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WILLIAM G. DEVER, Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From? (Grand Rapids/Cambridge: Eerdmans, 2003). Pp. xi + 268. $25.
Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From? is the second of William G. Dever's three planned volumes dealing with ancient Israel's texts, origins, and religion, all to be composed in a semipopular style. The appearance of the present volume coincides with D.'s retirement from the University of Arizona, where he served for many years as professor of Near Eastern archaeology and anthropology. In this volume, D. seeks to explain the background and origin of his category "proto-Israelites."
Dever begins by reviewing the biblical account of early Israel and showing some of the difficulties in harmonizing it with historical chronology and archaeological data. This same approach is followed in treating the conquest of the Transjordan, as well as that of the land west of the Jordan. D. surveys archaeological work related to early Israel carried out since 1970, describes recent archaeological surveys, and summarizes the material culture of the Iron I assemblage. In the remainder of the work, D. reviews previous attempts to synthesize the textual and archaeological data on early Israel and works toward a...