of ancient Jerusalem and Palestine can in fact ever be written. Contributors include: Thomas L. Thompson, Michael Prior, Niels Peter Lemche, Margreet Steiner, Sara Mandell, John Strange, Firas Sawwah, Lester Grabbe, Philip Davies, Thomas M. Bolin, Ingrid Hjelm, David Gunn and Keith Whitelam. Jerusalem in Ancient History and Tradition 4 Contents 6 Foreword 8 Preface 14 Acknowledgments 17 Abbreviations 19 List of Contributors 22 Thomas L. Thompson: An Introduction: Can a History of Ancient Jerusalem and Palestine be Written? 24 On Israel as a Name and a People 27 On Writing the Tradition 32 Michael Prior: A Moral Reading of the Bible in Jerusalem 39 The Location of Exegesis 40 The Transforming Power of Experience 42 Conventional Biblical Scholarship 45 The Six-Day War 46 Seeing and Believing 47 Yahweh and Ethnic Cleansing 50 The Bible as Instrument of Oppression 53 Western Scholarship and the Holy Land 54 A Moral Reading of the Bible 58 Conclusion 61 Niels Peter Lemche: 'House of David': The Tel Dan Inscription(s) 69 Presenting the Inscription(s) 69 One Inscription? 75 The Date of the Inscription(s) 77 The Interpretation of the Inscription(s) 78 The Author 80 David or 'House of David'? 80 Is this/Are these Inscription(s) Genuine? 83 Conclusions 89 Bibliography 90 Margreet Steiner: Expanding Borders: The Development of Jerusalem in the Iron Age 91 Introduction 91 Jerusalem in Iron Age I: A Stronghold 93 Jerusalem in the Beginning of Iron Age II: A Regional Administrative Centre 95 Jerusalem at the End of Iron Age II: A Primate City 98 Conclusions 102 Sara Mandell: Rome, Syria and the Jerusalem High Priest: The International Bases of the High Priest's Rule of the Jerusalem City-State: 175–63 BCE 103 John Strange: Herod and Jerusalem: The Hellenization of an Oriental City 120 The Hellenistic Period and Culture 120 Palestine 121 The Coastal Cities and Idumaea 123 Jerusalem before Herod 124 Herod 128 Herod's Building Activities 130 Jerusalem in Herod's Time 132 The Temple 133 Firas Sawah: Jerusalem in the Time of the Kingdom of Judah 137 Conclusion 166 Lester L. Grabbe: Ethnic Groups in Jerusalem 168 The Earliest References to Jerusalem 168 Traditions in the Hebrew Bible 174 Jerusalem to the Coming of the Romans 180 Summary 185 Philip R. Davies: From Zion to Zion: Jerusalem in the Dead Sea Scrolls 187 Conclusion and Summary 192 Thomas M. Bolin: The Making of the Holy City: On the Foundations of Jerusalem in the Hebrew Bible 194 Beliefs Concerning the Foundation of Cities 195 The City Founded by a Deity 195 The City Founded by a Hero 198 Biblical Texts about the Founding of Jerusalem 202 Visit by a Hero: Abram 204 Conquest: Joshua and David 207 Colonization: Ezra andNehemiah 212 Conclusion 214 Ingrid Hjelm: Brothers Fighting Brothers: Jewish and Samaritan Ethnocentrism in Tradition and History 220 1. Abraham's Heir 221 2. From Past Relatives to Present Ghosts 237 3. Samaritan Identity 241 Thomas L. Thompson: Holy War at the Center of Biblical Theology: Shalom and the Cleansing of Jerusalem 246 1. A New Israel and the People of the Land 248 2. Variants of Ezra 10 250 3. Interpreting the Torah and the People of God 255 4. Holy War in Genesis 262 5. Holy War from the Wilderness to the Conquest 266 6. Shalom as the Goal of Holy War 275 David M. Gunn: 'Next Year in Jerusalem': Bible, Identity and Myth on the Web 281 Keith W. Whitelam: Imagining Jerusalem 295 Introduction 295 1. Longing for Jerusalem 300 2. Biblical Scholarship and the Imagination of Jerusalem 303 Conclusion 310 Index of References 313 Index of Authors 321 A 321 B 321 C 321 D 321 E 321 F 322 G 322 H 322 I 322 J 322 K 322 L 322 M 322 N 323 O 323 P 323 R 323 S 323 T 323 V 324 W 324 Y 324 Z 324 Back Matter 325