The forgotten kingdom : the archaeology and history of Northern Israel /

In this provocative monograph based on a series of lectures presented in France in 2012, Finkelstein (archaeology, Tel Aviv Univ.) provides a persuasive archaeological and historical survey of the region of northern Israel known in the Bible as the Kingdom of Israel, long neglected, according to Finkelstein, due to a biblically based bias towards the southern Kingdom of Judah. Following a brief introduction, Finkelstein turns to an account of what appears to be a territorial polity based at Shechem during the Late Bronze Age, followed by chapters tracing the development of similar but more complex Iron Age territorial polities in this region based at Gibeah, then Tirzah, and, finally, Samaria. Brief concluding remarks follow short chapters on Israel after the destruction of Samaria in c. 722 BCE, and on what Finkelstein believes to be charter myths for the Kingdom of Israel. An extensive, up-to-date bibliography, an index of place-names, and an index of personal names conclude the volume. Well written and documented, this book will be of great interest to both students and specialists. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. W. Kotter Weber State University