The Economy of Ancient Judah in Its Historical Context

Published by Penn State University Press 2015

The Economy of Ancient Judah in Its Historical Context

Edited by: Marvin Lloyd Miller , Ehud Ben Zvi and Gary N. Knoppers

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781575064147

Overview
Contents

About this book

The dynamics of ancient Judah’s economy are among the most important, but also neglected and least understood, aspects of ancient Israel’s history. The essays in this volume address this gap from a multidisciplinary perspective, involving archeology, biblical studies, economics, epigraphy, ancient history, Jewish studies, and theology. The essays focus on particular issues in the economy of ancient Judah and its neighbors during the late monarchy and the Neo-Babylonian, Persian, and Hellenistic periods. Some of them evaluate the theoretical models used to understand the inner workings of ancient agrarian economies, while others explore rural economies, the forces of regeneration and degeneration in particular regions, the settlement histories of different areas, and the exploitation of depopulated land in Judah and Idumea. Essays in the volume also address population growth, urbanization, the role of diverse temple towns (such as Babylon and Jerusalem) in regional market economies, the literary portrayal of patron–client relationships, symmetrical and asymmetrical relations in international trade, and the views of urban elites toward agrarian economic developments. Yet others discuss family economics—policies of reproduction, gender roles, family size, and household hierarchies—in Judah and ancient Persia. Many of the essays appearing in this volume were originally delivered as papers in special sessions devoted to these topics at annual meetings of the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies and the European Association of Biblical Studies. The scholars participating in this international project conduct their research at institutions in Canada, Germany, Israel, Norway, South Africa, Switzerland, and the United States.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Preface Marvin Lloyd Miller, Ehud Ben Zvi and Gary N. Knoppers Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Abbreviations Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Part 1 Introduction
Cultivating Curiosity: Methods and Models for Understanding Ancient Economies Marvin Lloyd Miller Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	3
Part 2. Economic Indications from the Hebrew Bible
The “Successful, Wise, Worthy Wife” of Proverbs 31:10–31 as a Source for Reconstructing Aspects of Thought and Economy in the Late Persian / Early Hellenistic Period Ehud Ben Zvi Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	27
More Than Friends? The Economic Relationship between Huram and Solomon Reconsidered Gary N. Knoppers Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	51
Agrarian Economy through City-Elites’ Eyes: Reflections of Late Persian Period Yehud Economy in the Genealogies of Chronicles Louis Jonker Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	77
Ancient Comparisons, Modern Models, and Ezra–Nehemiah: Triangulating the Sources for Insights on the Economy of Persian Period Yehud Peter Altmann Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	103
Part 3. Economic Indications from Other Literary Sources
פְרוּ וּרְבוּ and the Seventh Year: Complementary Strategies for the Economic Recovery of Depopulated Yehud Philippe Guillaume Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	123
Exploitation of Depopulated Land in Achaemenid Judah Lisbeth S. Fried Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	151
The Achaemenid Policy of Reproduction Josef Wiesehöfer Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	165
The Economy and Administration of Rural Idumea at the End of the Persian Period Diana Edelman Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	175
Part 4. Economic Indications from Archaeology
Forces of Decline and Regeneration: A Socioeconomic Account of the Iron Age II Negev Desert Yifat Thareani Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	207
The Rural Economy of Judah during the Persian Period and the Settlement History of the District System Oded Lipschits Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	237
Index of Authors Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	265
Index of Scripture Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	270
Index of Other Ancient Sources Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	274

Language: English
Publisher: Penn State University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 288

eBook

Published: November 4, 2015
ISBN: 9781575064147