This article deals with the momentous events that took place in Judah in the short
period of time between 732 (and mainly 722) and 701 BCE. A torrent of refugees from
the North, mostly from the areas bordering on Judah, dramatically changed the
demographic structure in the Southern Kingdom. The population seems to have at least
doubled and included significant north Israelite communities. This situation
created, in fact, a pan-Israelite state. Hezekiah reacted to this challenge in two
ways, both aimed at strengthening the authority of the central government.
Countryside shrines were abolished and the cult was centralized in the Jerusalem
Temple, probably in an attempt to prevent the new immigrants from visiting the
Bethel temple in their old homeland. In the same short period of time, the story of
the early days of the Davidide dynasty was first put in writing, combining southern
and northern traditions in a single national narrative.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
1975bInvestigations at Lachish: The Sanctuary and Residency (Lachish V) (
Tel Aviv: Institute of Archaeology
).
2.
Avigad, N.1983Discovering Jerusalem (
Nashville: Thomas Nelson
).
3.
Avigad, N.
, and
B. Sass1997Corpus of West Semitic Stamp Seals (
Jerusalem: The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities
).
4.
Barkay, G.2000‘The Necropoli of Jerusalem in the First Temple
Period’, in
S. Ahituv
and
A. Mazar
(eds.), The History of Jerusalem: The Biblical Period (
Jerusalem: Yad Ben Zvi
): 233-270 (Hebrew).
5.
1999Tel ‘Ira: A Stronghold in the Biblical Negev (
Tel Aviv: Institute of Archaeology
).
6.
Brandl, B.
in press ‘Two Stamped Jar-Handles’, in
Finkelstein, Ussishkin and Halpern (in press).
7.
Braun, R.L.1977‘A Reconsideration of the Chronicler’s Attitude Toward
the North’
, JBL96:
59-62
.
8.
Broshi, M.1974‘The Expansion of Jerusalem in the Reigns of Hezekiah and Manasseh’
, IEJ24:
21-26
.
9.
Broshi, M.
, and
I. Finkelstein1992‘The Population of Palestine in Iron Age II’
, BASOR287:
47-60
.
10.
Bunimovitz, S.
, and
Z. Lederman2001‘The Iron Age Fortifications of Tel Beth Shemesh: A 1990-2000 Perspective’
, IEJ51:
121-147
.
11.
Cahill, J.M.2003‘Jerusalem at the Time of the United Monarchy: The Archaeological
Evidence’, in Vaughn and Killebrew 2003: 13-80.
12.
Cantrell, D.
, and
I. Finkelstein
in press ‘A Kingdom for a Horse: The Megiddo Stables and 8th
Century BCE Israel’, in Finkelstein, Ussishkin and Halpern (in press).
13.
Coogan, M.D.
,
J. Cheryl Exum
and
L.E. Stager
(eds.) 1994Scripture and Other Artifacts Essays on the Bible and Archaeology in Honor of
Philip J. King (
Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press
).
14.
2000 ‘The Settlement in the Judean Shephela in the Second and First
Millennia B.C.: A Test Case of Settlement Processes in a Geographical
Region’ (unpublished PhD thesis, Tel Aviv University [Hebrew]).
15.
Eitam, D.1987‘Olive Oil Production during the Biblical
Period’, in
M. Heltzer
and
D. Eitam
(eds.), Olive Oil in Antiquity: Israel and Neighbouring Countries from
Neolithic to Early Arab Period (
Haifa: University of Haifa
): 16-36.
16.
Eitan-Katz, H. 1994 ‘Specialized Economy of Judah in the 8th-7th
Centuries BCE’ (unpublished MA thesis, Tel Aviv University [Hebrew]).
17.
2002‘Chronology Rejoinders’
, PEQ134:
118-129
.
18.
Finkelstein, I.
,
Z. Lederman
and
S. Bunimovitz1997Highlands of Many Cultures: The Southern Samaria Survey, The Sites (
Tel Aviv: Institute of Archaeology
).
19.
Finkelstein, I.
, and
N. Na’aman2004‘The Judahite Shephelah in the Late 8th and Early 7th Centuries BCE’
, Tel Aviv31:
60-79
.
20.
Finkelstein, I.
,
D. Ussishkin
and
B. Halpern
(eds.) in press Megiddo IV: The 1998-2002 Seasons (
Tel Aviv: Institute of Archaeology
).
21.
Fried, L.2002‘The High Places (Bamôt) and the Reforms of Hezekiah
and Josiah: An Archaeological Investigation’
, JAOS122:
1-29
.
22.
Geva, H.2003‘Western Jerusalem at the End of the First Temple Period in Light of
the Excavations in the Jewish Quarter’, in Vaughn and Killebrew
2003: 183-208.
23.
2001David’s Secret Demons: Messiah, Murderer, Traitor, King (
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans
).
Haran, M.1978Temples and Temple-Service in Ancient Israel: An Inquiry into the Character of
Cult Phenomena and the Historical Setting of the PriestlySchool (
Oxford: Clarendon Press
).
26.
2002b‘The Fortress Mound at Tel Arad: An Interim Report’
, Tel Aviv29:
3-109
.
27.
Herzog, Z.
,
M. Aharoni
,
A.F. Rainey
and
S. Moshkovitz1984‘The Israelite Fortress of Arad’
, BASOR254:
1-34
.
28.
Herzog, Z.
,
A.F. Rainey
and
S. Moshkovitz1977‘Stratigraphy at Beersheba and the Location of the Sanctuary’
, BASOR225:
49-58
.
29.
Herzog, Z.
, and
L. Singer-Avitz2004‘Redefining the Center: The Emergence of the State in Judah’
, Tel Aviv31:
209-244
.
30.
Jamieson-Drake, D.W.1991Scribes and Schools in Monarchic Judah (JSOTSup, 109;
Sheffield: Almond Press
).
31.
1993I & II Chronicles: A Commentary (
Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press
).
32.
Katz, H. 2001 ‘Main Aspects in the Economy of Judah during the
9th-Beginning of the 6th Centuries BCE’ (unpublished PhD thesis, Bar Ilan
University [Hebrew]).
33.
Keys, G.1996The Wages of Sin: A Reappraisal of the ‘Succession
Narrative’ (JSOTSup, 221;
Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press
).
34.
Kletter, R.1998Economic Keystones: The Weight System of the Kingdom of Judah (JSOTSup,
276;
Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press
).
35.
2003‘Who Destroyed Beersheba II?’, in
U. Hübner
and
E.A. Knauf
(eds.), Kein Land für sich allein, Studien zum Kulturkontakt in
Kanaan, Israel/Palästina und Ebirnari für Manfred Weippert zum
65 (Orbis biblicus et orientalis, 186; (
Freiburg: Universitätsverlag
): 181-195.
36.
Lowery, R.H.1991The Reforming Kings: Cults and Society in First Temple Judah (JSOTSup,
120;
Sheffield: JSOT Press
).
37.
Maeir, A.M.2001‘The Philistine Culture in Transformation: A Current Perspective
Based on the Results of the First Seasons of Excavations at Tell
es-Safi/Gath’, in
A.M. Maeir
and
E. Baruch
(eds.), Settlement, Civilization and Culture: Proceedings of the
Conference in Memory of David Alon (
Ramat Gan: Bar Ilan University
): 111-129 (Hebrew).
Mazar, A.1997‘Iron Age Chronology: A Reply to I. Finkelstein’
, Levant29:
155-165
.
40.
Mazar, A.
, and
N. Panitz-Cohen2001Timnah (Tel Batash) II: The Finds from the First Millennium BCE (Qedem,
42;
Jerusalem: The Hebrew University
).
41.
Mazar, E.2006‘Did I Find King David's Palace?’
, BAR32.1:
16-27, 70
.
42.
McCarter, K.P.1980‘The Apology of David’
, JBL99:
489-504
.
43.
McKay, J.1973Religion in Judah under the Assyrians (
Naperville, IL: Allenson
).
44.
2002b‘In Search of Reality Behind the Account of David’s
Wars with Israel’s Neighbours’
, IEJ52:
200-224
.
45.
2000‘Assyrian Deportations to the Province of Samaria in the Light of
the Two Cuneiform Tablets from Tel Hadid’
, Tel Aviv27:
159-188
.
46.
Naveh, J.1982The Early History of the Alphabet (
Jerusalem: Magnes Press
).
47.
Nicholson, E.W.1967Deuteronomy and Tradition (
Oxford: Basil Blackwell
).
48.
Ofer, A.1994‘“All the Hill Country of Judah”: From a
Settlement Fringe to a Prosperous Monarchy’, in
I. Finkelstein
and
N. Na’aman
(eds.), From Nomadism to Monarchy: Archaeological and Historical Aspects
of Early Israel (
Jerusalem: Yad Ben-Zvi
): 92-121.
49.
Pury, A. de, and T. Römer 2000 Die Sogenannte
Thronfolgegeschichte Davids: neue Einsichten und Anfragen (Freiburg: Universitätsverlag).
50.
(published originally in German as ‘Der Anfang der
Geschichtsschreibung im alten Israel’, Archiv für
Kulturgeschichte 32 [1944]: 1-42).
51.
1997‘The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah: A Source Used by the
Chronicler’, in
M.P. Graham
(ed.), The Chronicler as Historian (JSOTSup, 238;
Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press
): 30-72.
52.
Reich, R.
, and
E. Shukron2003‘The Urban Development of Jerusalem in the Late Eight Century
B.C.E.’, in Vaughn and Killebrew 2003: 209-218.
53.
Renz, J. 1995 Die Althebräischen Inschriften. I. Text
und Kommentar (Darmstadt: Wissenschaflische Buchgesellschaft).
54.
(first published in German as Die Überlieferung von der
Thronachfolge Davids [Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer, 1926]).
55.
Rowley, H.H.1962‘Hezekiah’s Reform and Rebellion’
, BJRL44:
395-431
.
56.
Sass, B.1993‘The Pre-Exilic Hebrew Seals: Iconism vs.
Aniconism’, in
B. Sass
and
C. Uehlinger
(eds.), Studies in the Iconography of Northwest Semitic Inscribed
Seals (
Freiburg: Freiburg University Press
): 194-256.
57.
2004How the Bible Became a Book: The Textualization of Ancient Israel (
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
).
58.
Shiloh, Y.1984Excavations at the City of David (Qedem, 19;
Jerusalem: The Hebrew University
).
59.
2002‘Arad: The Iron Age Pottery Assemblages’
, Tel Aviv29:
110-214
.
60.
Steiner, M.1994‘Re-dating the Terraces of Jerusalem’
, IEJ44:
13-20
.
61.
2003‘The Evidence from Kenyon’s Excavations in Jerusalem: A
Response Essay’, in Vaughn and Killebrew 2003: 347-364.
62.
Swanson, K.A.2002‘A Reassessment of Hezekiah’s Reform in Light of Jar
Handles and Iconographic Evidence’
, CBQ64:
460-469
.
63.
Throntveit, M.A.2003‘The Relationship of Hezekiah to David and Solomon in the Books of
Chronicles’, in
M.P. Graham
,
S.L. McKenzie
and
G.N. Knoppers
(eds.), The Chronicler as Theologian: Essays in Honor of Ralph W.
Klein (JSOTSup, 371;
London: T&T Clark International
): 105-121.
64.
2003b‘The Level V “Sanctuary” and “High
Place” at Lachish’, in
C.G. den Hertog
,
U. Hübner
and
S. Münger
(eds.), Saxa Loquentur Studien zur Archäologie
Palästinas/Israels, Festschrift für Volkmar Fritz (
Münster: Ugarit-Verlag
): 205-211.
65.
Vaughn, A.G.1999Theology, History, and Archaeology in the Chronicler’s Account of
Hezekiah (
Atlanta: Scholars Press
).
66.
Vaughn, A.G.
, and
A.E. Killebrew
(eds.) 2003Jerusalem in Bible and Archaeology: The First Temple Period (
Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature
).
67.
Weinfeld, M.1964‘Cult Centralization in Israel in the Light of a Neo-Babylonian Analogy’
, JNES23:
202-212
.
68.
1991‘The Temple in the Books of Chronicles’, in
W. Horbury
(ed.), Templum amicitiae: Essays on the Second Temple Presented to Ernst
Bammel (JSNTSup, 48;
Sheffield: JSOT Press
): 15-31.
69.
2003‘The Province of Samaria (Assyrian Samerina) in the Late Iron Age
(Iron Age III)’, in
O. Lipschits
and
J. Blenkinsopp
(eds.), Judah and the Judeans in the Neo-Babylonian Period (
Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns
): 377-412.
70.
Zimhoni, O.1997Studies in the Iron Age Pottery of Israel: Typological, Archaeological and
Chronological Aspects (
Tel Aviv: Institute of Archaeology
).
