Editing Israelites (section)

==== 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>