Challenging Dichotomies and Biases in the Study of the Ancient Southern Levant

This volume problematizes established dichotomies in studying the ancient southern Levant (modern Israel, Palestine, and Jordan) during the 2nd and 1st millennium BCE. Specialists from different fields accepted the challenge to question established paradigms and dissolve boundaries, especially in the shape of dichotomies, in our understanding of the region’s ancient history. Fundamental dichotomies and corresponding biases addressed include image|text, self|other, male|female, and biblical|non-biblical. Together, the contributions address neglected issues in scholarship and emphasize material and visual datasets as well as texts beyond the Hebrew Bible. The articles thus contribute to a certain decentering of the Bible in studying ancient southern Levantine societies and cultures. In turn, they argue for a multidimensional study of the southern Levant as a whole and its constituent fabric with its local and regional differences.