Theories on the Origin of Israel
The earliest evidence of the name "Israel" appears in the so-called "Merneptah Stele" (Egypt, Thebes, 1219 BCE). According to this, Israel is not a country or a city but a people. The Biblical portrayal of Israel is far from uniform. The patriarchal narratives in the Book of Genesis unfold a long migration of a family. In the Book of Joshua, this family dimension disappears, and the Israelites' immigration takes place in the form of a mass migration. According to the Book of Judges, the conquest of the land was accomplished through the settlement of different ethnic groups. The Priestly writings do not speak of a war-driven conquest, while the Books of Chronicles suggest that Israel was part of the native Canaanite population and therefore never had to immigrate. So, where did Israel originate from? Today, historians consider four models likely regarding the origin of Israel:
Conquest Model
According to this model, the Israelites took possession of Palestine through military conquest in the 13th century BCE. The Book of Joshua is referenced (with the conquest and destruction of important Canaanite cities) along with archaeological findings that support the destruction of these cities. However, these biblical texts were too quickly linked to the results of archaeological excavations, which are now interpreted differently. As a result, this model has very few supporters in contemporary scholarly debates.Peaceful Infiltration Model
This model suggests that nomadic groups of sheep and goat herders, through their seasonal migrations, came into contact with the local population. They became interested in agriculture and settled in the uninhabited highlands. After this peaceful period, the process of nation-building began: the tribes encircled their settlements and started to expand. This model is based on the historical analysis of biblical texts and the study of settlement history in Palestine. It still dominates in German-speaking regions, but given recent discoveries, it can now be considered outdated as the sole valid model.Revolution Model
At the beginning of the Iron Age, an agricultural population moved from the plains to the central Palestinian highlands, where they lived in villages and engaged in a village-based culture. One explanation for the emergence of Israel suggests that a peasant uprising led to its creation. Another explanation posits that marginalized groups, oppressed classes, rose up and broke free from the Canaanite city-state system. These groups might have included subjugated peasants, mercenaries, bandits, small livestock herders, artisans, and unemployed priests. These groups, united by the common worship of a god, began to identify themselves as Israel. This model also integrates groups that escaped from Egypt and brought with them the worship of Yahweh.Development Model
This model also explains the creation of Israel as a result of social development. The collapse of international trade caused the decline of urban cultures. Formerly enslaved peasants and tenants from the plains peacefully settled in the sparsely populated highlands, where they formed a new agricultural community. Religious factors were not seen as a key role in this development, and the worship of Yahweh is considered to have derived from Canaanite religion.
The most plausible view seems to be a combination of the latter two models. A purely evolutionary model does not account for the role of the worship of Yahweh in the formation of Israelite identity, while the peasant revolt model is overly military in its perspective. The truth likely lies somewhere in between. The determining factor in this process is the emergence of a new religious consciousness that rejected the Canaanite gods, seen as symbols of a feudal society, and aimed to establish a society of free people with equal rights under the name of Yahweh.
Sebastian Bock "A bibliai Izrael története", Jel kiadó, Budapest, 2002