History of the Israelite Monarchy
Different Standards of History
Ancient understanding of history: stories about the past
- Stories have meaning in many ways, least of all reporting facts as anyone present would have seen them
- Salvation history is the idea that God acts in history and we can learn about God through the study of history
Modern understanding of history: verifiable reconstruction of events of the past
- Plausible
- Sources are not biased or can be corrected for bias
- Independent, external sources agree on basic facts even if perceived differently
- Objectivity, research
- A “cover-up” implies there is something to cover up (e.g. David)
Analogy
- Painting or art photography based on objects and events but with emphasis on interpretation in presentation (e.g, Hope, National Geographic Sharbat Gula)
- Polaroid picture as record/souvenir of event without much artistic flourish
Israelite History
- Creation through Joshua difficult to confirm or accept by the modern standard of history
- Starting with the period of loose confederation of tribal judges, the story much more conforms to modern expectations of history
Overview of the History of the Monarchy
- 1250-1000 “judges” are temporary leaders of a loose confederation of independent tribes
- 1000 David unites all twelve tribes with a capital in Jerusalem
- 950 Solomon
- 930 Split between north and south
- 722 Assyria destroys northern kingdom
- 597/587 Babylon destroys monarchy, Jerusalem temple
Sources for the History of the Monarchy
Deuteronomistic history
- Books: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings
- Based on stories and records of the royal court
- Adds a theological interpretation: bad historical events result from sin, good historical events result from repentance
Priestly history
- Books: Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah
- Based on the Deuteronomistic History
- Shifts emphasis from king and monarchy to priests and temple
External sources
- 1208 BCE, Egyptian monument claims victory over an ethnic group named Israel in the region
- 950 BCE, ruins of construction projects consistent with claims that Solomon built many buildings
- 830 BCE (roughly), monument claims to have killed king of the house of David
- 597 BCE, Babylonian records claim defeat of Jerusalem
Some psalms sing of events of the past