ARCH201 - Canaanites, Philistines, Judahites and the Rise of the Davidic Monarchy

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Nil

Unit rationale, description and aim

An understanding of the formation and nature of the Canaanite, Philistine and Judahite settlements, their interactions with one another, and the differences in their material cultures, is essential knowledge for students and teachers of the archaeology and history of Ancient Israel and the Hebrew Bible. The end of the Bronze Age marked a migration of Aegean peoples into the coastal plains of Ancient Israel who became known as the Philistines, subduing the local Canaanite inhabitants in the process. The period also marked the emergence of the kingdom of Judah in the highlands centred on Jerusalem. They warred with the Philistines over control of the fertile valleys in between their respective territories, conflict epitomised by the battle between David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17). This unit will examine the material culture of Canaanite, Philistine and Judahite settlements, in particular housing, domestic artefacts, food, cult and trade. It will investigate the archaeological evidence of state formation and whether this supports the existence of a united Davidic monarchy (Israel and Judah) as described in the Hebrew Bible. The aim of the unit is to give students a good understanding of the material cultures, political structures and interactions of the Canaanites, Philistines and Judahites.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

Content

Topics will include:

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit involves 150 hours of focused learning, the equivalent of 12.5 hours per week for 12 weeks. The total includes formally structured learning activities plus reading, research, and the preparation and submission of assessment tasks. In order to pass this unit, students are required to achieve 50% of the available marks for the unit overall.

The unit is offered fully online. Students will acquire broad knowledge about the practice of archaeology and its impact on the historical narrative through lectures and tutorials based on enquiry-based learning using research into archaeological evidence, inscriptions and written accounts. Students will be asked to evaluate, synthesise and critically reflect upon different types of evidence building your skills in weighing the value of information.

Students will be recognised as adult learners who engage best when they see that what they are learning is relevant and are given the opportunity to be responsible for their own discovery and learning. This is vital for anyone engaged in any sort of research. Active participation in this unit is essential. Learning is designed to be an engaging and supportive experience, which will help develop the capacity to synthesise knowledge and communicate it effectively.

Assessment strategy and rationale

The assessment tasks for this unit are designed to demonstrate achievement of each learning outcome using scaffolded learning.  

Task 1 requires students to describe the emergence of the Canaanites, Philistines and Judahites and identify the key features of their geographic location, political structures and material cultures. This task is designed to allow students to display the achievement of Learning Outcome 1. It is a relatively low-risk assessment that will test ability to locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information relevant to the discipline. Feedback provided from Task 1 will help with the other two assessment tasks. 

Task 2 invites students to critically analyse the impact of archaeological discoveries on knowledge of the differences in material cultures between the Canaanites, Philistines and Judahites. The principal focus of this task is to display achievement of Learning Outcomes 1 and 2. 

Task 3 asks students to research and evaluate the accuracy of the narrative in the Hebrew Bible about the nature and formation of the Canaanite, Philistine and Judahite states and their relationship to one another in the light of archaeological discoveries. The principal focus of this task is to practice and display achievement of all three Learning Outcomes. 

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Dever, William G. Beyond the texts: An archaeological portrait of Ancient Israel and Judah. Atlanta: SBL Press, 2017. 

Gittlen, B. M. Sacred time, sacred place: Archaeology and the religion of Israel. University Park, Panama: Eisenbrauns, 2002. 

Grabbe, Lester L. Ancient Israel: What do we know and how do we know it? Rev. edition. New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017.

Kitche, K. A. On the reliability of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: MI, Eerdmans, 2003.

Lemche, N. P. Ancient Israel: A new history of Israel. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2015. Accessed September 10, 2021. http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy2.acu.edu.au/10.5040/9780567662811

Meyers, E. M. The Oxford encyclopedia of archaeology in the Near East. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.

Miller, J. M. ‘Approaches to the Bible through history and archeology: Biblical history as a discipline’, The Biblical Archaeologist. Vol. 45, No. 4, pp. 211-216, viewed 10 September 2021

Niditch, S. The Wiley Blackwell companion to Ancient Israel. Chichester, England: Wiley Blackwell, 2016.

Price, R. Zondervan handbook of biblical archaeology. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 2017.

Steiner, M, L. Inhabiting the promised land: Exploring the complex relationship between archaeology and Ancient Israel as depicted in the bible. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxbow Books, 2019.