Israel and the Palestinian Territories/History: The emerging Israelite society

According to Hebrew Bible, Israelites, who were also called Hebrews, were descended from Jacob(Yaˈakov), who got another name, Israel(Yisra’el), by wrestling with an Angel, while its Southern neighbour, Edomites, were descended from Esau(Esav), Jacob’s twin brother. While the story might or might not be true, it’s true that Edomites and Israelites spoke closely related languages, as all of those languages have been confirmed to be part of the greater Canaanite branch of the Northwest Semitic family, alongside Phoenician and a few other languages.

According to the Hebrew Bible, Joseph, the favourite son of Jacob, was sold into slavery in Egypt, and managed to rise into the position of chief minister. And when a famine happened in Canaan, Jacob and his other 11 sons went to Egypt, where, under Joseph, food was plentiful. And after “a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph”, likely a reference for the overthrow of the Hyksos, Israelites became slaves to the Egyptians. A Pharaoh ordered all newborn Hebrew males to be killed, but the midwives let them alive. The Pharaoh then ordered all newborn Hebrew males to be thrown into the Nile.

According to the Hebrew Bible, at the time, an Israelite family from the Tribe of Levi(the second son of Jacob) had given birth to a baby, and, after hiding him for 3 months and feeling that it was impossible to hide him, put him into a casket and put the casket into the Nile. An Egyptian princess was then having a bathe there. She took pity at the baby, and gave the baby to his mother to suckle. And as the boy grew up, the princess adopted him, and named him Moses(Mosheh). Later, Moses went to the Midian desert after killing an Egyptian who beat a Hebrew. And as he received call from God, he returned to ask the Pharaoh to let Hebrews leave. The Pharaoh refused, and God sent 10 plagues upon Egypt, and the Pharaoh ultimately let the Israelites leave. As the Israelites departed, the Egyptians chased the Israelites as they regretted letting Israelites go, but God split the Red Sea to allow Israelites to pass, while the Egyptians were devoured by the sea. The Israelites went into the desert of Sinai, where they spent 40 years and received the 10 Commandments from Moses. While the story could not be backed with archaeological evidence, it nevertheless showed the strong connections between the Israelite culture and that of its neighbours.

The Hebrew Bible described a conquest of Canaan by Joshua(Yehoshua). Archaeological evidence described widespread destruction, but didn’t show violent displacement of one people by another. The only archaeological evidence that could clearly mark Israelites away from others would be absence of pork, which has been forbidden for Israelites, and even this would have been challenged by recent archaeological discoveries.

The Hebrew Bible described a time of competition between monotheism and polytheism for the spirit of Israelites during the period subsequent to the arrival of Israelites to the region and conflict between Israelites and its neighbours. According to the Hebrew Bible, the Israelites were led by a shofet, or judge, during the period, as they were in conflict with different groups in the surrounding areas. Ultimately, as the tribes became more consolidated, hereditary kingship emerged.