Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From? (review)

Hebrew Studies 45 (2004) 322 Reviews by a new generation. The confidence of the second generation to resume the task of conquest is based on that fact that Yahweh never rescinded the promise to give them the land. However, they are not just chronological or genealogical successors of the Exodus generation. As recorded in Numbers, they too experienced the vicissitudes of the Wilderness, were guilty of rebelliousness , but they are committed to completing their “migratory-sanctuary campaign” (p. 285). In the end, this volume provides a careful analysis of the various redaction theories and the conceptual bases for the interpretation of Numbers within both the conquest narrative and the canon. Because the author is so careful and so thorough in his examination of disputed points and structural variations , the reader may experience a real sense of wandering in the scholarly Wilderness before Lee draws together his conclusions, quite succinctly at the end. Part of this difficulty is simply the result of the author’s attempt to be fair to the spirit of scholarly discourse on a complicated subject. As a result, this volume is commended to redaction critics and serious students of the conquest materials. It is more of a reference work on the subject that can be mined for information and pointed to as a model of encyclopedic analysis. Victor H. Matthews Southwest Missouri State University Springfield, MO 65804 vhm970f@smsu.edu WHO WERE THE EARLY ISRAELITES AND WHERE DID THEY COME FROM? By William G. Dever. Pp. xi + 268. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2003. Cloth, $25.00. William (Bill) Dever, the reigning doyen of Near Eastern Archaeology in North America, has, in the book under review, filled in a substantial lacuna. Although a much discussed topic in both the popular and scientific literature, it is over fifteen years since the last book-length mainstream attempt to summarize current research on the appearance of the Israelites in Canaan (I. Finkelstein, The Archaeology of the Israelite Settlement [Jerusalem: IES, 1988]). In well-written and flowing style, Dever summarizes the main questions , history, and present state of the research, debates his opponents (as he always enjoys), and presents his overview of the processes relating to the Israelite ethno-genesis in the early Iron Age. Although written for the educated lay-public (without footnotes and references), the up-to-date discussions, the comprehensive overview of the relevant data, as well as the extensive bib- Hebrew Studies 45 (2004) 323 Reviews liography at the end, will afford even the experts with an excellent summary of the relevant issues and debates. Commencing with a chapter in which the “current crisis in the understanding of the origins of Early Israel” is discussed, Dever systematically deals with the various related issues. In chapter 2 (pp. 7–21), he explains the problems with accepting the traditional explanations on the Exodus, in particular, the lack of relevant corroborating archaeological and historical data. In chapter 3 (pp. 23–35) he reviews the biblical story and archaeological evidence for the Israelite conquest in Transjordan, once again noting the problem of matching the two. It is in chapters 4–7 (pp. 37–128) that he presents a masterful overview of the archaeological data on the early Israelite settlement, along with initial reference to major trends in interpreting this data. These chapters include both discussions of specific sites, as well as an overview of the Israelite material culture (the latter, in particular in chapter 7, pp. 101–128). Once again, Dever’s knowledge of the field and command of the data is impressive. In his mention of the various attempts to explain the origins of the Israelite, he of course mentions the three “classical” explanations: 1) The “conquest” model (e.g., Albright and Yadin); 2) The “peaceful infiltration ” model (e.g., Alt, Noth, and Aharoni); and 3) The “peasant revolt” model (e.g., Mendenhall and Gottwald). After presentation of the data, Dever goes on to review more recent attempts to synthesize the biblical and archaeological information. In chapter 8 (pp. 129–151) he reviews most of this research, while in chapter 9 (pp. 153–166) he extensively discusses Israel Finkelstein’s suggestions. It is the latter ’s opinions that are the focus...