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S. BENDOR, The Social Structure of Ancient Israel: The Institution of the Family (beit lab) from the Settlement to the End of the Monarchy (Jerusalem Biblical Studies 7; Jerusalem: Simor, 1996). Pp. 348 + [iv]. Paper $29.
Although this book was published in 1996, it is based on S. Bendor's research for a dissertation at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem directed by Abraham Malamat and submitted in 1982. Only three works in the bibliography were published in the 1990s, and only eleven in the 1980s.
Max Weber (Ancient Judaism [tr. H. H. Gerth and Don Martindale; Glencoe, IL: Free Press, 1952] and Albrecht Alt ("Das System der Stammesgrenzen im Buche Josua," Beitrage zur Religionsgeschichte und Archologie Palstinas [festschrift E. Sellin; Leipzig: Deichert, 1927] 13-24; idem, Die Staatenbildung der Israeliten in Palastina [Reformationsprogramm der Universitat Leipzig; Leipzig: Edelmann, 1930] argued that social structure in the villages of ancient Israel (1250-1000 B.c.E.) was based on kinship. By contrast, the social structure of Israel as a state (1000-587...