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There are three possible sources of information about the ancient Hebrews:

  1. The Old Testament. This was written by Jewish authors from the seventh century BCE onwards. It suffers from potential nationalistic bias and its reliance on what were already ancient traditions that had evolved over time. It is likely to omit anything unflattering or contrary to the political and religious realities of the time in which it was written.

    The biblical texts can even be analysed, to establish when certain passages were written and by whom. This can provide information about how the Hebrew self-identity evolved.

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  2. Archaeological finds in Palestine for the Israelite era. These can at times either agree with the biblical sources, or disagree. Even when they agree, they shed new light on just who the Hebrews, or Israelites, were and what they believed. Archaeological finds have established the beginning of the Hebrew language as around the end of the tenth century BCE, and shown it to be based on the Canaanite language.

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  3. Historical records from Egypt and other parts of the ancient Near East. These are typically found in the archaeological record and can either confirm or disprove The Bible. By providing information about what other peoples of the time believed, they can also shed light on on what the Hebrews believed and how their religion evolved.
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14y ago

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