Persian Period Jerusalem and Yehud: A Rejoinder

Abstract

This is a rejoinder to several recently published articles which take issue with my views on Persian period Jerusalem and Yehud. The article deals with methodological issues such as inconsistencies between archaeology and text and the meaning of negative evidence in archaeology. On the factual level, with the available data at hand, I see no reason to change my views : Persian period Jerusalem covered ca. 2-2.5 hectares, and both the description of the construction of the city-wall in Nehemiah 3 and the List of Returnees in Ezra and Nehemiah probably reflect late Hellenistic (Hasmonean) period realities.

Archaeology as a High Court in Ancient Israelite History: A Reply to Nadav Na’aman

“…I have already answered reservations-some similar to Na'aman's-about my assertion that in the Persian period the City of David was not protected by a city-wall (Finkelstein 2009contra, e.g., Lipschits 2009) and there is no need to repeat my arguments here. Na'aman adds a textual argument-that a letter from Elephantine, addressed to the governor of Judah, mentions priests and nobles in Jerusalem.…”

Psalm 120 and the question of authorship of the songs of Ascents

“…The existence of this Qedarite king and the expansion of his influence up to the Mediterranean is confirmed by the discovery of a votive bowl from Tell el-Maskhuta (near Ismailia), dated from the fifth century BCE and mentioning the donor's name as 'son of Geshem king of Qedar.' See Rabinovitz 1956: 2, 6;Dumbrell 1971;Finkelstein 2009: 9-10.…”