> in writing about the historical developments of palestine between 1250 and 586 (bce) all of the traditional answers given for the origins and development of "israel" have had to be discarded. the patriarchs of genesis were not historical. the assertion that "israel" was already a people before entering palestine whether in these stories or in those of joshua has no historical foundation. no massive military campaign of invading nomadic "israelites" ever conquered palestine. there never was an ethnically distinct "canaanite" population whom "israelites" displaced. there was no "period of the judges" in history. no empire ever ruled a "united monarchy" for jerusalem. no ethnically coherent "israelite" nation ever existed at all. in history, neither jerusalem nor judah ever shared an identity with israel before the rule of the hasmoneans in the hellenistic period what we see today with the jews claiming this identity is an attempt to gain legitimacy, to have the divine right of kings, by claiming divine ancestry.
United Kingdom