Open AccessOn The Problems of Reconstructing Pre-Hellenistic Israelite (Palestinian) History
Author(s) -
Niels Peter Lemche
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of hebrew scriptures
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1203-1542
DOI - 10.5508/jhs.2000.v3.a1
Subject(s) - palestine , old testament , history , history of israel , new testament , literature , fantasy , philosophy , ancient history , art , judaism , archaeology
The biblical picture of ancient Israel does not fit in,but is contrary to any image of ancient Palestinian society that can beestablished on the basis of ancient sources from Palestine or referring toPalestine. There is no way this image in the Bible can be reconciled with thehistorical past of the region. And if this is the case, we should give up thehope that we can reconstruct pre-Hellenistic history on the basis of the OldTestament. It is simply an invented history with only a few referents to thingsthat really happened or existed. From an historian’s point of view, ancientIsrael is a monstrous creature. It is something sprung out of the fantasy ofbiblical historiographers and their modern paraphrasers, i.e., thehistorical-critical scholars of the last two hundred years.