Placing Ancient Israel in Its Ancient Near Eastern Context

The focus of this chapter is on the methods employed in examining the history writing (historiography) of the biblical writers and editors, and of the task associated with writing a history of ancient Israel. In every instance an effort is made to place ancient Israel into its social, political, and economic context as part of the world of the ancient Near East. Also included is the current library of extrabiblical sources available to scholars that throw light on the history of ancient Israel. Attention is then given to the role of historical geography as it relates to a study of the history of the countries of the Levant, as well as an introduction to the values and limitations of archaeology.