Biblical Israel: State and People.

• Author: Miller, J. Maxwell

The late Benjamin Mazar was a major figure in the study of the history and archaeology of biblical times for almost a half century. His approach was interdisciplinary, and he presented many of his best ideas in short papers scattered among a variety of professional journals and Festschriften. Fifteen of these papers were republished in 1986, on the occasion of his eightieth birthday, under the title The Early Biblical Period: Historical Studies, ed. Shmuel Ahituv and Baruch A. Levine (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society). On the occasion of his eighty-fifth birthday, this companion volume appeared, with fourteen more of Mazar's papers.

The fourteen papers span more than forty years, from 1946 to 1989, although most of them appeared originally during the 1960s and 1970s. Six have been available only in Hebrew. The remaining eight were available, with two exceptions, in publications which are generally accessible. One of these exceptions, "The Eastern Mediterranean in 1500-1000 B.C.E.," is a very brief overview statement (four and a half pages). The other, "David's Reign in Hebron and the Conquest of Jerusalem," is a more substantial study that first appeared in a 1963 Festschrifi for A. H. Silver. Mazar argues that David conquered Jerusalem already during the first year of his rule at Hebron, even though he did not transfer his capital there until seven years later.

Most of the papers have the character of detailed encyclopedia articles - i.e., each focuses on a topic which it treats comprehensively and with maximum use of biblical, epigraphical, and archaeological evidence. Two papers focus on ancient Israel's neighbors...