RELG 433 - Biblical Archaeology
Module 9 Course Notes - The Days of the Judges
Iron Age I : ca. 1,200 - 1,000 BC
The Time of the Judges
After entering Canaan, the Israelite tribes set about the conquest of the Promised Land. The accounts contained in the Books of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, and part of I Samuel cover this period, and give a picture of the disturbances and chaotic conditions of the time. Although Saul is acknowledged as the first king of a united Israel, he seems to have functioned more as a tribal war-leader than a monarch, and war with the Philistines was an on-going feature of his reign, so for archaeological purposes the conditions of his reign are closer to those of Judges than to the more settled conditions which David was able to bring to the land.
Although the Israelites were brought to the Promised Land by God within a short time of their Exodus from Egypt, they were afraid to try to conquer Canaan because they thought that the Canaanites were too powerful. So the Israelites were condemned to wander for another forty years in the Sinai desert until a new generation had grown up, who were willing to fight for the land.
That 40-year period when the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness most probably coincides with the time that the Sea-Peoples were driven out of Egypt, and settled along the Mediterranean coast of Canaan. So the Sea-Peoples had an extra 40 years in which to consolidate their position, build cities, and take control of the coastal strip, which they would not have had if the Israelites had done as God initially told them. Had the Israelites entered into Canaan when God first gave them the opportunity, they would have had an easier time asserting themselves and driving out the Philistines.
The number of years covered by the Book of Judges is a debatable question. It is probably a mistake to think of each Judge leading the whole of Israel, and then being succeeded by the next Judge. It seems that different Judges were leaders in various parts of the land, and led the Israelites against different enemies, such as Philistines, Amorites, Ammonites. The times for some Judges may have overlapped one another. Jephthah's statement, Judges 11:26, indicates that the Israelites had already had possession of the lands east of the Jordan for 300 years. It may be that the 200 years reckoned by archaeologists for this period may need revision. Some scholars would place the Exodus at around 1,450 BC, with the entry into Canaan at around 1,406 BC, and the period of the Judges about 1,390-1,090 BC. This, however, causes some difficulty in aligning with the dates for Egyptian dynasties as presently accepted.
So, for now, please remember that the dating of this period is still under debate, and make a note of this as a project for a doctoral dissertation if your interests lead you that way.
Destruction Layers
Many of the Canaanite settlements in Canaan show one or more destruction layers during Iron Age IA. A typical destruction layer is darker in color than the layers above and below it, due to admixture of soot and burnt debris. Sometimes the layer may be several inches deep, sometimes only a fraction of an inch, depending on the severity of the destruction. The layers immediately below and above the destruction layer can give some information as to the probable sequence of events - but they do not always indicate the cause of the destruction.
Consider the settlement of the (hypothetical) Blue-Pottery People :
In this case, the Blue-Pottery People settled at the site (Layer F) and flourished for a time (Layer E). Then the settlement was destroyed (Layer D), the Blue Pottery People never came back, and no-one else settled at the site (Layer C). Unless there is clear indication of enemy action, eg. arrowheads in the destruction layer, the destruction might have been caused by an accidental fire (eg a cooking fire getting out of control) or natural causes (earthquake scattering the house-fires and oil-lamps, etc)
In the case to the left, the site was deserted after the destruction (Layer C), then, after a time, the Blue-Pottery People returned and rebuilt the settlement (Layer B).
In the case to the right, after the destruction the Blue-Pottery People returned to the site immediately (Layer C), and after a while the settlement began to flourish again (Layer B)
In the absence of evidence of invasion, attack, or other enemy action, one would posit a natural disaster as the most probable cause for the destruction.
Now let's add the Red-Pottery People :
In the case to the left, the Blue-Pottery People disappeared from the site, and the Red-Pottery People settled in at some time after the destruction. They might have been instrumental in driving the Blue folk away, or they might just have come by, seen what they considered a suitable site, and moved in.
In the case to the right, the Red-Pottery People moved in immediately after the destruction - that would implicate them in the destruction of the Blue-Pottery settlement, though it would not be an absolute proof that they were the cause.
In Canaan during Iron Age IA all the above types of destruction and subsequent resettlement are encountered.. The situation is further complicated by the invasion of the Philistines and the continuing presence of some Egyptian forces during the early part of the period. At Jericho there was probably a gap in occupation. The Tel at Jericho is so large that it has only been partially excavated; a smaller settlement following a Middle Bronze destruction may still be undiscovered under the Tel. Some sites were destroyed during Iron Age I and were not rebuilt (eg. Shiloh). Some settlements were destroyed and rebuilt after a gap in occupation, and some were rebuilt by a different cultural population.
The apparent discrepancy in the case of Jerusalem can be resolved when one realizes that Judges 1:8 records that the tribe of Judah had taken Jerusalem and set fire to it, but it does not say that they settled there - they appear to have continued in a campaign further south to Hebron. So the Jebusites probably reclaimed and rebuilt their city (Joshua 1:21) and held it until it fell to King David during Iron Age II (II Sam. 5:6-9)
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