The Judahite Shephelah in the Late 8th and Early 7th Centuries BCE

Abstract

In a recent article, Blakely and Hardin (2002) reviewed the results of excavations at several sites in the Shephelah and Beersheba Valley and interpreted them as evidence of an early Assyrian attack by Tiglath-pileser IlIon Judah. This study questions their proposal from both the archaeological and textual perspectives. It suggests an alternative interpretation, according to which the sites under discussion were devastated by Sennacherib in 701 BeE and partly reoccupied in the early 7th century, in the days of Manasseh.

Settlement and Demography in Seventh-Century Judah and the Extent and Intensity of Sennacherib's Campaign

“…A number of towns had indeed gradually recovered, but even most of those did not reach their eighthcentury status and population, and many other sites did not recover or hardly recovered at all (and this is suitable for both Blakely andHardin 2002, andNa'aman 2004). The Shephelah was not empty of course, and many people lived there in the seventh century, but the decline in relation to the eighth century was signifi cant.…”

Urban City Planning in the Eighth Century: A Case Study of Recent Excavations at Tel Gezer (Reading between the Lines: Uzziah's Expansion and Tel Gezer)

“…The results of recent archaeological investigations and scholarly research have focused on the geopolitical development during the eighth century in Judah and the southern coastal plain. 8 Current archaeological projects include the Beth Shemesh project under the direction of Schlomo Bunimovitz and Zvi Lederman; 9 the excavations at Tel Gath under the direction of Aren Maeir of Bar Ilan University; 10 In the second half of the tenth century BCE the village of Beth-Shemesh became a regional administrative center with evidence of city-planning and building construction. The city had an elaborate fortification system with a massive wall and a retaining tower in front of it along with a series of casemate rooms adjoining the wall.…”

Temple and Dynasty: Hezekiah, the Remaking of Judah and the Rise of the Pan-Israelite Ideology

“…The first assemblage (for the best collection of vessels, from Tell es-Safi in the Shephelah, see Maeir 2001) represents the late Iron IIA, that is, the period covering the ninth century (mainly the second part of it) and possibly the early eighth century BCE. The second assemblage represents the late eighth century BCE, until the Sennacherib destructions of 701 BCE (and probably the early seventh century which is difficult to identify for the lack of destruction layerssee Finkelstein 1994;Finkelstein and Na'aman 2004). The transition between the two should probably be put some time in the first half-to-the middle of the eighth century.…”

“…The lmlk jars, and seal impressions of officials found on some of the jars, also attest to an advanced bureaucratic apparatus, though not necessarily representing a sudden preparation for the revolt against Assyria. It seems due, rather, to the considerable growth and increasing complexity of the economy of Judah; for the first time pottery is mass-produced (Zimhoni 1997: 170-72) and Judah engages in large-scale, state-controlled olive oil production in the Shephelah-at Tell Beit Mirsim and Beth-shemesh (Eitan- Katz 1994;Finkelstein and Na'aman 2004).…”

“…Beginning in 732 BCE, Judah's participation in the Assyrian-dominated Arabian trade was the apparent main reason for the prosperity in the Beer-sheba Valley, along the routes that led from Arabia via Edom to the Mediterranean ports, which were turned into Assyrian emporia (Finkelstein 1992;Singer-Avitz 1999;Na'aman 2001). Somewhat later, apparently after the destruction of Ashdod and the rise of Ekron in the days of Sargon II, Judahite olive oil must have been traded to Assyria and other clients, possibly through Ekron (Finkelstein and Na'aman 2004). The second major event was the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 722-720 BCE.…”