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Conquest

The Torah Begins with Creation to Defend Israel’s Right to the Land?

The theme of a divine creator’s right to assign territory to his people is pervasive in the Bible and ancient Near Eastern literature. Perhaps the rabbinic midrash which suggests that the Torah begins with creation to defend Israel against the accusation they stole the land of Canaan were onto something.

Prof.

Jason Radine

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Hazor’s Standing Stones: What Do They Commemorate?

The Canaanite city of Hazor was destroyed in the Late Bronze Age. When the Israelites resettled the city in the Early Iron Age, they placed standing stones in three different places on the destroyed remains. What were these stones meant to signify?

Dr.

Shlomit Bechar

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What Was Caleb the Kenizzite’s Connection to Hebron?

Did Caleb receive the Negev or Hebron? Is he a Judahite, a Calebite or a Kenizzite? The redacted account of Caleb in the Bible reflects the developing realities of southern Judah in the First and Second Temple periods.

Dr. Rabbi

Zev Farber

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Prof.

Jacob L. Wright

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The Backstory of the Spy Account

Early Judahite authors supplemented ancient Israelite traditions of conquest through the Transjordan with the spy story to explain why Israel entered Canaan from the east rather than from the south.

Prof.

Jacob L. Wright

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