Editing Israelites (section)

===Origins===
[[File:Canaanites and Shasu Leader captives from Ramses III's tile collection; By Niv Lugassi.png|thumb|[[Ramesses III prisoner tiles]] depicting precursors of the Israelites in Canaan: Canaanites from [[city-state]]s and a Shasu leader.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/34/6/9|title=Shasu or Habiru: Who Were the Early Israelites?|date=24 August 2015|website=The BAS Library|access-date=16 October 2022|archive-date=16 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016114617/https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/34/6/9|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fsmitha.com/h1/ch04-2.htm|title=Israelites as Canaanites|website=Macrohistory: World History|access-date=3 March 2019|archive-date=3 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103145513/http://www.fsmitha.com/h1/ch04-2.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/34/6/8|title=Inside, Outside: Where Did the Early Israelites Come From?|date=24 August 2015|website=The BAS Library|access-date=16 October 2022|archive-date=16 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016114612/https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/34/6/8|url-status=live}}</ref>|upright=0.7]]
Several theories exist for the origins of historical Israelites. Some believe they descend from raiding groups, itinerant nomads such as [[Habiru]] and [[Shasu]] or impoverished Canaanites, who were forced to leave wealthy urban areas and live in the highlands.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Killebrew |first=Ann E. |title=The Oxford Handbook of the Historical Books of the Hebrew Bible |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2020 |isbn=978-0-19-026116-0 |editor-last=Kelle |editor-first=Brad E. |pages=79–93 |chapter=Early Israel's Origins, Settlement, and Ethnogenesis |access-date=31 March 2023 |editor-last2=Strawn |editor-first2=Brent A. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7y4DEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA79 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331202929/https://books.google.com/books?id=7y4DEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA79 |archive-date=31 March 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Toorn" /> [[Gary Rendsburg]] argues that some archaic biblical traditions and other circumstantial evidence point to the Israelites emerging from the [[Shasu]] and other seminomadic peoples from the desert regions south of the [[Levant]], later settling in the highlands of Canaan.<ref>{{cite book |title="An Excellent Fortress for His Armies, a Refuge for the People": Egyptological, Archaeological, and Biblical Studies in Honor of James K. Hoffmeier |last=Rendsburg |first=Gary A. |publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-57506-994-4 |pages=327–339 |editor-last=Averbeck |editor-first=Richard E. |chapter=Israelite Origins |editor-last2=Younger (Jr.) |editor-first2=K. Lawson |chapter-url=https://jewishstudies.rutgers.edu/docman/rendsburg/845-israelite-origins-hoffmeier-fs-1}}</ref> The prevailing academic opinion is that the Israelites were a mixture of peoples predominately indigenous to Canaan, with additional input from an Egyptian matrix of peoples, which most likely inspired the Exodus narrative.<ref>Mittleman, Alan (2010). "Judaism: Covenant, Pluralism and Piety". In Turner, Bryan S., ed. [https://books.google.com/books?id=RheC7rG9u6gC&pg=PA345 ''The New Blackwell Companion to the Sociology of Religion'']. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 340–363, 346.</ref><ref name="Gottwald">Gottwald, Norman (1999). [https://books.google.com/books?id=L_dIEeMj2EYC&pg=PA455 ''Tribes of Yahweh: A Sociology of the Religion of Liberated Israel, 1250–1050 BCE'']. A&C Black. p. 433. cf. 455–56.</ref><ref>[[Richard A. Gabriel|Gabriel, Richard A.]] (2003). [https://books.google.com/books?id=72ZR9KCh9lUC&pg=PA63 ''The Military History of Ancient Israel'']. Greenwood. p. 63: "The ethnically mixed character of the Israelites is reflected even more clearly in the foreign names of the group's leadership. Moses himself, of course, has an Egyptian name. But so do Hophni, Phinehas, Hur, and Merari, the son of Levi."</ref> Israel's demographics were similar to the demographics of [[Ammon]], [[Edom]], [[Moab]] and [[Phoenicia]].<ref name="Gottwald" />{{sfn|Tubb|1998}}{{page needed|date=March 2024}} 

Besides their focus on Yahweh worship, Israelite cultural markers were defined by body, food, and time, including [[male circumcision]], [[Pork taboo|avoidance of pork consumption]] and marking time based on the Exodus, the reigns of [[Kings of Israel and Judah|Israelite kings]], and [[Biblical Sabbath|Sabbath observance]]. The first two markers were observed by neighboring [[Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples|west Semites]] besides the [[Philistines]], who were of [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean Greek]] origin. As a result, intermarriage with other Semites was common.<ref name=":9">{{Cite book |last=Hendel |first=Ronald |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=An08DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 |title=Remembering Abraham: Culture, Memory, and History in the Hebrew Bible |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-517796-1 |pages=3–30}}</ref> But what distinguished Israelite circumcision from non-Israelite circumcision was its emphasis on 'correct' timing.<ref name=":16">{{Cite journal |last=Fleishman |first=Joseph |date=2001 |title=On the Significance of a Name Change and Circumcision in Genesis 17 |url=https://janes.scholasticahq.com/article/2434-on-the-significance-of-a-name-change-and-circumcision-in-genesis-17 |journal=Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society |volume=28 |issue=1 |via=JTS}}</ref><ref name=":17">{{Cite book |last=Thiessen |first=Matthew |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/5287/chapter/148014788 |title=Contesting Conversion: Genealogy, Circumcision, and Identity in Ancient Judaism and Christianity |date=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199914456 |pages=43–64}}</ref> Israelite circumcision also served as a [[mnemonic]] sign for the circumcised, where their 'unnatural' erect circumcised penis would remind them to behave differently in sexual matters.<ref name=":16" /> [[Yom-Tov Lipmann-Muhlhausen]] suggests that Israelite identity was based on faith and adherence to sex-appropriate commandments. For men, it was circumcision.  For women, it was ritual sacrifice after childbirth ({{Bibleverse|Leviticus|12:6}}).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cohen |first=Shaye J.D. |url=https://dokumen.pub/why-arent-jewish-women-circumcised-gender-and-covenant-in-judaism-9780520920491.html |title=Why Aren't Jewish Women Circumcised?: Gender and Covenant in Judaism |date=2005 |publisher=978-0520212503 |isbn=978-0520212503 |pages=180–190}}</ref>

[[File:IHM מזבח הר עיבל.jpeg|thumb|The [[Mount Ebal site|Mount Ebal structure]], seen by many archeologists as an early Israelite cultic site]]Genealogy was another ethnic marker. Whilst it was likely that Israelite identity was not exclusively [[Blood quantum laws|based on blood descent]],<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":9" /><ref name=":19">{{Cite book |last=Olyan |first=Saul |title=Rites and Rank: Hierarchy in Biblical Representations of Cult |date=2000 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-02948-1}}</ref> the Israelites used genealogy to engage in [[narcissism of small differences]] but also, [[self-criticism]] since their ancestors included morally questionable characters such as Jacob. Both these traits represented the "complexities of the Jewish soul".<ref name=":9" />

Names were significant in Israelite culture and indicated one's destiny and inherent character. Thus, a name change indicated a 'divine transformation' in one's 'destines, characters and natures'. These beliefs aligned with the Near Eastern cultural milieu, where names were 'intimately bound up with the very essence of being and inextricably intertwined with personality'.<ref name=":17" />

In terms of appearance, rabbis described the Biblical Jews as being "midway between black and white" and having the "color of the boxwood tree".{{sfn|Goldenberg|2009|p=95}} Assuming [[Frank J. Yurco|Yurco]]'s debated claim that the Israelites are depicted in reliefs from [[Merneptah]]'s temple at [[Karnak]] is correct,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Yurco |first=Frank J. |author-link=Frank J. Yurco |date=1986 |title=Merenptah's Canaanite Campaign |journal=Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt |volume=23 |pages=195, 207 |doi=10.2307/40001099 |jstor=40001099}}</ref> the early Israelites may have wore the same attire and hairstyles as non-Israelite Canaanites.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hasel |first=Michael G. |date=2003 |title=Merenptah's Inscription and Reliefs and the Origin of Israel (The Near East in the Southwest: Essays in Honor of William G. Dever) |journal=Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research |location=Boston |publisher=American Schools of Oriental Research |volume=58 |pages=27–36 |isbn=0-89757-065-0 |jstor=3768554 |editor-first1=Beth Alpert |editor-last1=Nakhai}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Stager |first=Lawrence E. |author-link=Lawrence Stager |title=The Oxford History of the Biblical World |date=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-513937-2 |editor-last=Coogan |editor-first=Michael |page=92 |chapter=Forging an Identity: The Emergence of Ancient Israel |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4DVHJRFW3mYC&pg=PA92}}</ref> Dissenting from this, [[Anson Rainey]] argued that the Israelites in the reliefs looked more similar to the Shasu.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rainey |first=Anson F. |year=2001 |title=Israel in Merenptah's Inscription and Reliefs |journal=Israel Exploration Journal |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=57–75 |issn=0021-2059 |jstor=27926956}}</ref> Based on biblical literature, it is implied that the Israelites distinguished themselves from peoples like the Babylonians and Egyptians by not having long beards and chin tufts. However, these fashion practices were upper class customs.<ref name=":15">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Beard |encyclopedia=The Jewish Encyclopedia |url=https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/2690-beard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314092309/https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/2690-beard |archive-date=March 14, 2024 |last2=Muller |first2=W. Max |last3=Ginzberg |first3=Louis |last1=Adler |first1=Cyrus}}</ref>

==== Early Israelite settlements ====
{{further|Israelite highland settlement}}
In the 12th century BCE, many Israelite settlements appeared in the central hill country of Canaan, which was formerly an open terrain. These settlements lacked evidence of pork consumption, compared to Philistine settlements, had [[four-room house]]s and lived by an [[Egalitarianism|egalitarian ethos]], which was exemplified by the absence of elaborate tombs, governor's mansions, certain houses being bigger than others etc. They followed a [[Mixed economy#Mix of markets and economic planning|mixed economy]], which prioritized [[Self-sufficiency economy|self-sufficiency]], [[Crop farming|cultivation of crops]], [[animal husbandry]] and [[Small business|small-scale]] [[craft production]]. New technologies such as [[Terrace Farming|terraced farming]], [[silo]]s for grain storage and [[cistern]]s for rainwater collection were simultaneously introduced.<ref name=":10">{{Cite book |last=Rendsburg |first=Gary A. |chapter-url=https://jewishstudies.rutgers.edu/docman/rendsburg/877-ch-3-text-notes/file |title=Ancient Israel: From Abraham to the Roman Destruction of the Temple |date=2021 |publisher=Biblical Archaeology Society |editor=John Merill |chapter=The Emergence of Israel in Canaan |editor2=Hershel Shanks |isbn=978-1-880317-23-5 |pages=59–91}}</ref>

These settlements were built by inhabitants of the "general Southland" (i.e. modern [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]] and the southern parts of [[Israel]] and [[Jordan]]), who abandoned their pastoral-nomadic ways. Canaanites who lived outside the central hill country were tenuously identified as Danites, Asherites, Zebulunites, Issacharites, Naphtalites and Gadites. These inhabitants do not have a significant history of migration besides the Danites, who allegedly originate from the [[Sea Peoples]], particularly the [[Danaoi|Dan(an)u]].<ref name=":10" /><ref>Mark W. Bartusch, ''Understanding Dan: an exegetical study of a biblical city, tribe and ancestor'', Volume 379 of ''Journal for the study of the Old Testament: Supplement series'', Continuum International Publishing Group, 2003</ref> Nonetheless, they intermingled with the former nomads, due to socioeconomic and military factors. Their interest in Yahwism and its concern for the underprivileged was another factor. Possible allusions to this historical reality in the Hebrew Bible include the aforementioned tribes, except for Issachar and Zebulun, descending from [[Bilhah]] and [[Zilpah]], who were viewed as "secondary additions" to Israel.<ref name=":10" />

El worship was central to early Israelite culture but currently, the number of El worshippers in Israel is unknown. It is more likely that different Israelite locales held different views about El and had 'small-scale' [[sacred space]]s.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=Theodore J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-erqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA73 |title=The Origin and Character of God: Ancient Israelite Religion through the Lens of Divinity |date=2020 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0190072544 |pages=73–118}}</ref>{{sfn|Cross|1973}}

Himbaza et al. (2012) states that Israelite households were typically ill-equipped to handle conflicts between family members, which may explain the harsh sexual taboos enforced against acts like [[incest]], [[homosexuality]], [[polygamy]] etc. in {{Bibleverse|Leviticus|18-20}}. Whilst the [[Death penalty in the Bible|death penalty]] was legislated for these 'secret crimes', they functioned as a warning, where offenders would confess out of fear and make appropriate reparations.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Himbaza |first1=Innocent |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt284v7w.7 |title=The Bible on the Question of Homosexuality |last2=Schenker |first2=Adrien |last3=Edart |first3=Jean-Baptiste |date=2012 |publisher=Catholic University of America Press |isbn=978-0813218847 |pages=45–72|jstor=j.ctt284v7w.7 }}</ref>