Synopsis: In the latter half of the 11th century BC, southern Syria witnessed the increasing prominence of semi-nomadic Semitic peoples – including the Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites and Israelites.
“Kings came, they fought,
the kings of Canaan fought.
At Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo,
they took no plunder of silver.
From the heavens the stars fought,
from their courses they fought against Sisera.
The river Kishon swept them away,
the age-old river, the river Kishon.” – The Song of Deborah
Map of the Late Bronze Age eastern Mediterranean:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/LBA_Hittite_Map.jpg
References and Further Reading:
Hello – I have recently discovered your podcast, and am quite taken with this episode C11 (The House of David) in particular. I wondered if you would be willing to share your academic source list for the portions on early Israelite culture, the intersection/crossover with its Canaanite origins, and the other mentions of non-Biblical research on the origins of the Israelite people. I am very interested in this area of scholarship, but have trouble sorting through the huge range of academic content, and you seem to have curated a very useful and informative series of sources. I did consult your website to see if you had your sources listed, but was not able to find them. Many thanks in advance, and keep up the good work – it is appreciated by listeners like me!
Hi Adam, thanks for listening & thanks for stopping by! Yeah, I should really be more diligent about posting my sources. Let me compile a brief list for episode C11 and e-mail it to your e-mail address given above. Look for it sometime before next Mon. Thanks, and take care! – Scott C.
Adam, Please check your e-mail for the requested information. Take care!
Scott,
I’m re-listening to the C-series, and wanted to express my thanks for your efforts over the years. Also, I particularly enjoyed this episode. I’ve heard snippets of this story (origin of the Israelites and their relationship with pre-existing and neighboring groups) in PBS Nova shows (with Prof Finkelstein), Garry Stevens’ History in the Bible podcast, and some reading I’ve done. You did a great job of summarizing and communicating the current state of knowledge. I find the intersection of archaeology, history, and the Hebrew Bible utterly fascinating.
Best regards,
Spencer