The Myth of the Twelve Tribes of Israel
The Myth of the Twelve Tribes of Israel
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The Myth of the Twelve Tribes of Israel is the first study to treat the history of claims to an Israelite identity as an ongoing historical phenomenon from biblical times to the present. By treating the Hebrew Bible's accounts of Israel as one of many efforts to construct an Israelite history, rather than source material for later legends, Andrew Tobolowsky brings a long-term comparative approach to biblical and nonbiblical “Israelite” histories. In the process, he sheds new light on how the structure of the twelve tribes tradition enables the creation of so many different visions of Israel, and generates new questions: How can we explain the enduring power of the myth of the twelve tribes of Israel? How does “becoming Israel” work, why has it proven so popular, and how did it change over time? Finally, what can the changing shape of Israel itself reveal about those who claimed it?
- Reveals a continuous and ongoing historical phenomenon of long duration, the efforts to claim an Israelite identity and history
- Employs a uniquely long-term comparative approach to biblical and nonbiblical accounts of the same tradition
- Tells the fascinating stories of peoples around the world who have “become Israel”
Reviews & endorsements
‘… a provocative reminder that far more than genetics, culture and tradition determine the highly contingent ways we identify ourselves.’ Jared Bennett, Reading Religion
‘A fresh look at one of the world’s most productive forms of belonging, the concept of the Twelve Tribes of Israel.’ Seth L. Sanders, Journal of the American Academy of Religion
Product details
March 2022Hardback
9781316514948
350 pages
235 × 158 × 23 mm
0.589kg
Available
Table of Contents
- 1. Judah's Israels: The twelve tribes of Israel in the Hebrew Bible
- 2. The tribes that were not lost: The Samaritans
- 3. Across the River Sambatyon: The lost tribes of Israel in medieval legends
- 4. Becoming Israel in America: The Mormons and the new Jerusalem
- 5. A lost tribe returns: The beta Israel in Ethiopia and Israel.
