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| List of Charts, Photographs, Maps, and Texts | |
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| Preface | |
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| Abbreviations | |
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| The Setting | |
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| The Chronological Context | |
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| The Israelites and Judeans as "Latecomers" | |
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| Their Origins Shrouded in a Dark Age | |
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| Israel and Judah among the Peoples and Empires of the Iron Age | |
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| The Impact of Alexander's Conquest | |
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| The Geographical Context | |
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| The Fertile Crescent | |
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| The Eastern Mediterranean Seaboard | |
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| Palestine | |
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| Everyday Life in Ancient Palestine | |
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| Epigraphy and Archaeology | |
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| Epigraphical Evidence | |
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| Late Bronze and Early Iron Age Palestine as Known from Egyptian Sources | |
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| Early Iron Age Palestine's Heterogeneous Population | |
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| Texts That Relate Specifically to Israel | |
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| Archaeological Evidence | |
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| Late Bronze Age Palestine (ca. 1550-1200 B.C.E.) | |
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| The Early Iron Age | |
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| Questionable Correlations between Archaeology and the Bible | |
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| Early Israel and the Early Iron Age Highland Settlements | |
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| The Biblical Evidence | |
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| Summary of the Genesis-Judges Narrative | |
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| Difficulties with Using the Genesis-Judges Narrative for Historical Research | |
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| Ancient Notions about the Past | |
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| General Improbabilities | |
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| Internal Contradictions | |
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| Composite Character of the Genesis-2 Kings History | |
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| Folk Materials Embedded in the Hebrew Bible | |
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| Folk Materials and Historical Evidence | |
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| Contemporary Approaches to the History of Ancient Israel | |
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| Our Approach | |
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| Earliest Israel | |
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| Families, Clans, and Tribes | |
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| Tribal Alignments and Territories | |
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| Ephraim and Satellite Tribes | |
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| Other Tribes Occasionally Involved in Ephraimite Affairs | |
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| Judah | |
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| Other Southern Tribal Groups | |
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| Leadership among the Clans and Tribes | |
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| Religion and Cult | |
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| El, Baal, and Yahweh | |
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| Priestly Lines and Houses | |
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| Shechem and Shiloh | |
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| Defining Early Israel | |
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| Eli, Samuel, and Saul | |
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| Eli, Samuel, and Saul according to 1 Samuel | |
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| Summary of 1 Samuel 1-15 | |
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| General Characteristics of the 1 Samuel Account | |
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| Separating the Traditions in 1 Samuel | |
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| Problem Areas for the Historian | |
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| Shiloh and the Elides | |
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| The "Historical" Samuel | |
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| Saul, an Early Israelite Chieftain | |
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| Saul's Rise to Power | |
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| The Territorial Extent of Saul's Chiefdom | |
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| Administrative Affairs | |
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| Saul and Yahwism | |
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| Opposition to Saul | |
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| Saul's Last Battle | |
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| Abner and Ish-bosheth | |
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| David | |
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| David as Presented in the Biblical Materials | |
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| Summary of 1 Samuel 16-1 Kings 2 | |
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| Observations Regarding the Genesis-2 Kings Account of David's Reign | |
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| The Chronicler's Presentation of David's Reign | |
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| David and the Psalms | |
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| The Biblical David and the Historical David | |
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| David in Saul's Court | |
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| David the Renegade | |
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| Escape from Saul's Court | |
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| David in Adullam and Vicinity | |
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| Roaming the Wilderness of Ziph | |
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| David with the Philistines | |
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| David Rules from Hebron | |
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| David, King of Jerusalem | |
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| Dealing with Opposition | |
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| The Execution of Saul's Descendants | |
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| Absalom's Rebellion | |
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| Sheba's Revolt | |
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| David's Administration | |
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| The "High Officials" | |
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| The Zadokites and the Priests of Nob | |
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| The Levites | |
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| The Extent of David's Rule and His Frontier Wars | |
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| Determining the Extent of David's Direct Rule | |
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| David's Frontier Wars | |
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| Solomon | |
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| Solomon in the Biblical Materials | |
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| The Genesis-2 Kings Presentation of Solomon's Reign | |
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| Summary of 1 Kings 1-11 | |
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| Composition and Structure of 1 Kings 1-11 | |
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| The Chronicler's Presentation of Solomon | |
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| Solomon and the "Wisdom" Books | |
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| The Biblical Solomon and Historical Reconstruction | |
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| Solomon and Archaeology | |
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| Possible Glimpses of the Historical Solomon | |
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| Solomon's Accession to the Throne | |
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| The Extent of Solomon's Kingdom and International Relations | |
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| Solomon and International Commerce | |
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| Solomon's Administration | |
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| Solomon the Builder | |
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| Solomon and the Cult | |
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| Internal Conflict | |
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| Separate Kingdoms | |
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| The International Scene during the Mid-Centuries of the Iron Age | |
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| Peoples of the Iron Age | |
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| The Neo-Assyrian Empire | |
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| The Neo-Babylonian Empire | |
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| Sources of Information about the Two Kingdoms | |
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| The Hebrew Bible | |
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| Epigraphical Evidence | |
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| The Archaeology of Iron II Palestine | |
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| Matters of Interpretation | |
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| Origins of the Separate Kingdoms | |
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| Establishing Dates for the Kings of Israel and Judah | |
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| Four Decades of Hostilities | |
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| Sources for the Period | |
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| The Biblical Materials | |
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| Sheshonq's Inscription | |
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| The Shechem Assembly and Its Aftermath | |
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| The Constituency of the Shechem Assembly | |
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| Rehoboam's Rejection | |
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| The Role of the Tribe of Benjamin | |
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| Jeroboam at Shechem | |
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| Differences between the Kingdoms | |
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| Territorial Size and Strength | |
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| Instability of the Northern Kingdom | |
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| Absence of a Sustaining Royal Theology | |
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| The Role of Prophets in Northern Politics | |
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| Rehoboam, Abijam, and Asa of Judah | |
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| Jeroboam, Nadab, Baasha, and Elah of Israel | |
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| Shishak's Invasion | |
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| Conflicts between the Kingdoms | |
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| The Omride Era | |
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| Sources for the Period and Their Problems | |
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| The Omride Era as Presented in 1-2 Kings | |
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| The Omride Era according to the Chronicler | |
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| Royal Inscriptions of Moab, Assyria, and Syria | |
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| Archaeological Evidence | |
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| Conflicts in the Sources | |
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| Chronological Issues | |
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| Israel at Its Zenith under Omri and Ahab | |
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| Omri's Rise to Power | |
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| A New Capital at Samaria | |
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| Omri and Ahab in International Affairs | |
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| Omri and Ahab as Builders | |
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| Yahwism and Baalism under the Omrides | |
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| Ahab's Death and the Beginning of Decline under Ahaziah | |
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| Jehoshaphat of Judah | |
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| Jehoshaphat in the Shadow of Ahab | |
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| Jehoshaphat's Maritime Venture | |
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| The Two Jehorams (?) | |
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| The End of the Omrides in Israel | |
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| The Century of the Jehu Dynasty | |
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| Sources of Information | |
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| The Biblical Materials | |
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| Royal Assyrian and Syrian Records | |
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| Archaeology | |
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| Chronological Matters | |
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| Under Syrian Oppression and Recovery | |
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| Jehu, Jehoahaz, and Joash of Israel | |
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| Athaliah, Joash, and Amaziah of Judah | |
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| National Restoration under Jeroboam II and Uzziah | |
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| Israel under Jeroboam | |
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| Judah under Uzziah and Jotham | |
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| Social and Religious Conditions | |
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| The Era of Assyrian Domination: The End of the Kingdom of Israel | |
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| Sources for the Period | |
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| Syria-Palestine and the Assyrian Empire | |
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| The Assyrian Conquest of the Eastern Mediterranean Seaboard | |
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| Assyrian Administrative Policies | |
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| Chronological Issues | |
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| Rezin's "Greater Syria" | |
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| The Last Years of Israel | |
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| Shallum and Menahem | |
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| Pekahiah | |
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| Pekah | |
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| The Syro-Ephraimite Attack on Jerusalem | |
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| Tiglath-pileser III's 734-731 Campaign | |
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| Hoshea and the Fall of Samaria | |
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| The Assyrian Province of Samerina | |
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| Deportation and Resettlement | |
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| Of Lions and Priests | |
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| The Era of Assyrian Domination: Judean History from Ahaz to Amon | |
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| Ahaz (Jehoahaz I) | |
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| Ahaz as Depicted in the Biblical Sources | |
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| Ahaz and the Syro-Ephraimite Crisis | |
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| Ahaz's Religious Practices | |
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| Hezekiah | |
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| Hezekiah as Depicted in the Biblical Sources | |
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| Chronological Difficulties | |
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| Sargon and Hezekiah | |
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| Hezekiah's Revolt and Sennacherib's Invasion | |
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| Manasseh | |
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| Pax Assyriaca | |
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| Assyrian-Egyptian Rapprochement | |
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| Manasseh and Assyria | |
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| Manasseh in Babylon? | |
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| Amon | |
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| The Last Years of the Davidic Kingdom | |
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| Sources for the Period | |
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| The Accounts in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles | |
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| The Prophetical Books | |
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| The Babylonian Chronicles | |
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| Hebrew Ostraca | |
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| Chronological Problems | |
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| The Collapse of Assyria and the Rise of Babylonia | |
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| Cimmerians, Scythians, and Medes | |
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| Egypt and Syria-Palestine | |
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| The Rise of Babylon | |
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| The Last Days of Assyria | |
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| Judah and International Affairs | |
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| Judah as an Egyptian Vassal | |
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| Judah and the Barbarian Movements | |
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| The Reign of Josiah | |
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| Literary and Chronological Matters | |
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| The Book of the Law | |
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| Josiah's Reform | |
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| The Death of Josiah | |
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| Jehoahaz II | |
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| Jehoiakim | |
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| King Jehoiakim and the Prophet Jeremiah | |
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| Judah as a Babylonian Vassal | |
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| Jehoiachin | |
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| Zedekiah | |
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| Judah under Babylonian Hegemony | |
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| The Judean Rebellion and the Fall of Jerusalem | |
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| The Period of Babylonian Domination | |
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| Sources for the Period | |
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| Judah after the Fall of Jerusalem | |
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| General Destruction in the Land | |
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| Judean Exiles | |
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| Verification of Prophetic Proclamation | |
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| The Rule of Gedaliah | |
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| An Attempt at Davidic Restoration | |
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| Continuation of Cultic Life | |
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| The Era of Babylonian Dominance | |
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| The Diaspora | |
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| The Biblical Source Material | |
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| Nonbiblical Sources | |
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| The Exiles in Babylonia | |
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| The Egyptian Diaspora | |
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| The Era of the Persian Empire | |
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| Sources for the Period | |
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| The Rise of Cyrus and the Persians | |
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| Cyrus as Liberator and Propagandist | |
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| Persian Policy toward the Judean Exiles | |
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| The Political Situation in Judah | |
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| The Extent of the Return | |
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| The Reconstruction of the Jerusalem Temple | |
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| Cambyses | |
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| Darius I | |
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| The Completion of Temple Reconstruction | |
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| Judah as a Persian Province after Darius I | |
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| Persia and the West from Darius I to Artaxerxes III | |
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| The Activity of Ezra and Nehemiah | |
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| The Chronological Problem | |
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| The Work of Nehemiah | |
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| Ezra's Attempted Reform | |
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| Later Developments in the Period | |
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| Scripture Index | |
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| Name Index | |