Editing History of Israel (section)

===Early Israelites (Iron Age I)===
{{Main|Hebrews|Israelites|Biblical judges}}
{{See also|Origins of Judaism|Biblical archaeology|The Bible and history}}
The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel (as ''{{lang|egy-Latn|ysrỉꜣr}}'') occurs in the Egyptian [[Merneptah Stele]], erected for Pharaoh [[Merneptah]] (son of [[Ramesses II]]) c. 1209 BCE, which states "Israel is laid waste and his seed is not."{{sfn|Stager|1998|p=91}}[[File:Kairo Museum Merenptah-Stele 01.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Merneptah Stele]]. According to mainstream archeology, it represents the first instance of the name "Israel" in the historical record.]] Archeological evidence indicates that during the early Iron Age I, hundreds of small villages [[Israelite highland settlement|were established on the highlands]] of Canaan on both sides of the [[Jordan River]], primarily in [[Samaria]], north of Jerusalem. These villages had populations of up to 400, were largely self-sufficient{{sfn|McNutt|1999|p=70}}{{sfn|Miller|2005|p=98}} and lived from herding, grain cultivation, and growing vines and olives with some economic interchange.{{sfn|Miller|2005|p=99}} The pottery was plain and undecorated.<ref name="Avraham-2018" /> Writing was known and available for recording, even in small sites.{{sfn|Miller|2005|p=105}} [[William G. Dever]] sees this "Israel" in the central highlands as a cultural and probably political entity, more an ethnic group rather than an organized state.{{sfn|Dever|2003|p=206}}

Modern scholars believe that the Israelites and their culture branched out of the [[Canaan|Canaanite peoples]] and their cultures through the development of a distinct [[Monolatry|monolatristic]]—and later [[Monotheism|monotheistic]]—religion centred on a national god [[Yahweh]].<ref>Mark Smith in "The Early History of God: Yahweh and Other Deities of Ancient Israel" states "Despite the long regnant model that the Canaanites and Israelites were people of fundamentally different culture, archaeological data now casts doubt on this view. The material culture of the region exhibits numerous common points between Israelites and Canaanites in the Iron I period (c. 1200–1000&nbsp;BCE). The record would suggest that the Israelite culture largely overlapped with and derived from Canaanite culture... In short, Israelite culture was largely Canaanite in nature. Given the information available, one cannot maintain a radical cultural separation between Canaanites and Israelites for the Iron I period." (pp. 6–7). Smith, Mark (2002) "The Early History of God: Yahweh and Other Deities of Ancient Israel" (Eerdman's)</ref><ref>Rendsberg, Gary (2008). "Israel without the Bible". In Frederick E. Greenspahn. The Hebrew Bible: New Insights and Scholarship. NYU Press, pp. 3–5</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Gnuse |first1=Robert Karl |title=No Other Gods: Emergent Monotheism in Israel |date=1997 |publisher=Sheffield Academic Press Ltd |isbn=1-85075-657-0 |location=England |pages=28, 31}}</ref> According to McNutt, "It is probably safe to assume that sometime during [[Iron Age]] I a population began to identify itself as 'Israelite'", differentiating itself from the Canaanites through such markers as the prohibition of intermarriage, an emphasis on family history and genealogy, and religion.{{sfn|McNutt|1999|p=35}}

Philistine cooking tools and the prevalence of [[pork]] in their diets, and locally made [[Mycenaean pottery]]—which later evolved into [[Philistine Bichrome ware|bichrome Philistine pottery]]—all support their foreign origin. Their cities were large and elaborate, which—together with the findings—point out to a complex, hierarchical society.<ref name="Avraham-2018" />{{sfn|Killebrew|2005|p=230}}

[[Israel Finkelstein]] believes that the oldest Abraham traditions originated in the Iron Age, which focus on the themes of land and offspring and possibly, his altars in [[Hebron]]. Abraham's [[Mesopotamia]]n heritage is not discussed.<ref name="Finkelstein-2014">{{cite journal |last1=Finkelstein |first1=Israel |last2=Römer |first2=Thomas |year=2014 |title=Comments on the Historical Background of the Abraham Narrative: Between "Realia" and "Exegetica" |url=https://www.academia.edu/29972948 |journal=Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=3–23 |doi=10.1628/219222714x13994465496820 |archive-date=29 February 2024 |access-date=16 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229190528/https://www.academia.edu/29972948 |url-status=live }}</ref>