A History of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and Judah [Hardcover]

This history of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and Judah is quite differentfrom the usual narratives of biblical history. It parallels the sameauthors <i>History of the Kingdom of Israel</i> (OLA 275) and is mainlybased on information provided by epigraphic sources dating from the19th/18th century B.C. on, when Jerusalem and its rulers are firstmentioned. The book is divided in seven chapters. The first one dealswith the proto-history of Jerusalem in Bronze Age and Iron Age I. Thesecond one concerns the Davidic dynasty whose lineage is followed untilthe mid-ninth century. Chapters III and IV continue the history of thekingdom until the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylonians in 587. After<i>ca.</i> 800 B.C. the name of the kingdom was changed from Beth Davidin Judah following internal dynastic problems. Chapter V examines somequestions concerning religion in Jerusalem and Judah, especially thealleged "sacred prostitution" and the "<i>molk</i>-sacrifices". ChapterVI discusses the special case of the relations between the Yahwisticsanctuary of Bethel, annexed to Judah by king Josiah, and the theonymBethel, attested in Jewish-Aramaean ambiences of the Persian period.Chapter VII deals with burial customs and the conception of thenetherworld or Sheol, mainly from the monarchic period on.