The Quest for the Historical Israel

The Quest for the Historical Israel PDF Author: Israel Finkelstein
Publisher: Society of Biblical Lit
ISBN: 1589832779
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
An engaging series of essays, originally given at the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism. The aim of the colloquium was to make available the results of recent archaeological work to a wider interested public, and specifically to bring science to bear on the early history of the Jewish people.

Founder of Hasidism

Founder of Hasidism PDF Author: Moshe Rosman
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520916760
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
This book goes farther than any previous work in uncovering the historical Israel ben Eliezer--known as the Ba'al Shem Tov, or the Besht--the eighteenth-century Polish-Jewish mystic who profoundly influenced the shape of modern Judaism. As the progenitor of Hasidism, the Ba'al Shem Tov is one of the key figures in Jewish history; to understand him is to understand an essential element of modern Jewish life and religion. Because evidence about his life is scanty and equivocal, the Besht has long eluded historians and biographers. Much of what is believed about him is based on stories compiled more than a generation after his death, many of which serve to mythologize rather than describe their subject. Rosman's study casts a bright new light on the traditional stories about the Besht, confirming and augmenting some, challenging others. By concentrating on accounts attributable directly to the Besht or to contemporary eyewitnesses, Rosman provides a portrait drawn from life rather than myth. In addition, documents in Polish and Hebrew discovered by Rosman during the research for this book enable him to give the first detailed description of the cultural, social, economic, and political context of the Ba'al Shem Tov's life. This book goes farther than any previous work in uncovering the historical Israel ben Eliezer--known as the Ba'al Shem Tov, or the Besht--the eighteenth-century Polish-Jewish mystic who profoundly influenced the shape of modern Judaism. As the progenitor of

Confronting the Past

Confronting the Past PDF Author: Seymour Gitin
Publisher: Eisenbrauns
ISBN: 1575061171
Category : Bible
Languages : en
Pages : 402

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Book Description
William G. Dever is recognized as the doyen of North American archaeologist-historians who work in the field of the ancient Levant. He is best known as the director of excavations at the site of Gezer but has worked at numerous other sites, and his many students have led dozens of other expeditions. He has been editor of the Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, was for many years professor in the influential archaeology program at the University of Arizona, and now in retirement continues actively to write and publish. In this volume, 46 of his colleagues and students contribute essays in his honor, reflecting the broad scope of his interests, particularly in terms of the historical implications of archaeology.

To the Ends of the Earth

To the Ends of the Earth PDF Author: Rivka Gonen
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780765761460
Category : Jews
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"Interesting cases of searches in far-off lands, as well as astonishing notions that the tribes were actually to be part of the population of Europe and America, are told in the book. A wide selection of old and new illustrations enlivens the text."--BOOK JACKET.

Ancient Israel in Sinai

Ancient Israel in Sinai PDF Author: James K. Hoffmeier
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198035403
Category : Bibles
Languages : en
Pages : 359

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Book Description
In his pathbreaking Israel in Egypt James K. Hoffmeier sought to refute the claims of scholars who doubt the historical accuracy of the biblical account of the Israelite sojourn in Egypt. Analyzing a wealth of textual, archaeological, and geographical evidence, he put forth a thorough defense of the biblical tradition. Hoffmeier now turns his attention to the Wilderness narratives of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. As director of the North Sinai Archaeological Project, Hoffmeier has led several excavations that have uncovered important new evidence supporting the Wilderness narratives, including a major New Kingdom fort at Tell el-Borg that was occupied during the Israelite exodus. Hoffmeier employs these archaeological findings to shed new light on the route of the exodus from Egypt. He also investigates the location of Mount Sinai, and offers a rebuttal to those who have sought to locate it in northern Arabia and not in the Sinai peninsula as traditionally thought. Hoffmeier addresses how and when the Israelites could have lived in Sinai, as well as whether it would have been possible for Moses to write down the law received at Mount Sinai. Building on the new evidence for the Israelite sojourn in Egypt, Hoffmeier explores the Egyptian influence on the Wilderness tradition. For example, he finds Egyptian elements in Israelite religious practices, including the use of the tabernacle, and points to a significant number of Egyptian personal names among the generation of the exodus. The origin of Israel is a subject of much debate and the wilderness tradition has been marginalized by those who challenge its credibility. In Ancient Israel in Sinai, Hoffmeier brings the Wilderness tradition to the forefront and makes a case for its authenticity based on solid evidence and intelligent analysis.

The Quest for the Historical Israel

The Quest for the Historical Israel PDF Author: George W. Ramsey
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1725206153
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
George W. Ramsey offers a critical assessment of recent developments toward the study of early Old Testament history, including principles and procedures of historical research, and thoughts on the relationship of history and faith.

Identity

Identity PDF Author: Emanuel Shahaf
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 254

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Book Description
Emanuel Shahaf has succeeded in producing a book that reflects both a rich career in the field together with a profound understanding of the deeper significance of the period he has lived through. Any person either interested in experiencing a period of active life in the region or who wishes to delve into the culture and characteristics of key figures who made history will benefit considerably from a very good read. Ephraim Halevy, 9th Director of the Mossad.Part autobiography, part concise political treatise, Emanuel Shahaf tells his story from childhood in Germany, how he found his destiny in the Jewish State, served in the Israel Air Force and later on as Mossad Head of Station in South East Asia. His path leads him to insights of significance in the rapidly changing world that Israel has to adapt to. His political engagement in conjunction with his diverse background and experience has taught him to consider identities for a new Israel that are of relevance to all those who have Israel's future at heart. An easy and sometimes funny read with an optimistic outlook for all those who are concerned about the path Israel is taking today.The book outlines a new and unique approach that may enable a resolution of the deadlock Israel has found itself in politically and diplomatically, an approach that doesn't belong to either side of the political map.Emanuel Shahaf, Co-Chair of the Federation Movement and political and social activist served the country for 21 years in the Air Force and the Mossad in Israel and abroad retiring as head of a station in South East Asia. Based on his accumulated experience he proposes a federation in the Land of Israel as an alternative political solution to the conflict with the Palestinians.

A Biblical History of Israel

A Biblical History of Israel PDF Author: Iain William Provan
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
ISBN: 9780664220907
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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Book Description
In this much-anticipated textbook, three respected biblical scholars have written a history of ancient Israel that takes the biblical text seriously as an historical document. While also considering nonbiblical sources and being attentive to what disciplines like archaeology, anthropology, and sociology suggest about the past, the authors do so within the context and paradigm of the Old Testament canon, which is held as the primary document for reconstructing Israel's history. In Part One, the authors set the volume in context and review past and current scholarly debate about learning Israel's history, negating arguments against using the Bible as the central source. In Part Two, they seek to retell the history itself with an eye to all the factors explored in Part One.

Bible Archaeology

Bible Archaeology PDF Author: Alfred J. Hoerth
Publisher: Monarch Books
ISBN: 9780857216977
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This full-colour volume offers an overview of the history and findings of biblical archaeology. Drawing together the archaeological research into the principal sites in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Palestine, Persia, Anatolia, Greece and Italy, Hoerth and McRay explore the histories, cultures and social forces of these early civilizations. Using full-colour maps, photographs and diagrams to walk you through the various archaeological digs. This volume enables the reader to place the biblical narratives firmly in their historical context and cultural setting. The authoritative but accessible text brings familiar Bible characters brilliantly to life.

The Invention of the Land of Israel

The Invention of the Land of Israel PDF Author: Shlomo Sand
Publisher: Verso Books
ISBN: 1844679462
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
What is a homeland and when does it become a national territory? Why have so many people been willing to die for such places throughout the twentieth century? What is the essence of the Promised Land? Following the acclaimed and controversial The Invention of the Jewish People, Shlomo Sand examines the mysterious sacred land that has become the site of the longest-running national struggle of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The Invention of the Land of Israel deconstructs the age-old legends surrounding the Holy Land and the prejudices that continue to suffocate it. Sand’s account dissects the concept of “historical right” and tracks the creation of the modern concept of the “Land of Israel” by nineteenth-century Evangelical Protestants and Jewish Zionists. This invention, he argues, not only facilitated the colonization of the Middle East and the establishment of the State of Israel; it is also threatening the existence of the Jewish state today.