Preface

Bill T. Arnold and Richard S. Hess

The impetus for this work came through the Institute for Biblical Research (IBR). Professor Lee Martin McDonald was president of IBR at the time and suggested that volumes focusing on each Testament be produced. One of us (Richard Hess) served on the board as editor of the BBR and volunteered to proceed with the project. We planned the work in collaboration with Jim Kinney of Baker Academic, to whom we express our appreciation for his help on a number of issues.

Our objective in this volume is to provide a current state of research on issues relative to the history of ancient Israel. Consequently, we chose separate individuals to write the chapters, with each contributor chosen because of demonstrated expertise on the subject matter of that chapter. They represent a variety of backgrounds. The contributors would not all necessarily agree on a number of topics regarding the history of Israel, a fact that we believe strengthens the volume. We allowed our contributors to express their own points of view on controverted issues, while insisting that all points of view be represented fairly. The contributors have written chapters that we believe are within the spirit of the IBR, and each has produced an outstanding contribution.

The volume’s structure reflects our methodological commitments. First, we chose to assume neither a negative stance toward the biblical literature nor a naive fideism on difficult issues. Second, we designed chapters that move chronologically through the periods of Israel’s history with a focus on the primary sources and the major scholarly issues regarding the interpretation of history in the period under consideration. While this book is intended as an introductory volume, the research represented here also provides new insights and reconstructions for further study of the subject. We hope that this work will be of benefit to students and researchers alike, as all of us strive to understand more about this fascinating and important subject.