Ancient Zionism: The Biblical Origins of the National IdeaSimon and Schuster, 2010 M06 15 - 277 pages In this unusual and provocative book, Victor Erlich uncovers the origins of the national idea in the Hebrew Bible. Through a series of sensitive and original readings of well-known biblical episodes, Erlich argues that ancient Zionism was not an ideological construct but rather a unique marriage of literary imagination and ethnic pride. |
From inside the book
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Page 3
... ancient Hebrews took this second idea as the only possible justification for their seizure of lands that had formerly belonged to the Canaanite tribes . Yes , they believed God gave them the lands of Canaan , but only on condition that ...
... ancient Hebrews took this second idea as the only possible justification for their seizure of lands that had formerly belonged to the Canaanite tribes . Yes , they believed God gave them the lands of Canaan , but only on condition that ...
Page 4
... Hebrews saw these lands as unifiable , because only the Hebrews possessed a unifying idea that made a Land out of disparate territories . That the Land must be read is a preoccupation of a major portion of Tanach , the Hebrew Bible ...
... Hebrews saw these lands as unifiable , because only the Hebrews possessed a unifying idea that made a Land out of disparate territories . That the Land must be read is a preoccupation of a major portion of Tanach , the Hebrew Bible ...
Page 5
... ancient Hebrews gave the name Zion . Before I do so , I should say a word about my approach by offering a representative story . We can recognize the biblical redactors ' demands on their readers , because these demands form the basis ...
... ancient Hebrews gave the name Zion . Before I do so , I should say a word about my approach by offering a representative story . We can recognize the biblical redactors ' demands on their readers , because these demands form the basis ...
Page 6
... Hebrews , who mistakenly interpret the golden calf as the god who raised them out of Egypt . Joshua too is a misreader , thinking the noise in the camp a sign of battle . He is an overeager version of his later self , the leader - to ...
... Hebrews , who mistakenly interpret the golden calf as the god who raised them out of Egypt . Joshua too is a misreader , thinking the noise in the camp a sign of battle . He is an overeager version of his later self , the leader - to ...
Page 7
... idolaters drink the dust . In our story of Moses receiving the tablets as the Hebrews dance ( the root Hebrew word for dance is tablet spelt backwards ) , the covenant meets its opposite , which is idolatry . Idolatry Introduction 7.
... idolaters drink the dust . In our story of Moses receiving the tablets as the Hebrews dance ( the root Hebrew word for dance is tablet spelt backwards ) , the covenant meets its opposite , which is idolatry . Idolatry Introduction 7.
Contents
Land and Intellect | 21 |
Land and Literacy | 37 |
Land and Law | 53 |
Land and Loot | 69 |
History and Hell | 85 |
David in Zion | 99 |
Brickkiln and Winepress | 113 |
Ritual in the Land | 127 |
Landless and Illiterate | 169 |
The Ancient Hatred of Zionism | 181 |
The Hebrew Mind in Diaspora | 197 |
Zohar | 211 |
A Bough Over the Wall | 225 |
Zion as Tragicomedy | 241 |
Ancient Zionism and Its Modern Competitors | 255 |
Acknowledgments | 271 |
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Common terms and phrases
Aaron Abraham Ammon Ammonites ancient Hebrews ancient Zionism Arab Babylonia Balaam behold Bible blessing Boaz Canaan children of Israel conquest covenant daughter David Deuteronomy Diaspora dream earth Egyptian Ephron Esau Esther exile Exodus Ezekiel father Genesis God's Haman hand hath hatred Hebrew culture holy idea idolatry idols imagination inheritance intellectual nationalism invention Isaac Isaiah Jacob Jebusites Jephthah Jerusalem Jewish Jews Jonah Joseph Joshua Judah King Korah land of Egypt literal literary living Lord thy magic Manoah metaphor mind Moab Molech monotheism monotheistic Mordecai Moses Nazirite Nineveh Numbers Palestinian passage Pharaoh poetic poetry priest prophets rabbis readers redactors reign remind represent ritual Ruth sacrifice Samson Samuel Saul say unto servants Shechem Solomon story Sumeria Talmud Terah thee thine thou hast thou shalt thy seed told took understanding unto the Lord Uriah vision wife word Zion Zionism zohar
Popular passages
Page 4 - And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us ; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.