Ancient Israelite Culture: What Can We Know?

Is there evidence for the biblical period from outside of the Bible?

Neither the biblical nor the extrabiblical material provides a complete picture of the culture of ancient Israel; the Bible is not a single, monolithic book but a collection of very different types of writing, each with its own character and purpose. It preserves only what its compilers considered important. Other literature once existed but was at some point lost or rejected.

There is an important distinction to be drawn between the biblical and extrabiblical material. The books of the Bible, which may be considered “high” culture, were artfully composed and intentionally preserved, revised, and edited over many years. The extrabiblical material, however, survived largely by chance. In many cases, it is mundane, the remnants of everyday life that were discovered in modern times, mostly by archaeologists. It sometimes illustrates religious practices that the Bible opposes. Taken together, the biblical and extrabiblical materials help us to reconstruct, at least in part, Israel’s literary, artistic, religious, and material culture.

Selections from the biblical and extrabiblical sources appear together in the Posen Library so that they can inform each other and enable readers to appreciate the range and character of the culture of ancient Israel, to the extent possible. The selections illustrate ancient Israel’s cultural innovations as well as the culture shared with its neighbors. Selected texts and objects from other peoples in the region are also presented when they can clarify themes in Israelite texts or illuminate how Israelite objects looked and functioned. The distinctiveness of ancient Israel stands out most clearly in the literature of the Bible, although it borrowed many elements from surrounding literatures. Israel’s material and visual culture is less innovative and more like that of neighboring cultures.

Why does the Posen Library include material from non-Israelite sources?

All the Posen Library’s images from the biblical period come from outside the Bible; the Bible contains no visual images, only verbal descriptions. Wherever possible, the objects presented are from known archaeological provenances, from Israelite sites, and are well enough preserved to give a sense of how they looked when they were whole. When this is not possible, modern reconstructions are used (drawings, or models of buildings), or artifacts from foreign sites or from later periods are included, if there is good reason to think they resemble their ancient Israelite counterparts, such as musical instruments, tassels on garments, and scrolls.

It is impossible to write a complete cultural history of ancient Israel that connects specific cultural phenomena to the historical developments and social conditions that stimulated them. There are too many gaps in our knowledge and too much uncertainty about the dating of biblical passages and of specific extrabiblical texts and artifacts. Although some extrabiblical texts include their dates (generally a king’s regnal year), those that do not can be placed only within a broad range of dates. Despite these obstacles, many key elements of Israelite culture can be identified and seen in historical perspective.