Four Hypotheses for the Emergence of Israelite Society

four_hypotheses
https://people.creighton.edu/~ngr39382/four_hypotheses.htm
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7/26/2005
4. Does not depend upon exclusive, external “Israelite” explanations.
C. Challenges
1. Unsupported by the archaeological record
a) evidence for destruction levels at various city-states is not
consistent.
a) no evidence for a sizable rural component in the LB period.
b) no evidence of a direct shift from lowlands to highlands LB/IA
2. Relies too heavily on the classical Marxist model of socioeconomic
change.
IV. RURALIZATION HYPOTHESIS
A. Leading Proponents: Lawrence Stager; now widely accepted.
B. Major features
1. Affirms that increased ruralization occurred largely as a result of the
Late Bronze Age decline of city-state systems, as peasant farmers
and pastoralists moved further away from the cities and settled in
rural highlands.
2. Does not depend upon exclusive, external “Israelite” explanations.
C. Archaeological Evidence
1. Nine areas were surveyed along both sides of the Jordan River.
Findings:
a) LB = 88 sites covering 500 acres = 50,000 people (100
persons / acre)
b) IA I = 678 sites covering 1,500 acres = 150,000 people (100
persons / acre)
2. Thus 93% of IA I sites were established as new foundations.
3. Such massive population growth (300%) can only be attributed to a
major influx of people into the highlands during the 12th--11th C
BCE, including both peasant farmers and pastoralists, and
perhaps some former urban dwellers as well.
D. Conclusion: The evidence appears to indicate that ancient Israel
emerged as a rural, kin-based tribal society engaged in both
agriculture and animal herding (primarily sheep and goats), bearing no
discernible cultural distinction from neighboring social groups. As
Stager writes, “The evidence from language, costume, coiffure, and
material remains suggest that the early Israelites were a rural subset of
Canaanite culture and largely indistinguishable from Transjordanian
rural cultures as well.”