Home History 11. Canaanite Jerusalem and its Central Hill Country Neighbors in the Second Millennium BCE
Chapter
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

11. Canaanite Jerusalem and its Central Hill Country Neighbors in the Second Millennium BCE

View more publications by Penn State University Press
To Publisher Page
Canaan in the Second Millennium B.C.E.
This chapter is in the book Canaan in the Second Millennium B.C.E.
172Canaan in the Second Millennium BCE173Canaanite Jerusalem and its Central Hill Country Neighbors in the Second Millennium BCE1IntroductionThe boundaries of the kingdom of Jerusalem and its northern and south-ern neighbors in the second millennium BCE have been discussed by only a few scholars. This is hardly surprising, as detailed territorial discussions are dependent on written sources as well as reliable archaeological data. However, for the history of the hill country of Judah and Benjamin in the sec-ond millennium BCE, there is only one source — the Amarna archive — that covers about a quarter of a century and is too incomplete for the delinea-tion of a border system. Detailed archaeological data of the distribution of settlements in the highlands of Judah was first published in the early 1970s (Kochavi 1972), and much more data on the territory of Benjamin, the area of Jerusalem, and the Judean hill country have recently been published in preliminary reports and summary discussions (e.g., Mazar 1990; Ofer 1990; see Finkelstein and Magen 1993). The new data, which were not available to scholars in the past, can now be evaluated to obtain a better picture of the border system of the central hill country in the second millennium BCE.Alt (1925:5–6, 12–13; 1953:107–108) suggested that Late Bronze Jerusalem was a small hill-country kingdom, about the same size as many other Shephelah and northern plain kingdoms. He reached this conclusion by an analysis of the Amarna letters and, to a certain extent, of later developments in the area in the pre-monarchial and monarchial periods. Kallai and Tadmor (1969:143–145), on the other hand, suggested that the boundaries of Jerusalem encompassed the entire Judean hills and that the ruler of Jerusalem was one of the important Canaanite kings of the Amarna period. They compared the sta-tus of Jerusalem’s ruler to that of the rulers of Shechem who dominated an ex-tensive territory and who extended their political influence on remote territo-ries. Their conclusions are founded on an analysis of the Amarna letters and on the biblical description of the king of Jerusalem as head of the Canaanite league that fought Joshua near Gibeon (Josh. 10). I have suggested that Alt’s analysis 1. Reprinted with permission. Ugarit-Forschungen 24 (1992), 257–291.
© 2021 Penn State University Press

172Canaan in the Second Millennium BCE173Canaanite Jerusalem and its Central Hill Country Neighbors in the Second Millennium BCE1IntroductionThe boundaries of the kingdom of Jerusalem and its northern and south-ern neighbors in the second millennium BCE have been discussed by only a few scholars. This is hardly surprising, as detailed territorial discussions are dependent on written sources as well as reliable archaeological data. However, for the history of the hill country of Judah and Benjamin in the sec-ond millennium BCE, there is only one source — the Amarna archive — that covers about a quarter of a century and is too incomplete for the delinea-tion of a border system. Detailed archaeological data of the distribution of settlements in the highlands of Judah was first published in the early 1970s (Kochavi 1972), and much more data on the territory of Benjamin, the area of Jerusalem, and the Judean hill country have recently been published in preliminary reports and summary discussions (e.g., Mazar 1990; Ofer 1990; see Finkelstein and Magen 1993). The new data, which were not available to scholars in the past, can now be evaluated to obtain a better picture of the border system of the central hill country in the second millennium BCE.Alt (1925:5–6, 12–13; 1953:107–108) suggested that Late Bronze Jerusalem was a small hill-country kingdom, about the same size as many other Shephelah and northern plain kingdoms. He reached this conclusion by an analysis of the Amarna letters and, to a certain extent, of later developments in the area in the pre-monarchial and monarchial periods. Kallai and Tadmor (1969:143–145), on the other hand, suggested that the boundaries of Jerusalem encompassed the entire Judean hills and that the ruler of Jerusalem was one of the important Canaanite kings of the Amarna period. They compared the sta-tus of Jerusalem’s ruler to that of the rulers of Shechem who dominated an ex-tensive territory and who extended their political influence on remote territo-ries. Their conclusions are founded on an analysis of the Amarna letters and on the biblical description of the king of Jerusalem as head of the Canaanite league that fought Joshua near Gibeon (Josh. 10). I have suggested that Alt’s analysis 1. Reprinted with permission. Ugarit-Forschungen 24 (1992), 257–291.
© 2021 Penn State University Press

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. Preface ix
  4. Acknowledgments xi
  5. List of Abbreviations xiii
  6. 1. The Hurrians and the End of the Middle Bronze Age in Palestine 1
  7. 2. The Egyptian-Canaanite Correspondence 25
  8. 3. Ammishtamru’s Letter to Akhenaten (EA 45) and Hittite Chronology 40
  9. 4. Looking for the Pharaoh’s Judgment 50
  10. 5. The Origin and the Historical Background of Several Amarna Letters 65
  11. 6. Biryawaza of Damascus and the Date of the Kāmid el-Lōz ‘Apiru Letters 82
  12. 7. Praises to the Pharaoh in Response to His Plans for Campaign to Canaan 99
  13. 8. The Canaanites and Their Land 110
  14. 9. Four Notes on the Size of Late Bronze Canaan 134
  15. 10. The Network of Canaanite Late Bronze Kingdoms and the City of Ashdod 145
  16. 11. Canaanite Jerusalem and its Central Hill Country Neighbors in the Second Millennium BCE 173
  17. 12. Yeno‘am 195
  18. 13. Rubutu/Aruboth 204
  19. 14. Economic Aspects of the Egyptian Occupation of Canaan 216
  20. 15. Pharaonic Lands in the Jezreel Valley in the Late Bronze Age 232
  21. 16. On Gods and Scribal Traditions in the Amarna Letters 242
  22. 17. Ḫabiru and Hebrews: The Transfer of a Social Term to the Literary Sphere 252
  23. 18. The Town of Ibirta and the Relations of the ‘Apiru and the Shasu 275
  24. 19. Amarna ālāni pu-ru-zi (EA 137) and Biblical ‘ry hprzy/hprzwt (“Rural Settlements”) 280
  25. 20. The Ishtar Temple at Alalakh 285
  26. 21. A Royal Scribe and His Scribal Products in the Alalakh IV Court 293
  27. 22. Literary and Topographical Notes on the Battle of Kishon (Judges 4–5) 303
  28. 23. The “Conquest of Canaan” in the Book of Joshua and in History 317
  29. Index of Ancient Personal Names 393
  30. Index of Places 398
  31. Index of Biblical References 407
Readers are also interested in:
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781575065687-014

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. Preface ix
  4. Acknowledgments xi
  5. List of Abbreviations xiii
  6. 1. The Hurrians and the End of the Middle Bronze Age in Palestine 1
  7. 2. The Egyptian-Canaanite Correspondence 25
  8. 3. Ammishtamru’s Letter to Akhenaten (EA 45) and Hittite Chronology 40
  9. 4. Looking for the Pharaoh’s Judgment 50
  10. 5. The Origin and the Historical Background of Several Amarna Letters 65
  11. 6. Biryawaza of Damascus and the Date of the Kāmid el-Lōz ‘Apiru Letters 82
  12. 7. Praises to the Pharaoh in Response to His Plans for Campaign to Canaan 99
  13. 8. The Canaanites and Their Land 110
  14. 9. Four Notes on the Size of Late Bronze Canaan 134
  15. 10. The Network of Canaanite Late Bronze Kingdoms and the City of Ashdod 145
  16. 11. Canaanite Jerusalem and its Central Hill Country Neighbors in the Second Millennium BCE 173
  17. 12. Yeno‘am 195
  18. 13. Rubutu/Aruboth 204
  19. 14. Economic Aspects of the Egyptian Occupation of Canaan 216
  20. 15. Pharaonic Lands in the Jezreel Valley in the Late Bronze Age 232
  21. 16. On Gods and Scribal Traditions in the Amarna Letters 242
  22. 17. Ḫabiru and Hebrews: The Transfer of a Social Term to the Literary Sphere 252
  23. 18. The Town of Ibirta and the Relations of the ‘Apiru and the Shasu 275
  24. 19. Amarna ālāni pu-ru-zi (EA 137) and Biblical ‘ry hprzy/hprzwt (“Rural Settlements”) 280
  25. 20. The Ishtar Temple at Alalakh 285
  26. 21. A Royal Scribe and His Scribal Products in the Alalakh IV Court 293
  27. 22. Literary and Topographical Notes on the Battle of Kishon (Judges 4–5) 303
  28. 23. The “Conquest of Canaan” in the Book of Joshua and in History 317
  29. Index of Ancient Personal Names 393
  30. Index of Places 398
  31. Index of Biblical References 407
Sign up now to receive a 20% welcome discount
Institutional Access
How does access work?
Have an idea on how to improve our website?
Please write us.
© 2025 De Gruyter Brill
Downloaded on 8.10.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781575065687-014/html?licenseType=restricted&srsltid=AfmBOoo5BSRGNluto9aIMNcCRemShxJ95y--SMRhc0MA9FPZOvkA-Bq0
Scroll to top button