Editing Israelites (section)

===Monarchic period===
==== United Monarchy ====
{{Main|Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)||}}

[[File:Black Obelisk side 4 Jewish delegation.jpg|thumb|Part of the gift-bearing Israelite delegation of King Jehu, [[Black Obelisk]], 841–840&nbsp;BCE.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Delitzsch|first1=Friedrich|url=https://archive.org/stream/babelbibl00deli/babelbibl00deli#page/78/mode/1up|title=Babel and Bible;|last2=McCormack|first2=Joseph|last3=Carruth|first3=William Herbert|last4=Robinson|first4=Lydia Gillingham|date=1906|location=Chicago |publisher=The Open Court |page=78}}</ref>]]
The historicity of the United Monarchy is heavily debated among archaeologists and biblical scholars: biblical maximalists and centrists ([[Kenneth Kitchen]], [[William G. Dever]], [[Amihai Mazar]], [[Baruch Halpern]] and others) argue that the biblical account is more or less accurate, while biblical minimalists ([[Israel Finkelstein]], [[Ze'ev Herzog]], [[Thomas L. Thompson]] and others) argue that Israel and Judah never split from a singular state. The debate has not been resolved, but recent archaeological discoveries by [[Eilat Mazar]] and [[Yosef Garfinkel]] show some support for the existence of the United Monarchy.<ref name="Zachary" />

From 850 BCE onwards, a series of inscriptions mention the "[[Davidic line|House of David]]". They came from Israel's neighbors.{{sfn|Joffe|2002|p=450}}<ref>{{cite web|date=2014-07-02|title=Divided Kingdom, United Critics|website=Biblical Archaeology Society|url=https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/reviews/divided-kingdom-united-critics/|access-date=2021-04-25|archive-date=9 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409185456/https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/reviews/divided-kingdom-united-critics/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Kingdoms of Israel and Judah ====
[[File:LMLK,_Ezekiah_seals.jpg|thumb|"To [[Hezekiah]], son of [[Ahaz]], king of Judah" – [[Seal (emblem)|royal seal]] found at the [[Ophel]] excavations in Jerusalem]]{{Main|Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdom of Judah|Expulsions and exoduses of Jews}}
Compared to the United Monarchy, the historicity of the Kingdom of Israel and Judah is widely accepted by historians and archaeologists.<ref name="Finkelstein">{{cite book |last1=Finkelstein |first1=Israel |author-link1=Israel Finkelstein |title=The Bible unearthed: archaeology's new vision of ancient Israel and the origin of its stories |last2=Silberman |first2=Neil Asher |author-link2=Neil Asher Silberman |date=2001 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=978-0-684-86912-4 |edition=1st Touchstone |location=New York}}</ref>{{rp|169–195}}<ref name="Wright2">{{cite web |last1=Wright |first1=Jacob L. |date=July 2014 |title=David, King of Judah (Not Israel) |url=http://www.bibleinterp.com/articles/2014/07/wri388001.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301164250/http://www.bibleinterp.com/articles/2014/07/wri388001.shtml |archive-date=1 March 2021 |access-date=15 May 2021 |website=The Bible and Interpretation}}</ref> Their destruction by the Assyrians and Babylonians respectively is also confirmed by archaeological evidence and extrabiblical sources.<ref name="Broshi 2001 174" /><ref name="BabylonianChronicles">{{cite web |title=British Museum – Cuneiform tablet with part of the Babylonian Chronicle (605–594 BCE) |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/c/cuneiform_nebuchadnezzar_ii.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030154541/https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/c/cuneiform_nebuchadnezzar_ii.aspx |archive-date=30 October 2014 |access-date=30 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=ABC 5 (Jerusalem Chronicle) |url=https://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/abc5/jerusalem.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505195611/https://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/abc5/jerusalem.html |archive-date=5 May 2019 |access-date=8 February 2022 |website=www.livius.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Faust |first=Avraham |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NcnPAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA119 |title=Judah in the Neo-Babylonian Period: The Archaeology of Desolation |publisher=Society of Biblical Lit. |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-58983-641-9 |pages=140–143}}</ref><ref name="Atiqot98">{{cite journal |author=Yardenna Alexandre |year=2020 |title=The Settlement History of Nazareth in the Iron Age and Early Roman Period |url=http://www.atiqot.org.il/download.ashx?id=1797 |url-status=live |journal='Atiqot |volume=98 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526102938/http://www.atiqot.org.il/download.ashx?id=1797 |archive-date=26 May 2020 |access-date=26 May 2020}}</ref><ref name="Finkelstein" />{{rp|306}}

Christian Frevel argues that Yahwism was rooted in the culture of the Kingdom of Israel, who introduced it to the Kingdom of Judah via [[Ahab]]'s expansions and sociopolitical cooperation, which was prompted by [[Hazael]]'s conquests.<ref name=":11">{{cite journal |last=Frevel |first=Christian |date=2021 |title=When and from Where did YHWH Emerge? Some Reflections on Early Yahwism in Israel and Judah |journal=Entangled Religions |volume=12 |issue=2 |doi=10.46586/er.12.2021.8776 |issn=2363-6696 |doi-access=free |hdl=2263/84039 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Frevel has also argued that Judah was a 'vassal-like' state to Israel, under the [[Omrides]].<ref name=":11" /> This theory has been rejected by other scholars, who argue that the archaeological evidence seems to indicate that Judah was an independent socio-political entity for most of the 9th century BCE.<ref>{{Cite book |title="And in Length of Days Understanding" (Job 12:12): Essays on Archaeology in the Eastern Mediterranean and Beyond in Honor of Thomas E. Levy |last1=Gadot |first1=Yuval |publisher=Springer Nature |year=2023 |isbn=978-3-031-27330-8 |pages=771–786 |last2=Kleiman |first2=Assaf |last3=Uziel |first3=Joe |editor-last=Ben-Yosef |editor-first=Erez |chapter=The Interconnections Between Jerusalem and Samaria in the Ninth to Eighth Centuries BCE: Material Culture, Connectivity and Politics |editor-last2=Jones |editor-first2=Ian W. N. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NcPOEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA772}}</ref>

Avraham Faust argues that there was continued adherence to the 'ethos of egalitarianism and simplicity' in the Iron Age II (10th-6th century BCE). For example, there is minimal evidence of temples and complex tomb burials, despite Israel and Judah being more densely populated than the Late Bronze Age. Four-room houses remained the norm. In addition, royal inscriptions were scarce, along with imported and decorated pottery.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Faust |first=Avraham |date=2019 |title=Israelite Temples: Where Was Israelite Cult Not Practiced, and Why |journal=Religions |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=106 |doi=10.3390/rel10020106 |issn=2077-1444 |doi-access=free}}</ref> According to [[William G. Dever]], Israelite identity in the 9th-8th centuries BCE can be identified through a combination of archaeological and cultural traits that distinguish them from their neighbors. These traits include being born and living within the territorial borders of Israel or Judah, speaking Hebrew, living in specific house types, using locally produced pottery, and following particular burial practices. Israelites were also part of a rural, kin-based society, and adhered to Yahwism, though not necessarily in a monotheistic way. Their material culture was simple but distinct, and their societal organization was centered around family and inheritance. These traits, while shared with some neighboring peoples, were uniquely Israelite in their specific combination.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dever |first=William G. |title=Beyond the texts: an archaeological portrait of ancient Israel and Judah |date=2017 |publisher=SBL Press |isbn=978-0-88414-218-8 |location=Atlanta |pages=505–506}}</ref>

The Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] around 720 [[Common Era|BCE]].{{sfn|Hasegawa|Levin|Radner|2018|p=55}} The records of [[Sargon II]] of [[Assyria]] indicate that he deported part of the population to Assyria. Some Israelites migrated to the southern kingdom of Judah,<ref name=":23">{{Cite journal |last=Finkelstein |first=Israel |date=2015-06-28 |title=Migration of Israelites into Judah after 720 BCE: An Answer and an Update |url=https://doi.org/10.1515/zaw-2015-0011 |journal=Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft |language=en |volume=127 |issue=2 |pages=188–206 |doi=10.1515/zaw-2015-0011 |issn=1613-0103 |s2cid=171178702}}</ref> while those that remained in Samaria, concentrated mainly around [[Mount Gerizim]], came to be known as [[Samaritans]].{{sfn|Shen|Lavi|Kivisild|Chou|2004}}<ref name=":13">{{Cite book |last=Finkelstein |first=Israel |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/949151323 |title=The forgotten kingdom : the archaeology and history of Northern Israel |publisher=Society of Biblical Literature |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-58983-910-6 |pages=158 |oclc=949151323}}</ref> Foreign groups were also settled by the Assyrians in the territories of the conquered kingdom.<ref name=":13" /> Research indicates that only a portion of the surviving Israelite population intermarried with Mesopotamians settlers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cline |first=Eric H. |title=From Eden to Exile: Unraveling Mysteries of the Bible |date=2008 |publisher=National Geographic (US) |isbn=978-1-4262-0208-7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Shen |first1=Peidong |last2=Lavi |first2=Tal |last3=Kivisild |first3=Toomas |last4=Chou |first4=Vivian |last5=Sengun |first5=Deniz |last6=Gefel |first6=Dov |last7=Shpirer |first7=Issac |last8=Woolf |first8=Eilon |last9=Hillel |first9=Jossi |last10=Feldman |first10=Marcus W. |last11=Oefner |first11=Peter J. |date=2004 |title=Reconstruction of patrilineages and matrilineages of Samaritans and other Israeli populations from Y-Chromosome and mitochondrial DNA sequence Variation |journal=Human Mutation |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=248–260 |doi=10.1002/humu.20077 |issn=1059-7794 |pmid=15300852 |s2cid=1571356}}</ref> In their native [[Samaritan Hebrew]], the Samaritans identify as "Israel", "B'nai Israel" or "Shamerim/Shomerim" (i.e. "Guardians/Keepers/Watchers").{{sfn|Manzur|1979}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bowman |first1=John |date=8 February 1963 |title=BANŪ ISRĀ'ĪL IN THE QUR'ĀN |journal=Islamic Studies |publisher=Islamic Research Institute |volume=2 |issue=4 |pages=447–455 |jstor=20832712 |quote=This tiny community called by the Jews and the Christians, the Samaritans, call themselves Israel or Shomerim, the Keepers (of the Torah, i.e., Tawr?t).}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Samaritan Identity |url=https://www.the-samaritans.net/ |access-date=15 September 2023 |publisher=The Israelite Samaritan Community in Israel |quote="Our real name is, 'Bene- Yisrael Ha -Shamerem (D'nU- -D'7nU) - in Hebrew , which means 'The Keepers', or to be precise, the Israelite - Keepers, as we observe the ancient Israelite tradition, since the time of our prophet Moses and the people of Israel. The modern terms, 'Samaritans' and 'Jews', given by the Assyrians, indicate the settlement of the Samaritans in the area of Samaria, and the Jews in the area of Judah."}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=26 May 2020 |title=The Keepers: Israelite Samaritan Identity |url=https://www.israelite-samaritans.com/history/keepers-israelite-samaritan-identity/ |access-date=15 September 2023 |publisher=Israelite Samaritan Information Institute |quote="We are not Samaritans; this is what the Assyrians called the people of Samaria. We, The Keepers, Sons of Israel, Keepers of the Word of the Torah, never adopted the name Samaritans. Our forefathers only used the name when speaking to outsiders about our community. Through the ages we have referred to ourselves as The Keepers."}}</ref> Despite this, belief in the [[Ten Lost Tribes of Israel]] emerged because of the heavy assimilation faced by Samarian deportees.<ref name=":12">{{cite journal |last1=Lyman |first1=Stanford M. |year=1998 |title=The Lost Tribes of Israel as a Problem in History and Sociology |journal=International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=7–42 |doi=10.1023/A:1025902603291 |jstor=20019954 |s2cid=141243508}}</ref>

Towards the end of the same century, the Neo-Babylonian Empire emerged victorious over the Assyrians, leading to Judah's subjugation as a [[vassal state]]. In the early 6th century BC, a series of [[Judah's revolts against Babylon|revolts in Judah]] prompted the Babylonian king [[Nebuchadnezzar II]] to lay [[Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC)|siege to and destroy Jerusalem]] along with the [[Solomon's Temple|First Temple]], marking the kingdom's demise. Subsequently, a segment of the Judahite populace was [[Babylonian captivity|exiled to Babylon]] in several waves.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Baker |first1=Luke |date=3 February 2017 |title=Ancient tablets reveal life of Jews in Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-archaeology-babylon-idUSKBN0L71EK20150203 |newspaper=Reuters}}</ref> Judeans were progenitors of the Jews,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Spielvogel |first=Jackson J. |title=Western Civilization: Volume A: To 1500 |publisher=Wadsworth Publishing |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-495-50288-3 |pages=36 |quote=The people of Judah survived, eventually becoming known as the Jews and giving their name to Judaism, the religion of Yahweh, the Israelite God.}}</ref> who practiced [[Second Temple Judaism]] during the [[Second Temple period]].<ref name="Cory2015">{{cite book |author=Catherine Cory |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SsZcCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA20 |title=Christian Theological Tradition |date=13 August 2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-34958-7 |at=p. 20 and forwards}}</ref><ref name="Benko1984">{{cite book |author=Stephen Benko |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LHHxkapsiEgC&pg=PA22 |title=Pagan Rome and the Early Christians |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-253-34286-7 |at=p. 22 and forwards}}</ref>