Israel’s Neighbors and the Problem of the Past

Tellingly for their importance to ancient Israelite audiences, Israel’s closest geographical neighbors—the Canaanites, Arameans, Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, Philistines, and Phoenicians—appear nearly as much in the Hebrew Bible as the three dominant empires of Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt. Indeed, several of these smaller neighboring groups individually feature more frequently in the Bible than the mighty Assyrians. These numbers tell us that Israelite authors and their audiences were frequently engaged with their bordering neighbors. The story Israel has to tell about itself deeply involves these smaller, lesser-known nations. By way of beginning the investigation, this chapter clarifies some issues of geography and discusses key terms, such as nation, state, tribe, and addresses other problems of describing borders and national neighbors in the ancient (and modern) world.

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.

The Moabites

The Moabites play one of the most nuanced roles of any of Israel’s close neighbors: The heroine of the book of Ruth has all of its action centered upon the person and identity of a woman, Ruth, who happens to be identified as “Moabite.” Much of the scholarly attention on the Moabites not filtered through the Bible focuses on the “Mesha Stele,” a long inscription commissioned by a Moabite king in the middle of the ninth century BCE. Since it is the longest text of its type from this time period originating from one of the smaller polities in the Levant, the Mesha Stele offers an invaluable opportunity to look at a native text and the views of the king, Mesha, who produced it. The stele gives us native insight into Moabite religious and royal ideology, and at the same time provides a large percentage of what we know of the Moabite language and dialect.

The Ammonites

Cast as the incestuous ancestors of Lot and his daughters in Genesis 19, the Ammonites figure in moments of gritty intrigue at many points in the biblical narratives. Unlike some other groups whose identity the Bible presents in terms of “familial” relationship with Israel, the Ammonites appear only as political and religious enemies. The Ammonites occupied a small and delimited territory, and the pinnacle of their existence as “Ammonites” by name seems to have occurred between the eighth and sixth centuries BCE. Excavation at some key sites of Ammonite occupation gives us more data than might be expected on Ammonite language, religion, and culture. Scholars debate the extent to which the Ammonites of the Bible correspond to real historical figures, and the biblical portrayal of Ammonite religion in a negative manner raises questions about the way assumptions about religion in the region have been colored by the biblical narrators.

The Arameans

Because of their strategic proximity to major Mesopotamian empires like the Assyrians and Babylonians, the Arameans occupied an important political role in their ancient Near Eastern world. The Arameans were never, in fact, a single nation or group, but rather Aram was a region with local centers of power spread throughout contemporary Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon, at major cities such as Damascus and Hamath. The Aramean language (Aramaic) was widespread in the ancient Near Eastern world, becoming the language of diplomacy and trade for the long-lasting and influential Persian Empire (c. 539–333 BCE) and well beyond, even centuries into the Common Era in some regions. In one biblical text, Israel considers itself to be connected with Aram in very deep ways. Aram and the Arameans occupy an ideological place alongside Israel similar to the Edomites, in that the relationship, though adversarial at times, blurs the boundary between discrete groups and merges into familial identity.

The Canaanites

The Canaanites become one of the most intriguing examples of the neighboring group as “other” in the Bible, and because the narrator of the book of Genesis repeatedly calls the land Israel’s ancestors occupy “Canaan,” we begin with them. It is not too much of a stretch to say that the Canaanites are Israel’s first neighbor, their most primordial neighbor, setting a pattern of tensions and interaction that prove instructive for thinking about other neighboring groups. The archaeological record of the Canaanites in the period before “Israel” arrives on the scene is difficult on many fronts, and the problem doesn’t end when Israel arrives either, since the Canaanites seem to coexist alongside Israel in an ambiguous manner. The Hebrew Bible considers the Canaanites and groups associated with them—Amorites, Hittites, Jebusites, Hivites, Perizzites, and Girgashites—constituting what tradition calls the “seven nations of Canaan,” as distinct people who are to be variously resisted or destroyed.

The Philistines

In a political and military sense, none of Israel’s neighbors loom as large in the biblical imagination as the Philistines. Indeed, the Bible depicts the Philistines as inextricably involved with Israel’s early experience with the monarchy, threatening the existence of the new nation. Throughout 1 Samuel—most famously in the story of David and Goliath—the Philistines antagonize Israel. Decades of archaeological research have given us an independent view of the Philistines—as a cultured people who were a contingent of the so-called Sea Peoples who migrated east after the collapse of the Late Bronze Age political system in the Mediterranean world. Though no substantial native Philistine literary culture or even a script to speak of survives, archaeological work at sites along the coastal plain has presented rich examples of a distinctive Philistine pottery tradition, iconography, and glimpses into their religious practice.

The Edomites

The geographically southernmost entity among Israel’s neighbors, the Edomites, appear in the Hebrew Bible in a fascinatingly close role to Israel—literally as Israel’s twin brother (Gen 25–26). Most like its assessment of the Arameans, the biblical tradition acknowledges the familial bonds between Israel and Edom but at the same time blames Edom for various political infractions and disloyalty. The names of some Edomite kings are known from Assyrian administrative texts in the eighth century BCE, a period of Assyrian domination generally over the region. Not many Edomite written materials remain, and no royal inscriptions. However, a small number of native inscriptions attest to the prominence of the deity Qos as the primary Edomite deity, and excavations at key sites such as Qitmit and En Hatzeva within the last few decades have revealed artifacts that help us begin to understand Edomite religion and iconography.

The Phoenicians

Often reviled in the Bible as overly wealthy traders and false worshipers, the Phoenicians appear in the biblical accounts under the label of their principal cities, Tyre and Sidon. Native inscriptions and new archaeological efforts provide information on Phoenician royal politics, religion, and colonial ambitions as far west as the south of Spain and the far northwestern African coast. The name “Phoenicians” first appears in the Homeric corpus in the eighth century BCE, though it is never clear that any particular group called themselves “Phoenicians” during the Iron Age. Nevertheless, the cities of Sidon, Tyre, Byblos, and others constitute a coherent group of city-states that comfortably fit under the Phoenician label. Though excavation has been sparse at key sites, new research has revealed a plethora of data on Phoenician burial customs, art, and architecture.