Conclusion
Ultimately, those who study the past are thrown back upon the problem of history, memory, and interpretation raised in the first chapter of this book: Are interpreters bound to see Israel’s neighbors as Israel saw them—filtered through the Hebrew Bible—or should they use the Bible as but one (flawed) source among many others available to reconstruct the reality of these other nations “as they really were,” giving them their rightful place in history as independent entities who wanted the same things ancient Israelites wanted (safety, autonomy, success, fertility, etc.)? Has the Bible been more of a hindrance than a help for reconstructing the region’s history? Or does the Bible show readers what they truly need to see on some other level, transcending history, in the realms of religion or spirituality? Whatever the case, readers should exercise caution in the face of making simplistic judgments about complex issues of the history, archaeology, language, and geography of the neighbors covered in this book, as well as Israel. There is so much that we do not know—so much left to learn.