Excerpt from Politics Religion in Ancient Israel: An Introduction to the Study of the Old Testament "The Bible was never more studied or less read than at the present day." This paradox is true at least of the Old Testament. For two generations scores of patient scholars have toiled at the text, scanning each letter with microscopic care, and one result of their labours has been that, to the majority of educated men and women, of whatever belief or no belief, the "open Bible" has become a closed, nay, a sealed book. It is not what it used to be ; what it has become they do not know, and in scorn or sorrow or apathy they have laid it aside. This is deplorable. No one can with a light heart see such a violent break in the continuity of our religious and, indeed, our intellectual life. The basis on which twenty centuries of Christian culture largely rest is not lightly to be rejected. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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This work offers a reconstruction of the politics of ancient Israel within the wider political environment of the ancient Near East. Gottwald begins by questioning the view of some biblical scholars that the primary factor influencing Israel's political evolution was its religion.

Encapsulating as it does research that has been undertaken on the sociological, anthropological and political aspects of the history of ancient Israel, this important book is designed to follow in the tradition of works in the series sponsored by The Society for Old Testament Study which began with the publication of The People and the Book in 1925. The World of Ancient Israel is especially concerned to explore in greater depth than comparable studies the areas and degrees of overlap between approaches to the subject of Old Testament research adopted by scholars and students of theology and the social sciences. Increasing numbers of scholars have recognised the valuable insights that can be gained from a cross-disciplinary approach, and it is becoming clear that the early biblical traditions about the formation of the Israelite state must be examined in the light of comparative anthropology if useful historical conclusions are to be drawn from them.

Relying on archeological artifacts and anthropological study, George Mendenhall re-tells the story of Israel's history and faith. While careful not to move beyond the evidence, Mendenhall also provides an account of the theological dimensions of Israel's history.