Faust-the Philistines

Posted on September 19, 2014 by jamesbradfordpate

theoutwardquest

I have been reading Avraham Faust’s Israel’s Ethnogenesis not just to have a reading project this month, but because I am trying to figure something out. There has been a relatively new find (since Faust’s book) in Israel which may change the way I have to understand the history of the period that corresponds to 1 and 2 Samuel in the Bible.(See here).

My theory about that period has been that Judah, which up to then had not existed as the kind of coalition of peoples that David put together, conquered the northern tribes and installed David as king. David subjugated the northern tribes. But he was either an ally or a vassal of the Philistine city-state of Gath, which was sometimes at war with other Philistine city states.

My theory is probably wrong. The newer archeological evidence from the Elah Valley seems to show Judah heavily fortifying itself…

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About jamesbradfordpate

My name is James Pate. This blog is about my journey. I read books. I watch movies and TV shows. I go to church. I try to find meaning. And, when I can’t do that, I just talk about stuff that I find interesting. I have degrees in fields of religious studies. I have an M.Phil. in the History of Biblical Interpretation from Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio. I also have an M.A. in Hebrew Bible from Jewish Theological Seminary, an M.Div. from Harvard Divinity School, and a B.A. from DePauw University.
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