Includes bibliographical references (pages382-421) and index

On history and history writing -- The challenges of writing a history of ancient Israel -- The natural setting -- The database: sites and hierarchies -- Cities and towns -- Towns, villages, and everyday life -- Socioeconomic structures -- Religion and cult -- Israel's neighbors -- Warfare and the end

In this book William Dever addresses the question that must guide every good historian of ancient Israel: What was life really like in those days? Writing as an expert archaeologist who is also a secular humanist, Dever relies on archaeological data, over and above the Hebrew Bible, for primary source material. He focuses on the lives of ordinary people in the eighth century B.C.E. - not kings, priests, or prophets - people who left behind rich troves of archaeological information but who are practically invisible in "typical" histories of ancient Israel. --from publisher description