Revelations at hand

..."Meanwhile, Finkelstein and Silberman’s David and Solomon remains one of the most thought-provoking archaeology books of the decade, not only an intellectually staggering and convincing piece of research, but a work that captures the true academic spirit of our age. While detached officers of the University and College Union in England boycott Israeli scholars, it is Israel’s academics who are showing the maturity and responsibility to seek unwelcome historical truth. Finkelstein, an Israeli Jew, and Silberman demolish one of the greatest foundation myths in the world and the core of Israel’s identity. Welcome to the new Israel, the objective, academic Israel willing to make painful concessions.

Finkelstein and Silberman portray the biblical story of David and Solomon as tales for cold winter nights, and rationally conclude that ‘We all live in a world of clashing nationalisms and global empire - the very themes that brought about the rise of the Davidic legend in eighth- and seventh-century BCE Judah… Our perspectives on those themes is uniquely modern. We no longer honestly hope for the resurrection of an Iron Age kingdom. We can no longer rely on messianic dreams to overcome our shared nightmares. And we can no longer rely on the divine rights of the kings as the justification for the acts of our leaders’. Powerful words that should make the UCU bow its head in embarrassment. Words too, based on solid science, that the likes of Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, hell bent on naively denouncing the evils of religion, ought to pay greater attention towards. An epic United Monarchy may never have existed in the 10th century BC, but this story of how and when Israel invented itself speaks volumes about how ancient and modern societies and religions truly work."

Full background at:
Minerva - The International Review of Ancient Art & Archaeology