Go to Mount Ibal - says Herzog's opponent, Adam Zertal

("Mosaf Ha'aretz" 11/11/99)

Adam Zartel

The silence of the scientific world after the exposure of the altar near Nablus proves this
that the archaeological establishment is having trouble dealing with findings
contradicting the accepted theory. Prof. Adam Zertal places
A challenge to those he calls "Bible deniers". Comment
to Prof. Ze'ev Herzog's article

The days of the debate on the historical reliability of the Bible are the days of the research itself.
The enormous importance of the book of books pushed many to wonder about the material
the historical presented in it. From the eighties of the 19th century onwards he began
Decomposition of biblical literature into factors by Walhausen and his successors, decommissioning
which continues to this day.

These researchers believed that the Bible is a religious-spiritual composition compiled late, hundreds
years after the occurrence of the described events; collected from four,
or five, various sources; and that his role is in the service of the ideology of religion
Israel turns it into a dubious historical source. To these was added the claim that they shared
The ancient of the Bible lacks other proofs - from foreign sources or
archaeological.

The discussion about the beginning of Israel Nietzsche, where, it's 130 years, even though the first ones
Those who challenged the "divinity" of the writing of the Bible were Spinoza and Hobbes in the century
The .17

The importance of the debate is examined in three points: the first: in fact an examination
The reliability of the Bible - historical reliability also related to religious background;
The second: in examining the history of the Israeli people here; And the third: in the inspection
The Jewish people's arguments about their country and heritage.

The extremists in the "bible deniers" base themselves on the lack of external sources
to the "Dark Age" (a period absent from the historical sources of the powers
Antiquities on the Levant, between the 13th and 10th centuries BC), and the herd
Evidence from the material culture. To strengthen this claim it can be said that indeed
During the period in question, the great powers, and especially Egypt, rarely engaged
in the near east. On the other hand, the pharaoh of Renphet, the son of Ramses II
"The Great", says that he met tribes called "Israel" in Canaan, and this was during this period
Estimated as the end of the 13th century BC. From then until the 10th century BC
The external sources are silent and their place is filled by archaeology.
And it is precisely on this period that the argument of the "Bible deniers" rests.

The biblical material includes two successive and overlapping testimonies about the beginning of Israel:
The occupation and settlement. The material on military occupation is found in the book of Joshua, and Rob
The stories of the settlement are found in the book of Judges. In the 20s and 30s he noted
The great American researcher, William Albright, that the results of field research
His (which was in its beginning at that time), match what is written in the Bible about the beginning
Israel. In doing so, Albright founded the school known today
"fundamentalist".

Albright suggested checking the reliability of the story of the occupation
In a series of excavations in Canaanite mounds, which will check if there was a peaceful violent occupation
in the destruction and destruction of those cities. The research in Jericho, Ai, Hazor, Lachish and Arim
Other Canaanites did not raise an archaeological basis for the occupation: some of the cities
These were not destroyed, others did not exist at all and were destroyed before the period
the subject, or after her. The find did not raise a complete archaeological basis for proof
The Occupation.

When it turned out that some of the cities were indeed destroyed during this period, the conclusion arose
that the occupation is more complex, and spreads over a longer period than the one described
in the Bible So the German researcher Albrecht Alt developed the "entry" model
soothing". According to him, the tribes of Israel entered from the east and settled in Atem without conquest
Organized military, and only in the process of writing and editing the Bible "Organized"
The later conquests for a uniform military campaign. However Alt believed, as Albright,
that the biblical settlement is indeed fundamentally historical. to check the models
These required a broad possibility for research and testing in the relevant area - Samaria
and Yehuda. In the absence of such a study, many researchers had no difficulty in ignoring, after
Then, from Alt and Albright's models, and based on the negative results
of the story of the conquest and to develop the "denial" of the Bible.

Mendenhall's commentary

The 60s produced two developments in the drama of the beginning of Israel: in 1962
George Mendenhall published his article "The Hebrew Occupation of Palestine",
And in 1967, following the Six Day War, research became possible for the first time
Wide-scale in the West Bank territories. Mendenhall, American sociologist
From the liberal group in the academy (and by the way strongly opposed to the Vietnam War)
Presented a new model for the beginning of Israel, called "the sociological model". he
He claimed that the entire history of the beginning of Israel - the days of the ancestors, the exodus from Egypt,
The wanderings in the desert, the entry into Canaan and the settlement - there is no factual basis.

Mendenhall called the creation of Israel a "creation myth", designed to create
artificially national history. Based on the apparent absence of
The archaeological evidence for the Bible, Mendenhall posited an alternative model. in his opinion
The Israelites came from among the Canaanite population, which was in the process of war
Maemato abandoned the cities of the country and went up to the mountainous region of the country.
The Canaanite farmers settled in the mountain and there they met with a small group that came
from the desert with traditions about one god.

According to Mendenhall, the Israeli people formed over hundreds of years from the peasants
the Canaanites David and Solomon will write history and create a "creation myth",
whose background was unrealistic. Mendenhall's theory was also based on
The lack of archaeological evidence and a sociological-Marxist interpretation of the source
the biblical

From '67, Israeli researchers arrived in Judea and Samaria and began to discover the
The signs of Israeli settlement in the 12th and 11th centuries BC. in 1972
At the end of their initial research, researchers Ram Gopana and Yosef Porat wrote that
"During the Israeli period, a new settlement process took place in the Samaria mountains, which is identified
With the settlement of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh...". 11 years later, in
In 1978, we, some researchers from the University of Haifa, began surveying Menashe's estate,
Called "The Samaria Survey", which covers approximately 3,000 square kilometers (approx
for half of the territory of Judea and Samaria). This research continues continuously to this day
and as part of it, two volumes containing the results of the work were published. volume
A third is currently in print and two more are due to be published in the future.

The archaeological survey is a first-rate means of examining processes
Spatial. It is used to map the ancient settlements of all periods
And link them - if the research is done correctly - to ecological factors
And landscapes: water, land, rock, roads and more. This is how you can check processes
Settlement and other processes such as destruction, conquests, foreign influences.

Slow entrance to the west

Before I present the results of the work, it is appropriate to mention the sequence of events
as the Bible describes them. Well, Book of Deuteronomy, the last of the five Pentacles
Torah, including important parts related to entering Israel. In this book there is a guide
Moses commanded Israel to cross the Jordan and conduct a sort of "foundation ceremony" on Mount Ebal.
The ceremony should be held around a special altar; And according to the scriptures, it is specifically stated:
"This day you will become a people for Jehovah your God" (Deuteronomy XNUMX:XNUMX). Then
A ceremony of blessings and curses is to be held on the mountains of Ibal and Geriz (Deut
XNUMX, XNUMX). Even earlier, in Deuteronomy XNUMX:XNUMX, XNUMX, there is a "guide"
which guides the Israelis on how to reach the Ibal and Geriz mountains.

In Joshua XNUMX:XNUMX-XNUMX, the setting up of the altar in Ebal and the execution of Moses' commandments are described
in the presence of all the people. The ceremony included setting up the altar, offering sacrifices, writing
The Torah on the stones, popular celebrations and more, in the presence of "the whole crowd of Israel."
And the women and the young and the sojourner who walks among them" (Joshua XNUMX:XNUMX).

At the end of Joshua, in chapter XNUMX, another foundational assembly is described in Nablus - "Vishma".
He has law and justice in Nablus."

From this it follows that the parts relevant to the examination of the traditions of the beginning of the nation -
Together with the Mount Sinai and Transjordan events - extending west of Jordan, between
Jericho to Beth-shan and around Nablus. Until these areas were examined in the survey
Meticulous, it was difficult to talk about finding or not finding evidence
Archeology to the beginning of the people.

And here, in the survey we conducted, about two hundred settlements were found with ceramics of the beginning
The first Iron Age (12th-13th centuries BC). Most of the small sites
These were not known before and the area was a kind of research "smooth board". were these
Parking sites, complexes, or small villages, with architecture and ceramics
Homogeneous, different from that of the later Canaanite culture. these settlements
exactly suitable for a semi-nomadic population entering from across the Jordan,
And their material culture is the same as that of the settlements that were discovered even earlier in the back of the mountain
Judea and Samaria.

In a comparative study of the cooking pots of the period, a chronological ranking was discovered
At the foundation of these settlements from east to west - from the Jordan Valley to
the coastal plain. The earliest settlements are in the Jordan Valley
And the said population slowly entered the west, settling down
and settled. This testimony corresponds to both the biblical concept - the crossing of the Jordan
and westward progress - and to Alt's general model, of the "silent penetration".

But the appeal to the Bible spilled over, even earlier, also to the nature of the testimony
the archeologist. Rightly a version of a group of researchers that cannot be automatically identified between
Ethos for material culture, that is - it is possible that the villages we found belong,
Theoretically, also for ranchers, or Parisians, or gyrks. All these are popular
Canaan that were in the land at that time according to the Bible. This argument is a super part
The exclusivity of the tribes of Israel in what concerns the material culture of the period.
Houses and pottery in themselves do not indicate ethnic and national identity,
We argued. Some studies have shown that national and religious identity is expressed in texts
and in worship. There is an urgent need to identify a ritual site that appears in the Bible in connection
to the beginning of the people, together with the corresponding material culture. One such site is the altar
in Mount Ibal.

A discovery on the eastern shoulder

As part of the survey, we discovered a fenced site on the eastern shoulder of Mount Ibal
In the enclosure wall, which has an area of ​​about 14 dunams. From the pottery in the place it emerged that the site was founded
At the end of the 13th century and existed for about fifty years - the appropriate chronology
to the 'classical' view of Israel's entry into Canaan. In eight digging seasons
(1989-1982) It was found out that there was a large and complex building in the center of which
In the stone tomb they ascended to it in a lamb. The stage was surrounded by a revolving wall and in front of it were two
Paved courtyards. About a hundred stone installations were found around this complex, including
Offerings - pottery, jewelry, etc. Layers were found inside and around the stage
ashes and containing the bones of sacrificed animals, most of these were
Young males from the flock, the cattle and the goats, which conformed to the laws of the sacrifices
In the Torah.

The structure on Mount Ibal, a layered structure of stone with an aliyah lamb, fits exactly
For the later Israeli high altars: the altar described in Ezekiel
(Chapter XNUMX) and the altars of the Second Temple in the Mishnah (Tractate Midod, Chapter XNUMX), in
Joseph ben Mattathias and the 'Temple Scroll' from the Dead Sea. the architectural identity,
The period (the beginning of the settlement) and the place (Ebal Mountain) identified the site
Very likely with the altar mentioned in the books of Deuteronomy and Joshua. his culture
The material (construction methods, pottery and other small finds) was the same
to the many sites we found between the Jordan and Mount Samaria and throughout the central mountain.
From this it is possible to show, for the first time, that the sites are from the first Iron Age
In the central mountain they almost certainly belonged to the tribes of Israel.

The additional conclusions from the excavation at Mount Ebal were far-reaching, regarding
to the beginning of Israel and in relation to the reliability of the early part of the Bible as well. if stood
An altar rises on Mount Ebal and a "foundation ceremony" is held there (the matter arising from its location
and from the view from it - a large natural theater) this confirms the tradition
in Deuteronomy and in Joshua. If we add to these the identity between the animal victims
To the commandments of the Torah and the absence of idols of gods (unlike the nearby temples
of Canaanite Nablus), this indicates a national and religious consolidation of the tribes of Israel
In a very ancient period - just as it appears in the Torah.

One must remember the claim of the "Bible deniers" according to which these traditions are
Very late and based on mythology and not reality. The altar in Ibal also hints
That Deuteronomy and Joshua were written down in an ancient period and perhaps, in my opinion, even
near the events. From all of this it turns out that the opinions regarding the "creation myth" of
Mendenhall are automatically dismissed, and archeological evidence has finally been found
For the beginning of Israel in general and the reliability of the Bible as a historical source in particular.

The archaeologists refuse to deal

It is understood that a significant part of the big questions has not yet been resolved: we have no evidence on
Exodus from Egypt, wandering in the Sinai desert, and more; But we never demand
Absolute proofs for each part of a historical source. recently found
Prof. Larry Herr (Herr) from the University of Toronto, the excavator at Tel Omeiri
Close to Rabat-Amon, ceramics is the same as Mount Ibal and he even wrote about it. This is evidence
First on the presence of our population also in the East Jordan, in the same
period, and strengthening our conclusions in the western past of the Jordan.

It can be assumed, in summary, that if a major event like that of Har Ebal is proven,
It is true that significant parts of the biblical source are based on events
Historical, edited.

What happened to the new backlog I mentioned? almost nothing after publication
The discovery in the 80s there was little debate, but since the detailed report
And the many articles I published about the excavation and the survey - there was silence
The world of research. Also the survey published, as mentioned, already in two volumes, and its results
Notoriety did not arouse the silent.

In 1991, Prof. Larry Stager from Harvard University said: "If he stood
An altar goes up on Mount Ebal, the impact on our research is revolutionary. on all of us
(Biblical archaeologists) to return to kindergarten". I believe that the words of
Prof. Stager points out the essence of the problem and the reason for the neglect
directed from the facts. If the things we discovered stand and exist, because then
There is a need for a revolution in thinking and acceptance of the essence of the Bible as a historical source.
If they do not stand - please deal with it, then scientific reasons are needed
opposite Two very difficult things in a scientific world held in the grip of convention.
When someone comes after all this and claims that the Bible has no historical basis - there is none
I can only quote the words of the Sage: "Everything is in the hands of heaven - except fear of God."

In the course of the 21 years of research in Samaria, many other corroborating findings emerged
the biblical concept. This is not the place to tell about them all. These were written
In detail in my books "A Nation Was Born - The Parshat of the Altar at Mount Ebal and the Beginning of Israel"
About to be published. In this book, written as a life story, I detailed the finding
And the debate as well. I think now is the time to finally bring it up for discussion
made public the new-old world that was discovered in Samaria - and this without connection
to such and such political views.

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