A collection of Egyptological, archaeological, and biblical studies papers dealing with the history, religion, and culture of the ancient Near East, assembled in honor of James K. Hoffmeier.

The Hebrew Scriptures consider the exodus from Egypt to be Israel’s formative and foundational event. Indeed, the Bible offers no other explanation for Israel’s origin as a people. It is also true that no contemporary record regarding a man named Moses or the Israelites generally, either living in or leaving Egypt has been found. Hence, many biblical scholars and archaeologists take a skeptical attitude, dismissing the exodus from the realm of history. However, the contributors to this volume are convinced that there is an alternative, more positive approach. Using textual and archaeological materials from the ancient Near East in a comparative way, in conjunction with the Torah’s narratives and with other biblical texts, the contributors to this volume (specialists in ancient Egypt, ancient Near Eastern culture and history, and biblical studies) maintain that the reports in the Hebrew Bible should not be cavalierly dismissed for ideological reasons but, rather, should be deemed to contain authentic memories.

This is the second and final volume of scientific and interdisciplinary reports on the excavations and research conducted at Tell el-Borg, north Sinai, between 1998 and 2008, written by the scholars and specialists who worked on the site under the direction of Professor James K. Hoffmeier. This volume focuses on the cemetery areas, which yield more than a dozen tombs, typically made of mud brick, some of which were constructed for a single occupant and some of which were larger tombs that accommodated multiple family members. Included is a treatment of an area of “public” space featuring a temple and a well, among other things, and a study of the geological results of the nearby ancient Ballah Lakes that offers new data on the history of the Nile distributary that flowed by Tell el-Borg. The balance of the work deals with specialty reports, including the faunal and botanical remains, the clay coffins, and elite stones. A concluding chapter offers a synthesis of the decade of work and ties together the finds published in both volumes. In addition to the editor, the contributors to this volume include Stephen Moshier, Bahaa Gayed, Gregory D. Mumford, Scott D. Haddow, Mark Janzen, Thomas W. Davis, Rexine Hummel, Hesham M. Hussein, Carole McCartney, Michelle A. Loyet, Louise Bertini, and Salima Ikram.

Between 1999 and 2008, a team of experts and specialists worked together at Tell el-Borg, a site in north Sinai, in the delta region of Egypt. This volume comprises the first report on the site. Tell el-Borg, as it turned out, was composed of four significant areas: the military zone where two forts were found (Fields IV, V, and VIII), the public space (Field II), the domestic area (Field VI), and the cemeteries (Field III and VII). The focus of this first of two volumes is as follows: the historical and archaeological setting of north Sinai, the east frontier military area commonly known as the Ways of Horus (Chapter 2); the paleo-environmental setting of Tell el-Borg and its environs (Chapter 3); the introduction to Tell el-Borg and the initial discoveries (Chapter 4). The two forts and the related discoveries are treated in detail (Chapters 5 and 6), followed by the magnetometer survey conducted in 2006 and 2007, which demonstrated that we had nearly exhausted the site's potential (Chapter 7). The pottery finds from all fields are treated here by ceramic specialists: Egyptian pottery (Rexine Hummel, Chapter 8), Levantine wares (Catherine Duff, Chapter 9), Cypriote imports (Stuart Swiny, Chapter 10), and some ceramic specialty studies (Chapter 11). Last, a study of the weaponry discovered from the fort is offered (Chapter 12). The second volume will appear in the next few years.

The book, "" Antiquities of the Jews; Book - XIII "", has been considered important throughout the human history, and so that this work is never forgotten we have made efforts in its preservation by republishing this book in a modern format for present and future generations. This whole book has been reformatted, retyped and designed. These books are not made of scanned copies and hence the text is clear and readable.

Scholars of the Hebrew Bible have in the last decade begun to question the historical accuracy of the Israelite sojourn in Egypt, as described in the book of Exodus. The reason for the rejection of the exodus tradition is said to be the lack of historical and archaeological evidence in Egypt. Those advancing these claims, however, are not specialists in the study of Egyptian history, culture, and archaeology. In this pioneering book, James Hoffmeier examines the most current Egyptological evidence and argues that it supports the biblical record concerning Israel in Egypt.

This volume presents a collection of studies by international experts on various aspects of ancient Israel’s society, economy, religion, language, culture, and history, synthesizing archaeological remains and integrating them with discussions of ancient Near Eastern and biblical texts. Driven by theoretically and methodologically informed discussions of the archaeology of the Iron Age Levant, the 47 chapters in The Ancient Israelite World provide foundational, accessible, and detailed studies in their respective topics. The volume considers the history of interpretation of ancient Israel, studies on various aspects of ancient Israel’s society and history, and avenues for present and future approaches to the ancient Israelite world. Accompanied by over 150 maps and figures, it allows the reader to gain an understanding of key issues that archaeologists, historians and biblical scholars have faced and are currently facing as they attempt to better understand ancient Israelite society. The Ancient Israelite World is an essential reference work for students and scholars of ancient Israel and its history, culture, and society, whether they are historians, archaeologists or biblical scholars.