The Untold Story of the Kingdom of Judah

Oded Lipschits

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The Untold Story of the Kingdom of Judah

Language: English

Published/Copyright: 2026

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About this book

This book was written out of a great love for the biblical text and out of an even greater curiosity about the people who wrote it.

The different chapters of the book are an invitation to a journey following those who composed the historical descriptions in the Hebrew Bible, in an attempt to find out who they were, when they wrote and where. The main questions in the book are not what the historical description is and how much it indeed reflects what really happened, but what the authors of the Biblical historiography knew about the ancient past of Israel and Judah, what they chose to include in their descriptions and what story they chose not to tell. The untold story is an important key to understanding the purpose of biblical historiography, the target audience for which it was intended and the message it carried.

The main conclusion is that biblical historiography was not written to tell what history was, but to explain the present against the background of past events, and through this to teach a lesson about the right way to behave in the present, in order to ensure a good future.

This is how Biblical historiography should be read and understood.

Author / Editor information

Oded Lipschits, Tel Aviv University, Israel.

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Frontmatter
I

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Dedication
VI

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Contents
V

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Introduction
1

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A: Introductory Chapters to “The Untold Story of the Kingdom of Judah”
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A-1: Introduction
3

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A-2: History, Historiography, and the Biblical Text
13

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A-3: The Time and Purpose of the Book of Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomistic Ideology
19

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A-4: When was the Biblical Historiography Written? Which Sources did it Rely on? Which Ideas Guided its Writing?
27

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A-5: “Israel” in the Hebrew Bible and the “History of Israel”
37

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A-6: The Untold Story of the Conquest of the Land: Shaping the Character of Joshua, the Cultic Reform and the Deuteronomic Law of the Ban
53

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B: “In Sight, in Mind, but Far Away in Time”: The Untold Stories of Ancient Jerusalem
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B-1: What was Left Untold Because it was Self-Evident to the Authors and Readers of the Biblical Descriptions about Ancient Jerusalem
65

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B-2: The Untold Story of the History of Jerusalem Before its Conquest under David
77

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B-3: The Untold Story of David’s Conquest of Jerusalem
85

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B-4: The Untold Story of Shishak’s Campaign and Jerusalem’s Role in It
93

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B-5: The Untold Story of How to Make Renovations in the Temple and How Solomon’s Altar was Replaced with a New Aramaean Altar
101

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C: “Out of Sight, Out of Mind – and Far Away in Time”: The Untold Stories of the Lowlands (Shephelah) and its History
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C-1: The Untold Story of the Lowlands and the Tribe of Judah from the Beginning of Biblical History to the Days of Josiah
109

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C-2: The Untold Story of the Elah Valley Clan
119

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C-3: The Untold Story of Moreshet-Gath (or: Was the home of Micah the Moreshtite in Azekah?)
129

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C-4: The Untold Story of the Fate of the Shephelah in Sennacherib’s Campaign
137

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D: The Untold Stories of the Kingdom of Israel
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D-1: The Untold Story of How the Israelite “Book of Saviors” Became the Deuteronomistic “Book of Judges”
145

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D-2: The Untold Story about the War Near the Kishon Stream and the Antecedents and Outcomes of Deborah, Barak, and Jael’s Victory over Jabin, King of Canaan, and Sisera, his Army Commander
159

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D-3: The Untold Story in the Book of Samuel about Why Saul Went to War against Nahash the Ammonite and Consolidated his Kingdom
171

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D-4: The Story that was Told of the History of the Kings of Israel and Judah: An Introduction to the Book of Kings
183

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D-5: Lists of Kings and Memories of Murders, Rebellions and Changes of Dynasties: Information on the First Kings of Israel
193

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D-6: The Untold Story about the Greatness of the Kingdom of Israel in the days of Omri and Ahab
203

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D-7: What was Told and What was Left Untold about Jehu’s Rebellion, the Elimination of the Omrides and the Ascension of the Nimshides
215

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D-8: The Untold Story of the Historical Reality Reflected in Elisha’s Cycle of Stories, Or: Why were these Stories (Mis)inserted into the Description of the Reign of King Joram, the Son of Ahaziah?
225

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D-9: The Story about Joash, King of Israel, that Was (Partially) Told, but … Not Quite in the Right Place
233

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D-10: The Untold Story of the Last Glorious Days of the Kingdom of Israel under Jeroboam II
241

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D-11: The Untold Story of the Last Days of the Kingdom of Israel
249

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E: The Untold Story about the Kingdom of Judah in the Days of the Biblical Historiographers
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E-1: The Untold Story of the Hundred Years of Assyrian Rule in Judah
263

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E-2: The Untold Story of Judah’s Enslavement to Assyria during the Reign of King Ahaz
271

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E-3: The Untold Story about the Magnificent Administrative Centers that were Established Near Jerusalem and the Changes that Took Place in the Administration of the Kingdom and its Economy in the Days of King Ahaz
279

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E-4: The Untold Story of the “Temple of Solomon” at Tel Moẓa
291

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E-5: The Untold Story of Sennacherib’s Campaign and the Fate of Jerusalem, “the City that God had Chosen”
305

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E-6: The Untold Story of King Manasseh
321

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E-7: The Untold Story of King Josiah
329

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E-8: The Untold Story of Jeremiah the Prophet and his Connection to Eli the Priest in Shiloh and Ahituv the Priest in the Days of David
337

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Concluding Thoughts
349

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Abstracts
353

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Abbreviations

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Bibliography

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Index

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Publishing information

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

eBook published on:

February 2, 2026

eBook ISBN:

9783112218655

Hardcover published on:

February 2, 2026

Hardcover ISBN:

9783119143639

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

Front matter:

10

Main content:

458

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783112218655

eBook ISBN: 9783112218655

Hardcover ISBN: 9783119143639

Keywords for this book

Biblical Historiography; Deuteronomistic History; History and Archaeology of Judah and Jerusalem

Audience(s) for this book

Researchers, Undergraduates, Postgraduates, Professionals and Practitioners, Teachers and Instructors

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Manufacturer information:: Walter de Gruyter GmbH
Genthiner Straße 13
10785 Berlin; productsafety@degruyterbrill.com

The Untold Story of the Kingdom of Judah

Overview

About this book

Author / Editor information

Topics

Table of contents

Frontmatter

Dedication

Contents

Introduction

A-1: Introduction

A-2: History, Historiography, and the Biblical Text

A-3: The Time and Purpose of the Book of Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomistic Ideology

A-4: When was the Biblical Historiography Written? Which Sources did it Rely on? Which Ideas Guided its Writing?

A-5: “Israel” in the Hebrew Bible and the “History of Israel”

A-6: The Untold Story of the Conquest of the Land: Shaping the Character of Joshua, the Cultic Reform and the Deuteronomic Law of the Ban

B-1: What was Left Untold Because it was Self-Evident to the Authors and Readers of the Biblical Descriptions about Ancient Jerusalem

B-2: The Untold Story of the History of Jerusalem Before its Conquest under David

B-3: The Untold Story of David’s Conquest of Jerusalem

B-4: The Untold Story of Shishak’s Campaign and Jerusalem’s Role in It

B-5: The Untold Story of How to Make Renovations in the Temple and How Solomon’s Altar was Replaced with a New Aramaean Altar

C-1: The Untold Story of the Lowlands and the Tribe of Judah from the Beginning of Biblical History to the Days of Josiah

C-2: The Untold Story of the Elah Valley Clan

C-3: The Untold Story of Moreshet-Gath (or: Was the home of Micah the Moreshtite in Azekah?)

C-4: The Untold Story of the Fate of the Shephelah in Sennacherib’s Campaign

D-1: The Untold Story of How the Israelite “Book of Saviors” Became the Deuteronomistic “Book of Judges”

D-2: The Untold Story about the War Near the Kishon Stream and the Antecedents and Outcomes of Deborah, Barak, and Jael’s Victory over Jabin, King of Canaan, and Sisera, his Army Commander

D-3: The Untold Story in the Book of Samuel about Why Saul Went to War against Nahash the Ammonite and Consolidated his Kingdom

D-4: The Story that was Told of the History of the Kings of Israel and Judah: An Introduction to the Book of Kings

D-5: Lists of Kings and Memories of Murders, Rebellions and Changes of Dynasties: Information on the First Kings of Israel

D-6: The Untold Story about the Greatness of the Kingdom of Israel in the days of Omri and Ahab

D-7: What was Told and What was Left Untold about Jehu’s Rebellion, the Elimination of the Omrides and the Ascension of the Nimshides

D-8: The Untold Story of the Historical Reality Reflected in Elisha’s Cycle of Stories, Or: Why were these Stories (Mis)inserted into the Description of the Reign of King Joram, the Son of Ahaziah?

D-9: The Story about Joash, King of Israel, that Was (Partially) Told, but … Not Quite in the Right Place

D-10: The Untold Story of the Last Glorious Days of the Kingdom of Israel under Jeroboam II

D-11: The Untold Story of the Last Days of the Kingdom of Israel

E-1: The Untold Story of the Hundred Years of Assyrian Rule in Judah

E-2: The Untold Story of Judah’s Enslavement to Assyria during the Reign of King Ahaz

E-3: The Untold Story about the Magnificent Administrative Centers that were Established Near Jerusalem and the Changes that Took Place in the Administration of the Kingdom and its Economy in the Days of King Ahaz

E-4: The Untold Story of the “Temple of Solomon” at Tel Moẓa

E-5: The Untold Story of Sennacherib’s Campaign and the Fate of Jerusalem, “the City that God had Chosen”

E-6: The Untold Story of King Manasseh

E-7: The Untold Story of King Josiah

E-8: The Untold Story of Jeremiah the Prophet and his Connection to Eli the Priest in Shiloh and Ahituv the Priest in the Days of David

Concluding Thoughts

Abstracts

Abbreviations

Bibliography

Index

Bibliographic data