Abstract
The present study presents an alternative model of pre-monarchic Israel’s political organization in tandem with an investigation into the role of place in the preservation of memory that explains how and why the tradition of Hazor’s demise was included in the Bible. Corresponding to the type of decentralized political organization attested in the Amarna letters, the core narratives in Judges depict Israel as a confederation of independent entities whose concerns revolved around local affairs. As the identity of Israel evolved over time, the memories of the most significant of these affairs were retained, often with the aid of material remains in the familiar landscape. The apparent injunction against building over Hazor’s 13th century palace ruins during Israel’s subsequent occupation and the inclusion of Hazor’s destruction from competing perspectives in the Bible suggest that it was an important event in Israel’s history, even if the entirety of Israel was not involved.
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