The Land before the Kingdom of Israel: Asking New Questions of Old Data

ASOR June 2017

“Reevaluating the social and political landscape of the Late Bronze Age Levant provides a fresh understanding of Israel’s origins and nature. Rather than a distinct ethnic group founded upon a unique set of social and political principles, some of its constituents emerged out of the sociopolitical milieu of the Late Bronze Age. It also sheds light on the process of centralization that occurred with the formation of the monarchy.”