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history of ancient Israel and Judah, there are many available sources. These include texts such as the Jewish Tanakh (the Christian Old Testament), the Talmud, the Ethiopian Kebra Nagast, the writings of Nicolaus of Damascus, Artapanas, Philo of Alexandria and Josephus, and other minor authors and citations. In addition there exists archaeological evidence including Egyptian, Moabite, Assyrian and Babylonian inscriptions.

Introduction

Some writers consider the different source materials to be in conflict. See The Bible and history for several views as to how the sources may be reconciled. This is a controversial subject, with implications in the fields of religion, politics and diplomacy.

This article attempts to give a scholarly view which would currently be supported by most historians. The precise dates and the precision by which they may be stated are subject to continuing discussion and challenge. There are no biblical events whose precise year can be validated by external sources before the early 9th century BCE (The rise of Omri, King of Israel). Therefore all earlier dates are extrapolations. Further, the Bible does not render itself very easily to these calculations: mostly it does not state any time period longer than a single life time and a historical line must be reconstructed by adding discrete quantities, a process that naturally introduces rounding errors. The accuracy with which dates are represented here reflects a maximalist view, namely one that believes in the historical accuracy of the core stories of the Bible.

Others, known as minimalists dispute that many of the events happened at all, making the dating of them moot: if the very existence of the united kingdom is in doubt, it is pointless to claim that it disintegrated in 922 BCE. However, many of the events from the 9th century onward do have corroborations; see for example Mesha Stele.

Early history

The Mousterian Neanderthals were the earliest inhabitants of the area known to archaeologists, and have been estimated to date to c. 200,000 BCE. The first anatomically modern humans to live in the area were the Kebarans (conventionally c. 18,000 - 10,500 BCE, but recent paleoanthropological evidence suggests that Kebarans may have arrived as early as 75,000 BCE and shared the region with the Neanderthals for millennia before the latter died out). They were followed by the Natufian culture (c. 10,500 BCE - 8500 BCE), the Yarmukians (c. 8500 - 4300 BCE) and the Ghassulians (carbon dated c. 4300 - 3300 BCE). (None of these names appears in any classical sources; all were devised as conventions in recent times by archaeologists to refer to the lowest strata of remains.)

The Semitic culture followed on from the Ghassulians. People became urbanized and lived in city-states, one of which was Jericho. The area's location at the center of routes linking three continents made it the meeting place for religious and cultural influences from Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Asia Minor. It was also the natural battleground for the great powers of the region and subject to domination by adjacent empires, beginning with Egypt in the late 3rd millennium BCE. Traditions regarding the early history found in later works such as the Book of Jubilees, the Kebra Nagast and commentaries of Rashi, Philo and the Sepher Hayashar of Ibn Ezra refer to the early inhabitants as the sons of Shem and also speak of an invasion by the people known as Canaanites descended from Ham.

The Book of Jubilees states that the land was originally allotted to Shem and Arphaxad (ancestor of the Hebrews) when it was still vacant, but was wrongfully occupied by Canaan and his son Sidon. The Kebra Nagast speaks of the Canaanites invading existing cities of Shem and Ibn Ezra, similarly notes that they had seized land from earlier inhabitants. Rashi mentions that the Canaanites were seizing land from the sons of Shem in the days of Abraham. The Tanakh does not directly mention Shemite presence in the land before the Canaanites although late Canaanite arrival is implied in Genesis 12:6 where the expression "the Canaanite were then in the land" carries the connotation of then but not before as opposed to then but not now as Canaanites were present up and until the second Temple period by which time Genesis had certainly been written.

The patriarchal period

The patriarchal period begins with Abraham. Most Bible commentaries place the events surrounding Abraham (originally known as Abram) circa 1800 BCE, give or take 100 years. The account of his life is found in the Book of Genesis, beginning in Chapter , at the close of a genealogy of the sons of Shem (which includes among its members Eber, the eponym of the Hebrews).

His father Terah came from Ur Kasdim. His father moved his family, including his son Abram, from Ur Kasdim to the city of Haran.

According to Genesis, God called Abram to faith and obedience. Abram married his half-sister Sarai. He and his extended clan then moved to the land of Canaan. The Bible goes on to say that God called Abram to go to "the land I will show you", and promised to bless him and make him (though hitherto childless) a great nation. Trusting this promise, Abram journeyed down to Shechem, then to a spot between Bethel and Ai. He then moved to the oaks of Mamre in Hebron.

The name Abraham was given to Abram (and the name Sarah to Sarai) at the same time as the covenant of circumcision (chapter ), see also History of male circumcision and Circumcision in the Bible, which is practiced in Judaism and Islam to this day, see also Abrahamic religion. At this time Abraham was promised not only many descendants, but descendants through Sarah specifically, as well as the land where he was living, which was to belong to his descendants. The covenant was to be fulfilled through Isaac, though God promised that Ishmael would become a great nation as well.

Most modern historians dispute the historical accuracy of the patriarchal narratives in the Bible, and hold these events to be largely, or perhaps entirely, mythicalMario Liverani, "Israel's History and the History of Israel" (2005);ISBN 978-1-904768-76-0.

Abraham's grandson Jacob was later renamed Israel, and according to the Biblical account, his twelve sons became the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israelhttp://www.us-israel.org/jsource/History/hebpat.html Jewish Virtual Libraryhttp://www.theology.edu/otha01.html Quartz Hill School of Theology

Ancient Egyptian domination

The narrative behind how the Israelite slavery began in Egypt is still unclear in many sources. A few historians believe that this may have been due to the changing political conditions within Egypt. In 1650 BCE, Egypt was conquered by tribes, apparently Semitic, known as the Hyksos by the Egyptians. The Hyksos were later driven out by Ahmose I, the first king of the eighteenth dynasty. Ahmose I reigned approximately 1550 - 1525 BCE, founded the 18th Egyptian dynasty, and a new age for Egypt, the New Kingdom. Thutmose III established Egypt's empire in the western Near East. From then on, the chronology can only roughly be given in approximate dates for most events, until about the 7th century BCE.

*1440 BCE The Egyptian reign of Amenhotep II, during which the first mention of the Habiru (possibly the Hebrews) is found in Egyptian texts http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/History/hebrews.html Jewish Virtual Library. Recently discovered evidence (see Tikunani Prism) indicates that many Habiru spoke Hurrian, the language of the Hurrians. The habiru were probably a social caste rather than an ethnic groupIsrael Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman,"The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of its Sacred Texts" (2001);ISBN 0-684-86912-8Marc van de Mieroop,"A History of the Ancient Near East, C. 3000-323 BC" (2003);ISBN 0-631-22552-8, yet even so they may have been incorporated into early Israelite tribal groups.
*c.1400 First mention of the Shasu in Egyptian records, located just south of the Dead Sea. The Shasu contain a group with a Yahwistic name.
*1300 BCE Some Bible commentaries place the birth of Moses around this time. http://www.jajz-ed.org.il/history/body1.htm Jewish Agency http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/biography/moses.html Jewish Virtual Library
*1292 BCE Egypt's 19th dynasty began with the reign of Ramesses I. Ramesses II (1279-1213 BCE) filled the land with enormous monuments, and signed a treaty with the Hittites after losing the northern Levant to the Hittite Empire.

The Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and its chronology are much-debated. It is believed that the Exodus took place in the reign of Ramesses II due to the named Egyptian cities in Exodus: Pithom and Rameses. Evidence for an Israelite presence in Egypt has been found from about a century after the reign of Rameses II in the Merneptah Stele. However, the process of Israelite infiltration into Canaan is more complex than the picture given in the Bible.http://www.institutoestudiosantiguoegipto.com/bietak_I.htm Egyptologist Manfred Bietak 2001 Research into settlement patterns suggest that the ethnogenesis of Israel as a people was a complex process involving mainly native pastoralist groups in Canaan (including habiru and shasu), with some infiltration from outside groups, such as Hittites and Arameans from the north as well as southern shasu groups such as the Kenites- some of whom may have been enslaved in Egypt. William G. Dever,"What Did the Biblical Writers Know and When Did They Know It?" (2001);ISBN 0-8028-4794-3William G. Dever,"Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come from?" (2003);ISBN 0-8028-0975-8Amihai Mazar,"Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, 10,000 - 586 B.C.E."(1990);ISBN 0-385-42590-2

Wandering years and conquest of Canaan

Exodus goes on to say that after leaving Egypt and wandering in the desert for a generation, the Israelites invaded the land of Canaan, destroying major Canaanite cities such as Jericho and Hazor. The paradigm that has Ramses II as Exodus Pharaoh also has the conquest of Canaan and the destruction of Jericho and other Canaanite cities around 1200 BCE. Jericho and Ai were unsettled at this time, suggesting the accounts of their destructions were etiological (the name "Ai" means "ruin," and the site would have been a prominent ruin during the Iron Age, naturally giving rise to a tale about its destruction); other sites mentioned were destroyed at this time, and the Israelites may have played a role in the destruction of some- Hazor is often cited as a possibility, although this is uncertain. Many other groups are known to have played a role in the destruction during this period, such as the invading Sea Peoples, among whom the Philistines were one, and the Egyptians themselves. Feuds between neighboring city-states may have played a role as well.Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman,"The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of its Sacred Texts" (2001);ISBN 0-684-86912-8William G. Dever,"Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come from?" (2003);ISBN 0-8028-0975-8

Period of the Judges

main|Book of
thumb|1759 map of the tribal allotments of Israel

The Hebrews migrated into Canaan circa 1200 BCE, a time when the great powers of the region were neutralized by troubles of various kinds. In their initial attacks under Joshua, the Hebrews occupied most of Canaan, which they settled according to traditional family lines derived from the sons of Jacob and Joseph (the "tribes" of Israel). No formal government existed and the people were led by ad hoc leaders (the "judges" of the biblical Book of Judges) in times of crisis. Around this time, the name "Israel" is first mentioned in a contemporary archaeological source, the Merneptah Stele.

1200 BCE. The Hittite empire of Anatolia was conquered by allied tribes from the west. The northern, coastal Canaanites (called the Phoenicians by the Greeks) may have been temporarily displaced, but returned when the invading tribes showed no inclination to settle. http://leb.net/~farras/ugarit.htm Farras Abdelnour

Circa 1175 BCE the Sea People, as they were called by the Egyptians, swept across Asia Minor and the Mediterranean. They invaded Egypt in Ramesses III's reign, but were repelled. Amongst them were a group called the P-r-s-t (first recorded by the ancient Egyptians as P-r/l-s-t) generally identified with the Philistines. They appear in the Medinet Habu inscription of Ramses IIIhttp://www.courses.psu.edu/cams/cams400w_aek11/mhabtext.html Penn State University, where he describes his victory against the Sea Peoples. Nineteenth-century Bible scholars identified the land of the Philistines (Philistia or Peleshet in Hebrew meaning "invaders") with Palastu and Pilista in Assyrian inscriptions, according to Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897).

The name is used in the Bible to denote the coastal region inhabited by the Philistines. The five principal Philistine cities were Gaza, Ashdod, Ekron, Gath, and Ashkelon. Modern archaeology has suggested early cultural links with the Mycenean world in mainland Greece. Though the Philistines adopted local Canaanite culture and language before leaving any written texts, an Indo-European origin has been suggested for a handful of known Philistine words.

1140 BCE the Canaanite tribes tried to destroy the Israelite tribes of northern and central Canaan. According to the Bible, the Israelite response was led by Barak, and the Hebrew prophetess Deborah. The Canaanites were defeated.

Origins of the united monarchy

According to the Biblical account, Israel is descended from Hebrew slaves who left the Land of Goshen, Egypt during the Exodus at an uncertain date, often considered to be in the late 13th century BCE. Prior to the establishment of the kingdom, the Hebrew people, (the Israelites) were led by the patriarchs and later by Judges. The notion of kingship was for a long time anathemetised, as it was seen as one man being put in a position of reverence and power that in their faith was reserved for the one true God. According to the Bible, it was Samuel, one of the last of the judges, to whom the nation appealed for a king, as his sons, who had been appointed judges over Israel, misused the office. Although he tried to dissuade them, they were resolute and Samuel anointed Saul ben Kish from the tribe of Benjamin as king.

Other Biblical references seem more amicable to the regal structure, accepting the eventual reality and putting restrictions on his behaviour in Deuteronomy 17:14-20.

United monarchy

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Increasing pressure from the Philistines and other neighboring tribes forced the Israelites to unite under one king in c. 1050 BCE. This united kingdom lasted until c. 920 BCE when it split into the Kingdom of Israel in the north, and the Kingdom of Judah in the South.

Divided monarchy

thumb|272px|Map of the southern [[Levant, c.830s BCE.
legend|#00ff00|Kingdom of
legend|#008000|Kingdom of
legend|#777777|Philistine
legend|#3000ee|Phoenician
legend|#7777ff|Kingdom of
legend|#ffff00|Kingdom of
legend|#007777|Kingdom of
legend|#ffffff|Aramean
legend|#800080|Arubu
legend|#804020|Nabatu
legend|#005fff|Assyrian
legend|#808040|Kingdom of ]]

Kingdom of Israel

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Around 920 BCE, Jeroboam led the revolt of the northern tribes, and established the Kingdom of Israel ). Israel fell to the Assyrians in 721 BCE and was taken into captivity.

Kingdom of Judah

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In 922 BCE, the Kingdom of Israel was divided. Judah, the southern Kingdom, had Jerusalem as its capital and was led by Rehoboam. Judah fell to the Babylonians in 587 BCE and was taken into captivity.

Captivity

Assyrian Captivity of the Israelites

In 722 BCE, the Assyrians, under Shalmaneser, and then under Sargon, conquered Israel (the northern Kingdom), destroyed its capital Samaria, and sent many of the Israelites into exile and captivity. The ruling class of the northern kingdom (perhaps a small portion of the overall population) were deported to other lands in the Assyrian empire and a new nobility was imported by the Assyrians.

Babylonian Captivity of the Judaeans

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*586 BCE. Conquest of Judah (Southern Kingdom) by Babylon. Part of Judah's population, primarily the nobility, was exiled to Babylon.
*722 & 586 BCE. The First Dispersion, or Diaspora. Jews were either taken as slaves in what is commonly referred to as the Babylonian captivity of Judah, or they fled to Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, or Persia. http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/History/Exile.html Jewish Virtual Library
*587 BCE Lachish letters, ostraca, classical Hebrew on 21 potsherds
*559 BCE. Cyrus the Great became King of Persia. http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/History/Persians.html Jewish Virtual Library
*539 BCE. The Babylonian Empire fell to Persia under Cyrus.
*550-333 BCE. The Persian Empire ruled over much of Western Asia, including Israel.

thumb|British Museum)">[Cyrus Cylinder (British Museum)]
Like most imperial powers during the Iron Age, King Cyrus allowed citizens of the empire to practice their native religion, as long as they incorporated the personage of the Persian Great King into their worship (either as a deity or semi-deity, or at the very least the subject of votive offerings and recognition). Further, Cyrus took the bold step of ending state slavery, though the relationship between the King and his subjects was heavily dependent upon the model of a master-slave relationship. These reforms are reflected in the famous Cyrus Cylinder and Biblical books of Chronicles and Ezra, which state that Cyrus released the Israelites from slavery and granted them permission to return to the Land of Israel.

Second Temple

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Rebuilding the Temple

*539 BCE. Cyrus allowed Sheshbazzar, a prince from the tribe of Judah, and Zerubbabel, to bring the Jews from Babylon back to Jerusalem. Jews were allowed to return with the Temple vessels that the Babylonians had taken. Construction of the Second Temple began.http://jeru.huji.ac.il/ec1.htm The Jerusalem Mosaichttp://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Judaism/return.html Jewish Virtual Library See also in Biblical Hebrew, in Biblical Aramaic, .
*520-515 BCE. Under the spiritual leadership of the Prophets Haggai and Zechariah, the Second Temple was completed. At this time the Holy Land is a subdistrict of a Persian satrapy (province).
*c. 450 BCE Elephantine papyri of Jewish military colony in Egypt
*444 BCE. The reformation of Israel was led by the Jewish scribes Nehemiah ) and Ezra ). Ezra instituted synagogue and prayer services, and canonized the Torah by reading it publicly to the Great Assembly that he set up in Jerusalem. Ezra and Nehemiah flourished around this era. http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/gerald_larue/otll/chap25.html Gerald A. Larue on The Secular Web (This was the Classical period of Ancient Greece)
*428 BCE Samaritans build their temple on Mount Gerizim

The legacy of Alexander the Great

main|Alexander the Great|Seleucid Empire|Ptolemaic

*331 BCE. The Persian Empire was defeated by Alexander the Great. The Empire of Alexander the Great included Israel. However, it is said that he did not attack Jerusalem directly, after a delegation of Jews met him and assured him of their loyalty by showing him certain prophecies contained in their writings.
*323 BCE. Alexander the Great died. In the power struggle after Alexander's death, the part of his empire that included Israel changed hands at least five times in just over twenty years. Babylonia and Syria were ruled by the Seleucids, and Egypt by the Ptolemies.
*281-246 BCE Ptolemy II Philadelphus: also ruled Israel, Septuagint translation begun in Alexandria, beginning of the Pharisees party, and other Jewish Second Temple sects such as the Sadducees and Essenes. http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Judaism/The_Temple.html Jewish Virtual Library
*174-163 BCE Antiochus IV Epiphanes: attempted complete Hellenization of the Jews, see also 1 Maccabees.

Hasmonean Kingdom

*180-142 BCE. The Maccabee Rebellion, Hanukkah and the Hasmonean Kingdom (164-63) http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/History/Maccabees.html Jewish Virtual Library
*160-60 BCE Somewhere around this time, the community at Qumran began, from whom came the Dead Sea Scrolls.
*134-104 BCE John Hyrcanus, Ethnarch & High Priest of Jerusalem, "Age of Expansion", annexed Trans-Jordan, Samaria, Galilee, Idumea. Forced Idumeans to convert to Judaism, hired non-Jewish mercenaries, etc.

Roman occupation

thumb|250px|right|Iudaea and surrounding area in the 1st century
main|Iudaea

* 63 BCE Pompey conquered Jerusalem and the region and made it a client kingdom of Rome
* 57-55 BCE Aulus Gabinius, proconsul of Syria, split Hasmonean Kingdom into Galilee, Samaria & Judea with 5 districts of sanhedrin (councils of law)http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0146;query=whiston%20chapter%3D%23182;layout=;loc=14.54 Antiquities of the Jews 14.5.4: "And when he had ordained five councils (συνέδρια), he distributed the nation into the same number of parts. So these councils governed the people; the first was at Jerusalem, the second at Gadara, the third at Amathus, the fourth at Jericho, and the fifth at Sepphoris in Galilee." http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=229&letter=S&search=Gabinius Jewish Encyclopedia: Sanhedrin: "Josephus uses συνέδριον for the first time in connection with the decree of the Roman governor of Syria, Gabinius (57 B.C.), who abolished the constitution and the then existing form of government of Palestine and divided the country into five provinces, at the head of each of which a sanhedrin was placed ("Ant." xiv. 5, § 4)."
* 40-39 BCE Herod the Great appointed King of the Jews by the Roman Senatehttp://earlyjewishwritings.com/text/josephus/war1.html Jewish War 1.14.4: Mark Antony " ...then resolved to get him made king of the Jews ... told them that it was for their advantage in the Parthian war that Herod should be king; so they all gave their votes for it. And when the senate was separated, Antony and Caesar went out, with Herod between them; while the consul and the rest of the magistrates went before them, in order to offer sacrifices to the Roman gods, and to lay the decree in the Capitol. Antony also made a feast for Herod on the first day of his reign." See also
* 4 BCE-39 CE Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee & Perea
* Circa 4 BCE Jesus and John the Baptist are born
* 6 CE Herod Archelaus, ethnarch of Judea, deposed by Augustus; Samaria, Judea and Idumea annexed as Iudaea Province under direct Roman administration, capital at Caesarea, Quirinius became Legate (Governor) of Syria, conducted first Roman tax census of Iudaea, opposed by Zealotshttp://earlyjewishwritings.com/text/josephus/ant18.html Antiquities 18
* 9 CE Pharisee leader Hillel the Elder dies, temporary rise of Shammai
* 18-36 CE Caiaphas, appointed High Priest of Herod's Temple by Prefect Valerius Gratus, deposed by Syrian Legate Vitellius
* 26-36 CE Pontius Pilate, governor of the Roman province of Iudaea, deposed by Vitelliushttp://earlyjewishwritings.com/text/josephus/ant18.html Josephus' Antiquities 18.4.2: "But when this tumult was appeased, the Samaritan senate sent an embassy to Vitellius, a man that had been consul, and who was now president of Syria, and accused Pilate of the murder of those that were killed; for that they did not go to Tirathaba in order to revolt from the Romans, but to escape the violence of Pilate. So Vitellius sent Marcellus, a friend of his, to take care of the affairs of Judea, and ordered Pilate to go to Rome, to answer before the emperor to the accusations of the Jews. So Pilate, when he had tarried ten years in Judea, made haste to Rome, and this in obedience to the orders of Vitellius, which he durst not contradict; but before he could get to Rome Tiberius was dead."
* 41-44 CE Herod Agrippa I appointed "King of the Jews" by Claudius
* 48-100 CE Herod Agrippa II appointed "King of the Jews" by Claudius, seventh and last of the Herodians

Jewish-Roman wars

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In 66, the First Jewish-Roman War broke out, lasting until 73. In 67, Vespasian and his forces landed in the north of Israel, where they received the submission of Jews from Ptolemais to Sepphoris. The Jewish garrison at Yodfat (Jodeptah) was massacred after a two month siege. By the end of this year, Jewish resistance in the north had been crushed.

In 69, Vespasian seized the throne after a civil war. By 70, the Romans had occupied Jerusalem. Titus, son of the Roman Emperor, destroyed the Second Temple on the 9th of Av, ie. Tisha B'Av (656 years to the day after the destruction of the First Temple in 587 BCE). Over 100,000 Jews died during the siege, and nearly 100,000 were taken to Rome as slaves. Many Jews fled to Mesopotamia (Iraq), and to other countries around the Mediterranean. In 73 the last Jewish resistance was crushed by Rome at the mountain fortress of Masada; the last 900 defenders committed suicide rather than be captured and sold into slavery.

Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai escaped from Jerusalem. He obtained permission from the Roman general to establish a center of Jewish learning and the seat of the Sanhedrin in the outlying town of Yavneh (see Council of Jamnia). This is generally considered the beginning of Rabbinic Judaism, the period when the Halakha became formalized. Some believe that the Jewish canon was determined during this time period, but this theory has been largely discredited, see also Biblical canon. Judaism survived the destruction of Jerusalem through this new center. The Sanhedrin became the supreme religious, political and judicial body for Jews worldwide until 425, when it was forcibly disbanded by the Roman government, by then officially dominated by the Christian Church.

In 132 the Bar Kokhba's Revolt began led by Simon bar Kokhba and an independent state in Israel was declared. By 135 this revolt was crushed by Rome. The Romans, seeking to suppress the names "Judaea" and "Jerusalem", reorganized it as part of the province of Syria-Palestine. In order to worsen the humiliation of the defeated Jews, the Latin name Palaestina was chosen for the area, after the Philistines, whom the Romans identified as the worst enemies of the Jews in history. From then on the region was known as Palestine.

References

*Ancient Judaism, Max Weber, Free Press, 1967, ISBN 0-02-934130-2
*David M. Rohl, Pharaohs and Kings, ISBN 0-609-80230-9
*http://jewishencyclopedia.com/index.jsp Jewish Encyclopedia

External links

*http://www.dinur.org/resources/resourceCategoryDisplay.aspx?categoryID=411&rsid=478 Biblical History The Jewish History Resource Center - Project of the Dinur Center for Research in Jewish History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
*http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08344a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Jerusalem (Before A.D. 71)

Category:Ancient Israel and Judah
Category:History of the Middle East
Category:Old Testament topics

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