What Are They Saying About the Formation of Israel?

by John J. McDermott

The most recent theories about the origin of the Israelites, and the archaeological and textual evidence scholars use to decide the issue. †

Genres: Nonfiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1998

Reviews

[Jack R.]

A very helpful introduction to the state of "Israelite Origins" studies at the turn of the 21st-century. McDermott goes over all the predominant models of Israel's emergence, from the classical proposals (Conquest, Infiltration, Social Revolution) to the more recent and mannered theories of Halpern, Finklestein, and Dever. This book is wonderful for those planning on taking an Intro. to Hebrew Bible college and/or seminary course as McDermott's expositions are clear, concise, but also providing criticism to each scholarly proposal. The author himself is thoroughly mainstream and tentative in his reading of the evidence: "The most likely process responsible for the emergence of the Israelite's was a gradual Canaanite resettlement... The decline of the city-states caused an increase in the number of people who found the [Palestinian] highlands a better place to live. For some, it was more secure because the cities and the Egyptians army had become less adept at maintaining stability in the plains area. For some, it was an escape from economic hardships because they desired to break away from debt or taxation in the cities. As the strength and unity of the new Israelites increased, others would have joined them rather than continue to resist. This resettlement was by no means a sudden flight from the cities to the countryside; it was a gradual process, from about 1200-1050 B.C.E." (89)

While McDermott does go through many seminal works of late-20th-century biblical scholarship pertaining to Israelite origins, his examination does not discuss the biblical minimalist movement (even though McDermott finds great agreement with Copenhagen faculty-member Lemche) or the slew of evangelical scholarship in favor of the conquest paradigm. To McDermott, he deals with the latter theory by curt dismissal of proponents post-Albright, demarcating them as a minority bunch of fundamentalists with no arguments even worth considering.

[Alex]

now i know what they are saying abt the formation of isreal

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very brief overview of current scholarship on the topic.