Historical Dictionary of Ancient Israel (Historical Dictionaries of Ancient Civilizations and Historical Eras)

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Historical Dictionaries of Ancient Civilizations and Historical Eras, No. 13

Because ancient Israel intrigues us and because we have so few reliable sources about it, Historical Dictionary of Ancient Israel is particularly important. It examines the usual sources in the Old Testament and surveys the findings of more recent archaeological research to help us determine just what happened and when—a far-from-simple task. This resource includes not only entries on the persons, places, and events of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, but it also defines their roles in the ancient world as closely as possible according to the latest available data and their interpretation. Although the results might differ from traditional views, they are essential correctives.

niels peter lemche is professor of theology at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. The author of ten books, he is the founder and editor of the Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament. Dr. Lemche was head of the Copenhagen Dead Sea Scrolls Initiative until 1999 and has written widely on early Israel and the surrounding region.

NIELS PETER LEMCHE

HISTORICAL DICTIONARY OF

Of the many early civilizations of which we are aware, few are smaller than the ancient kingdom of Israel. Small both in geographical area and population, it was barely noticed by the major civilizations of the time. The great states that arose in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and elsewhere either ignored or crushed it. Yet, several millennia later, Israel is the civilization we remember most acutely and that we know—or think we know—the most about. What is known about Israel comes partly from the Old Testament and partly from fragmentary and problematic bits of historical evidence.

LEMCHE

HISTORICAL DICTIONARY OF

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scarecrow press, inc. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200 • Lanham, Maryland 20706 1-800-462-6420 • fax 717-794-3803 • www.scarecrowpress.com Cover photographs courtesy of the author • Cover design by Jason Enterline

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Historical Dictionaries of Ancient Civilizations and Historical Eras Series editor: Jon Woronoff 1. Ancient Egypt, Morris L. Bierbrier, 1999. Ancient Mesoamerica, Joel W. Palka, 2000. Pre-Colonial Africa, Robert O. Collins, 2001. Byzantium, John H. Rosser, 2001. Medieval Russia, Lawrence N. Langer, 2001. Napoleonic Era, George F. Nafziger, 200l. Ottoman Empire, Selcuk Aksin Somel, 2003. Mongol World Empire, Paul D. Buell, 2003. Mesopotamia, Gwendolyn Leick, 2003. Ancient and Medieval Nubia, by Richard A. Lobban, Jr. 2003. 11. The Vikings, by Katherine Holman, 2003. 12. The Renaissance, by Charles G. Nauert, 2004. 13. Ancient Israel, by Niels Peter Lemche, 2004.

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Historical Dictionary of Ancient Israel

Niels Peter Lemche

Historical Dictionaries ofAncient Civilizations and Historical Eras, No. 13

j The Scarecrow Press, Inc. Lanham, Maryland, and Oxford 2004

SCARECROW PRESS, INC. Published in the United States of America by Scarecrow Press, Inc. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 www.scarecrowpress.com PO Box 317 Oxford OX29RU, UK Copyright © 2004 by Niels Peter Lemche All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lemche, Niels Peter. Historical dictionary of ancient Israel/Niels Peter Lemche. p. cm. - (Historical dictionaries of ancient civilizations and historical eras; no. 13) Includes bibliographical references (p. ). ISBN 0-8108-4848-1 (alk. paper) 1. lews-History-Dictionaries. 2. ludaism-History-Dictionaries. 1. Title. II. Series. DS102.8 .L38 2004 933'.003-dc22 2003015311

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