In Search for Aram and Israel

Book excerpt: Throughout its history, the Kingdom of Israel had strong connections with the Aramaean world. Constantly changing relations, from rivalry and military conflicts to alliances and military cooperation, affected the history of the whole Levant and left their marks on both Biblical and extra-Biblical sources. New studies demonstrate that Israelite state formation was contemporaneous with the formation of the Aramaean polities (11th-9th centuries BCE). Consequently, the Jordan Valley (and especially its northern parts and its extension to the valley of Lebanon) was a constantly changing border zone between different Iron Age polities. In light of that, there is a need to study the history of Ancient Israel not only from the "Canaanite" point of view but also within the political and cultural context of the Aramaean world. This volume brings together experts working in different fields to address the relations and interactions between Aram and Israel during the Early Iron Age (12th to 8th centuries BCE). Contributors: Angelika Berlejung, Erhard Blum, Guy Bunnens, Israel Finkelstein, Jutta Haser, Izaak J. de Hulster, Assaf Kleiman, Matthias Kockert, Aren Maeir, Amihai Mazar, Stefania Mazzoni, Stefan Munger, Herbert Niehr, Manfred Oeming, Juha Pakkala, Nava Panitz-Cohen, Benjamin Sass, Omer Sergi, Yifat Thareani, Christoph Uehlinger, Nili Wazana