'Miller and Hayes has long been my number one recommended textbook for classes on the history of ancient Israel and Judah. While I may not agree with every word, I know of nothing like it for the systematic way in which it sets out the whole range of evidence, discusses it critically, and bases its historical reconstruction on the results. The field has been moving so rapidly, however, with new discoveries and radically different interpretations of familiar material, that it was reaching the point where this book would need to be replaced. This new edition represents such a significant revision, with account taken of all the most recent main discussions, that it will again immediately resume its premier position in the field.' --II. G. M. WILLIANISC)N, REGIUS PROFESSOR OF HEBREW, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD 'More than two decades have passed since Miller and Hayes's History helped us absorb the lessons learned when a regnant synthesis that largely authenticated Israel's version of its past had shattered. As presented in its pages, Israel's history was far more complicated (and exhilarating) than the one presented in Scripture, and its people proved concerned with much more than just communion with God. In this completely rewritten edition, the frame is basically the same but the details are richer and more absorbing, if only because archaeological discoveries and scholarly debates since then have multiplied the questions. Writing a limpid prose, shaping a story that is neither bland nor boring, Miller and Hayes continue to guide us reliably through thorny issues." -JACK M. SASSON, MARY JANE WERTI-JAN PROFESSOR OF JUDAIC AND BIBLICAL STUDIES, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY 'Miller and Hayes's comprehensive work has clearly and superbly represented an important scholarly tradition in the study of the history of ancient Israel. This revision, with substantial bibliographic updating and increase in illustrations and visuals, will preserve its status as a standard in the field.' -K. LAWSON YOUNGER JR., PROFESSOR OF OLD TESTAMENT, SEMITIC LANGUAGES; AND ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN HISTORY; TRINITY EVANGELICAL DIVINITY SCHOOL ' In a time of polarization over the veracity and usefulness of various forms of data, this volume is a welcome addition, both for its level-headed and even-handed treatment of all relevant materials and the sheer volume of material presented. The authors respect the intelligence of their readers and supply them with the data, the range of scholarly debate on the topic, and their own analysis, allowing both beginning students and seasoned scholars to soundly evaluate the situation." -TAMMI J. SCHNEIDER, PROFESSOR, SCHOOL OF RELIGION, CLAREMONT GRADUATE UNIVERSITY

The definitve guide to the history of ancient Israel. The History of Ancient Israel covers the epic story of Jewish civilisation from its beginnings to the destruction of Jerusalem, and the Temple in AD 70. It deals with Israel's relations with the great empires which shaped its development and with the changing internal structure of the Jewish state, drawing both on excavation and the Hebrew Bible.

A significant achievement, this book moves our understanding of the history of Israel forward as dramatically as John Bright's A History of Israel, Martin Noth's History of Israel, and William F. Albright's From the Stone Age ot Cristianity did at an earlier period.

The history of biblical Israel, as it is told in the Hebrew Bible, differs substantially from the history of ancient Israel as it can be reconstructed using ancient Near Eastern texts and archaeological evidence. In A Concise History of Ancient Israel, Bernd U. Schipper uses this evidence to present a critical revision of the history of Israel and Judah from the late second millennium BCE to the beginning of the Roman period. Considering archaeological material as well as biblical and extrabiblical texts, Schipper argues that the history of “Israel” in the preexilic period took place mostly in the hinterland of the Levant and should be understood in the context of the Neo-Assyrian expansion. He demonstrates that events in the exilic and postexilic periods also played out differently than they are recounted in the biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah. In contrast to previous scholarship, which focused heavily on Israel’s origins and the monarchic period, Schipper’s history gives equal attention to the Persian and early Hellenistic periods, providing confirmation that a wide variety of forms of YHWH religion existed in the Persian period and persisted into the Hellenistic age. Original and innovative, this brief history provides a new outline of the historical development of ancient Israel that will appeal to students, scholars, and lay readers who desire a concise overview.

The history of Israel is a much-debated topic in Old Testament studies. On one side are minimalists who find little of historical value in the Hebrew Bible. On the other side are those who assume the biblical text is a precise historical record. Many serious students of the Bible find themselves between these two positions and would benefit from a careful exploration of issues in Israelite history. This substantive history of Israel textbook values the Bible's historical contribution without overlooking critical issues and challenges. Featuring the latest scholarship, the book introduces students to the current state of research on issues relevant to the study of ancient Israel. The editors and contributors, all top biblical scholars and historians, discuss historical evidence in a readable manner, using both canonical and chronological lenses to explore Israelite history. Illustrative items, such as maps and images, visually support the book's content. Tables and sidebars are also included.

This volume of essays draws together specialists in the field to explain, illustrate and analyze this religious diversity in Ancient Israel.

Storage jars of many shapes and sizes were in widespread use in the ancient world, transporting and storing agricultural products such as wine and oil, crucial to agriculture, economy, trade and subsistence. From the late 8th to the 2nd century BCE, the oval storage jars typical of Judah were often stamped or otherwise marked: in the late 8th and early 7th century BCE with lmlk stamp impressions, later in the 7th century with concentric circle incisions or rosette stamp impressions, in the 6th century, after the fall of Jerusalem, with lion stamp impressions, and in the Persian, Ptolemaic and Seleucid periods (late 6th–late 2nd centuries BCE) with yhwd stamp impressions. At the same time, several ad hoc systems of stamp impressions appeared: “private” stamp impressions were used on the eve of Sennacherib’s campaign, mwṣh stamp impressions after the destruction of Jerusalem, and yršlm impressions after the establishment of the Hasmonean state. While administrative systems that stamped storage jars are known elsewhere in the ancient Near East, the phenomenon in Judah is unparalleled in its scale, variety and continuity, spanning a period of some 600 years without interruption. This is the first attempt to consider the phenomenon as a whole and to develop a unified theory that would explain the function of these stamp impressions and shed new light on the history of Judah during six centuries of subjugation to the empires that ruled the region—as a vassal kingdom in the age of the Assyrian, Egyptian, and Babylonian empires and as a province under successive Babylonian, Persian, Ptolemaic, and Seleucid rule.