: F.F. Bruce
: Israel& the Nations The History of Israel from the Exodus to the Fall of the Second Temple
: Kingsley Books
: 9781912149391
: 1
: CHF 10.50
:
: Christentum
: English
: 272
: DRM
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB
In recounting Israel's story from the Exodus to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, F.F. Bruce reveals the historical context of the nation of Israel in a way that reads more like a novel than an academic text. In doing so, he makes the Bible come alive. For instance, the book gives a context to Psalm 137 in which Edom rejoices over Jerusalem's fall to Babylon, and it gives context to John 4 where a woman says, 'Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.' The Old Testament is the story of Israel, God's chosen people. At the time the Bible was written, the story's context -- Israel's relation with Egypt, with the nations of Canaan, and with Babylon and Assyria, for instance -- was familiar to its readers. However, today's readers, who sometimes find the political context of the Old Testament and the events of the intertestamental period to be obscure, will gain fresh understanding through Israel and the Nations. 'An excellent sketch of the history of Israel, written with a splendid clarity,' said biblical scholar John Bright. Illustrated; includes genealogical and chronological tables.

Chapter Two

The Philistines and the Hebrew Monarchy

(c. 1100-1010bc)

THE PHILISTINES

The situation which did at last lead to the establishment of a hereditary monarchy in Israel was brought about by invaders from another region—not from the east but the west. The downfall of the Mycenaean and Hittite empires towards the end of the thirteenth centurybc uprooted many of the populations of the Aegean lands and sent them sailing over the eastern Mediterranean in search of new homes. One such group was called the Philistines, from the southwest of Asia Minor. Some of the Philistines settled in Crete; others attempted to land on the Egyptian coast, and when they were driven away, sailed east and landed on the Mediterranean coastland of Canaan. Here they were able to settle. They organized themselves in the five city-states of Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gath and Gaza— former Canaanite cities. Each of these five city-states was under the control of a ruler whom they called in their own language aseren (a word related to the Greektyrannos, cf. English “tyrant”). The Philistines intermarried with the Canaanite women of the area and quickly adopted the Canaanite language and religion. They were capable military organizers, and when once they had established themselves in their five city states, they began to extend their control over the rest of Canaan. They soon came into contact with the Israelites, and militarily the Israelites were no match for them. Although the Israelites had entered Canaan sometime after the beginning of the Iron Age, they were slow in making use of iron. Sisera12 had had nine hundred chariots with iron fittings, but the Israelite tribesmen who defeated him had never developed similar equipment. There would have been technical and organizational problems; and besides, a chariot force required the use of horses. Horses, as we shall see,13 were scarcely used in Israel until the reign of Solomon.

The Philistines, however, had mastered the art of iron working, and when they began to assert their power over the Israelites they made sure that they kept control of all iron working in their own hands. When the Israelites began to use iron agricultural tools, the Philistines insisted that they must come to Philistine smiths to have them sharpened. They realized that if they permitted Israelite blacksmiths, these workmen might not only make and sharpen agricultural tools, but also weapons of war, to be used in rebellion against their overlords. The Philistines were able to extend their power steadily along all the roads and lines of communication in the land, as far as the eastern end of the Plain of Jezreel. Although they made the Israelites pay them tribute, their domination was not really oppressive. They certainly did not threaten the very existence of the people as the Midianite raiders had done in Gideon's day. Indeed, some of the Israelites were quite content to live peacefully under Philistine domination, as the story of Samson makes plain, and they objected to Samson's attacks on the Philistines, which resulted in Philistine anger not only against him but against his fellow countrymen as well.