Time period: ca. 975 - 925 BCE, plus a bunch on either end

We explore the city of Jerusalem in the time of the early monarchy and take a close look at the Temple of Solomon as described in the Book of Kings and as revealed by archaeology. The First Temple itself is completely destroyed, but other temples in Judah and throughout the Near East have survived and could give us a good idea of what the center for Judahite worship would have looked like. Plus, we meet Yachin and Boaz.

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Time period: ca. 975 - 925 BCE

We look at the reign of King Solomon. While Saul and David are portrayed in the Tanakh as the founders of the Israelite states, Solomon is depicted as the founder of their institutions: the bureaucracy, the temple, the palaces, the diplomatic ties, the army, and the taxation. I go on a tangent about the taxes Solomon was supposed to have gathered and determined that he would have received an unreasonably-large sum of $113 million a year. We then look at the remains of Gezer, Hazor, and Megiddo, three cities which Solomon was said to have fortified. The archaeology of these sites is very controversial, so we dive into the opposing theories concerning when their gates were constructed.

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Time period: ca. 1200 - 800 BCE

We take a look at the peoples of the burgeoning kingdoms and city states around Palestine as well as the major empires in the Near East. On our tour we meet the Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, Philistines, Phoenicians, Arameans, Egyptians, and Assyrians. The Israelites will interact with all of these peoples throughout the Iron Age and will get attacked by most of them.

Music, as always, by Jacob Shaw.

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