Product Description
Religion in ancient Israel didn't develop in a vacuum; it was influenced by the Near Eastern culture around it as much as it in turn influenced that culture. Dearman explores that dynamic interplay in this thought-provoking study. Using archaeological and literary evidence (both biblical and extrabiblical) he shows how distinctive Old Testament traditions (such as the paradoxical role of the prophets) flourished in the interaction of Israelite religion with cultural and political forces, while other traditions languished.

"Religion and Culture in Ancient Israel by J. Andrew Dearman is the comprehensive study of religious forms and customs that has been needed by the discipline for many years. . . . Dearman's work is a mixture of traditional and social scientific examinations of the world of ancient Israel and its social matrix. From its opening use of Clifford Geertz' definition of 'religion,' a tone is set, but not one that 'over interprets' the available sources. There is no parallelomania here, no exaggeration of archaeological data, no theological agenda, and no attempt to rehash Albright or Gottwald. Instead, Dearman provides a fresh approach, geared to both a historical and a literary examination of religious forms and phenomena in ancient Israel. . . . The goal of any textbook is to provide (1) information in a systematic manner and (2) to hold the interest of the reader so that the author's message gets across to his or her audience. Dearman has succeeded well with both of these."
—Victor Matthews, Professor of Religious Studies, Southwest Missouri State University ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Religion and Culture in *biblical* Israel
J Andrew Dearman begins his book with definitions of religion and culture from a noted anthropologist named Clifford Geertz. Religion is a set of symbols which act as long-lastingmotivations in people. In narrow contrast, culture is
"historically transmitted patterns of meaning." For Dearman religion is "inseparable" (page 5) from culture.

In the first three chapters of his book, Dearman describes the relationship between religion and culture in the Deuteronomistic history, the Chronicler's history, and the Maccabean history. In the last four chapters Dearman addresses four specific phenomena: Covenant instruction, pre-exilic prophecy, wisdom literature, and apocalypticism.

Dearman's book is heavily footnoted. One chapter has more than 200 footnotes. the book is well researched. Yet one shortcoming of Dearman's book is that he does not exercise a criticial view of the historicity of the biblical narratives. On page 127 he states that Deuteronomy "is the most comprehensive statement in the Pentateuch of the application to the life of all Israel." Yet he knows that this writing was written some centuries after the events it intends to record. For this reason I conclude that Dearman never shows that patterns of meaning were historically transmitted.

Second Dearman makes short use of extra-biblical sources in explaining the culture of ancient Israel. So what one reads in this book is a record of religion and culture in *biblical* Israel.

Finally, I find Dearman's thinking in this book to be shallow.
For example, on page 104 Dearman writes that Ezra-Nehemiah represent torah observance as a key to Israel's identity. Some 22 lines later Dearman begins the next paragraph with the same idea and little development of thought in between or afterward. ... Read more

Product Description
This book presents the story of the Yemenite immigrants to Israel and looks at the health changes which resulted from their upheaval--within the community itself and in the wider context of general cultural transition. Using various sources (from 17th century travelers' accounts to British Colonial Office reports) and comparing it with contemporary accounts of life in the Yemen today, Weingarten describes particular health and social problems and how they are coped with. The immigrants continue to use traditional healers alongside modern doctors, biblical and folk rituals coexist with urban influences, technology, and science. ... Read more

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This is an OCR edition without illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from GeneralBooksClub.com. You can also preview excerpts from the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Original Published by: The Open Court Publishing Company in 1914 in 197 pages; Subjects: Jews; History / Jewish; History / Middle East / General; ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Midstream, published by Thomson Gale on July 1, 2007. The length of the article is 2783 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Report from Israel: the sacred and the profane in one small space.(Israel's history and culture)
Author: Erel Shalit
Publication: Midstream (Magazine/Journal)
Date: July 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 53Issue: 4Page: 2(3)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
This title encompasses the history of Israel from its very beginnings up to the destruction of the First Temple of Jerusalem in 586 BC. The successive parts are (1) The Dawn of Israel, dealing with the Israelite proto-history, Mari and early Israel as well as the tribal societies and genealogies. (2) Forming a Nation, The Exodus and Conquest of Canaan, the period of the Judges and the charismatic nature of the Judges, the Danite migration. (3) The Rise of the Davidic Dynasty, a political view of the kingdom of David and Solomon, the diplomatic, international marriages of the latter, organs of statecraft in the Israelite monarchy. (4) King Amon and Josiah and their final fate, twilight of Judah and the destruction of Jerusalem. (5) This part is dedicated to historical episodes in the Former Prophets and in the Prophetical Books. Several excursi follow. ... Read more

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A Coat of Many Colors investigates Israel's first seven years as a sovereign state through the unusual prism of dress. Clothes worn by Israelis in the 1950s reflected political ideologies, economic conditions, military priorities, social distinctions, and cultural preferences, and all played a part in consolidating a new national identity. Based on a wide range of textual and visual historical documents, the book covers both what Israelis wore in various circumstances and what they said and wrote about clothing and fashion. Written in a clear and accessible style that will appeal to the general reader as well as students and scholars, A Ration of Fashion introduces the reader both to Israel's history during its formative years and to the rich field of dress culture. ... Read more

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This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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Two creative centers of Jewish life rose to prominence in the twentieth century, one in Israel and the other in the United States. Although Israeli and American Jews share kinship and history drawn from their Eastern European roots, they have developed divergent cultures from their common origins, often seeming more like distant cousins than close relatives. This book explores why this is so, examining how two communities that constitute eighty percent of the world's Jewish population have created separate identities and cultures.Using examples from literature, art, history, and politics, leading Israeli and American scholars focus on the political, social, and memory cultures of their two communities, considering in particular the American Jewish challenge to diaspora consciousness and the Israeli struggle to forge a secular, national Jewish identity. At the same time, they seek to understand how a sense of mutual responsibility and fate animates American and Israeli Jews who reside in distant places, speak different languages, and live within different political and social worlds. ... Read more

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This book is suitable for ages 9 to 10 years. Israel is a land of faith, both for those who created it and for those who live there, and visit there. "Israel the Culture" examines how Jewish, Christian, and Muslim holidays and festivals are celebrated in Israel. It includes new updated spreads on art and architecture, leisure-time, language and communications, and peace and security. With 20 new images, and updated copy, "Israel the Culture" shows how Israeli's live, work, and play. The topics include: music; holidays and celebrations; dance, clothing, and ways of life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Israel for all ages

I bought this book because my 11 year old was doing a research paper on Israel.It is a beautifully put together and informative book perfect for any age.This book provided wonderful photographs and lots of details about this amazing nation.He was able to use the info for his report and the photographs for his presentation.I bought the other books in this series as well.As a direct result of purchasing these books, he received great compliments from his teacher.She said his research paper and his presentation set the bar for the others in his class!This series is so great that I want to purchase it for the other countries offered as well.

... Read more

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Students and other readers looking to more fully understand and appreciate Israelis of all backgrounds and their ways of life and culture now have a solid source of engaging, balanced, and accurate information. Israel's brief, turbulent history and the Arab-Israeli conflict are always taken into account in the narrative; however, the emphasis here is non-political and encompassing of the heterogenous culture of its citizens, including Jews, Arabs, Druze, and others. The predominant Jewish culture itself is multicultural, with immigrants from all over the world. ... Read more

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Zionist Arabesques is an ethno-historical account of the landscape of the Jezreel Valley, Israel and explores how the modern landscape of the valley has been created both physically and symbolically from the perspective of both local and large scale processes. It addresses not only the guiding principles of modern Israeli agriculture, its connection to Zionist settlement and ideology, and the evolvement of the Arab-Jewish conflict but also examines the relevance of law, State policies and sector based politics, being a mixture of archival and ethnographic material composed with a unique textual structure. The book is useful for those interested in Zionism and the Israeli Palestinian conflict, as well in experimental ways of writing. ... Read more

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These two volumes present the results of the painstaking pedestrian site-by-site survey of the Southern Samaria region, the heartland of Biblical Israel. More than 500 sites have been identified and are indexed for easy reference. The excellent aerial photographs accompanying the description of the sites are of immense historical interest. These are unique documents of a vanished countryside now built over to accommodate an increased population. The detailed archaeological report covers finds from all periods, including Byzantine and Medieaval, and incorporates a comprehensive review of historical sources. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Well-presented survey data!
This volume represents the publication of a large scale survey that was conducted in the central hills region of Palestine/Israel, in the area from slightly north of Jerusalem, to slightly to the south of modern day Nablus.The data includes surface finds from periods ranging from the Prehistoricuntil the Modern periods. For the most part, the data is nicely representedand discussed and one gets a well-based and well-thought out picture of thelong-term history and cultural development of this region. Particularemphasis is put on the Bronze and Iron ages (biblical period). One aspectthat is clearly lacking in the book is an explicit discussion anddescription of the actual survey methods that were employed during thefield work. Over all, this book provides important basic data for the studyof the ancient history and cultures of the Holy Land. ... Read more

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This book traces, conceptually and historically, the multifaceted nature of sports in the State of Israel from its early years. It is argued that sports in Israel have to be seen as interdependent within the broader socio-political dimensions. Moreover, it is argued that the development of sport in Israel can only be adequately understood by presenting them in its unique historical context. The processes of state formation, population growth, urbanization, militarization, and, most germane to the present purposes, the development of sport are presented alongside stories of Games (such as the Maccabiah) and (Zionist) Ideology.

This book was based on a special issue of  Sport in Society.

Product Description
This collection of twelve papers, dedicated to Professor Israel Finkelstein, deals with various aspects concerning the archaeology of Israel and the Levant during the Bronze and Iron Ages. Although the area under discussion runs from southeastern Turkey (Alalakh) down to the arid zones of the Negev Desert, the main emphasis is on the Land of Israel. This collection provides the most recent evaluation of a number of thorny issues in Israeli archaeology during the Bronze and Iron Ages and specifically addresses chronology, state formation, identity, and agency. It offers, inter alia, a fresh look at the burial practices and iconography of the periods discussed, as well as a re-evaluation of the subsistence economy and settlement patterns. This book is finely illustrated with more than sixty original drawings. ... Read more