Social World of Ancient Israel: 1250-587 BCE

by Don C. Benjamin, Don C. Benjamin

Getting a fix on the social context of the Hebrew Bible is imperative for anyone reconstructing either the "story" of the text or the "history" behind the text. Resources in this area often prove overspecialized and arcane, and can require highly sophisticated skills in cultural anthropology or Semitic languages just to read the table of contents. Social World of Ancient Israel, 1250-587 BCE offers those interested in learning about the biblical world a more user-friendly framework for viewing the broader picture; at the same time it relies upon the latest methodologies of cultural anthropology and biblical analysis in its presentation. Painting a picture in broad but precise strokes, the authors portray the landscape of ancient Israel in new and exciting colors that expert and student alike will appreciate.

Social World of Ancient Israel takes a unique look at the most prominent social institutions of the world of early Israel and the period of the monarchy, and then shows how properly understanding these social institutions is essential for sound biblical interpretation. Immersing the reader into five major areas of daily life in antiquity--politics, economics, diplomacy, law, and education--Matthews and Benjamin explore the ways in which knowing how "players" function in these institutions, such as "father/mother," "prophet/wise one," "host/stranger," can shape our understanding of earliest Israel. Perhaps most significantly, the book gently exposes the inefficiency of past anthropological models for interpreting the relationships, attitudes and social conventions of earliest Israel. Its corrective insights will enable scholar and student alike to plot new approaches for studying the Hebrew Bible and the ancient people of Israel.

Genres: History, Old Testament, Biblical Studies, Nonfiction, Ancient History

327 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1993

Reviews

[Shareen Ghabrial · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tidy and easy to follow.

[Josh Proctor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is certainly one that everyone should read in order to get a deeper understanding of the society of ancient Israel as well as the biblical text itself. It is excellent how the authors do not simply discuss the institutions but then show how understanding them can give us a deeper picture of the text and the world behind it. It does well at explaining the many different facets showing both the similarities and the grand differences between our worlds.
The main two problems with their research is the emphasis placed upon cultural comparison and taking the Torah law as describing the culture of ancient Israel. We have to be careful in understanding that while cultures can be similar especially when close geographically, they are still distinct cultures. At times some comparisons can be made but it cannot always be established that if something is normal in one society then it was normal in another. The authors take this to the extreme when they used Native American culture in the discussion of the prophets. There is no connection between these two cultures and therefore no reason it should be used.
When dealing with the Torah laws, there are multiple times when they are used to describe the institutions within the culture. This occurs a lot in the discussion over the institution of slavery. We must be careful in how we deal with the Torah laws as we are not sure what time and to what degree they were followed. For instances, we only hear of the Passover being observed later on in the kingdom of Judah. The year of Jubilees is never observed from what we can see. How then can we be so sure that the other laws were followed? It is possible the Torah laws were more of an ideal than an observation of the functioning society.
Yet overall this book does very well at explaining the many facets of the ancient Israelite society helping us to realize we are dealing with a text of a completely different culture with a completely different way of thinking.

[Katharine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received The Social World of Ancient Israel: 1250-587 BC as a gift to help with doing research for a biblical fiction novel. The book explores the social world of ancient Israel by breaking down and exploring roles that existed in those communities that do not exist (in the same way) in our/my context and culture. I found the format useful for my purposes and level of academic experience.

The book helped me to understand the characters of my developing novel more completely. The information presented felt clear and accessible. I appreciate that the format allowed considering the social world of this culture from different perspectives of gender, age and social position. It was a bit dry and I didn't learn anything new or groundbreaking, but nonetheless I could be a useful book for the right readers. I might recommend this book for study in a church or community where people misappropriate ancient teachings because they have trouble conceptualizing that the context in which scriptures were written is very different than our culture today.

[Roar · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like this one! I never understood when they were describing ancient Israelite culture and when they were just making assumptions based on some kind of anthropological typology. I am nut sure that I ever completely finished it.

[Vanessa Siemens · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting points but many of the points seem to have been drawn out of thin air- would have appreciated more background to support the facts of what was being presented and how this knowledge was discovered.

[Tammy Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book if you want a better understanding of life in early Israel. It gave me great insight for studying the Old Testament.

[Jonathan Harmon]

Very scholarly & informative but also very dry. It basically takes a chapter to explain each role (father, mother, prophet, king, lawgiver, storyteller, etc) in Ancient Israel.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great background information about ancient Israel and its social infrastructure and how it was informed by religious and cultural constructs.

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent study of the social and political worlds of the time and place. It also demonstrates the foolishness of reading Old Testament narratives out of context.