The Formation of Israelite Identity in the Central Canaanite Highlands in the Iron Age I–IIA

The author examines the formation of Israelite identity in relation to the formation of the Israelite monarchy in the Iron I–IIA central Canaanite hill country. Drawing on recent studies regarding the significant role of kinship in ancient Near Eastern societies, this article reflects on Israelite identity as a kinship identity. It begins with a brief discussion of settlement patterns and oscillations in the central Canaanite hill country during the Iron I–IIA in the context of the formation of the Israelite monarchy. As kinship is a social ideology, the relevant textual sources are also examined, leading to the conclusion that it is the process of “state formation,” with its constant need to form politically and socially unified structures under centralized rule, that generated the construction of an encompassing Israelite identity.