Abstract
The author attempts to supplement the study of the social structure and institutions of early Israel with gleanings from the rich archive of the kingdom of Mari (end of the nineteenth and first half of the eighteenth century BCE). Malamat describes the institutions of the patriarchal tribal society, and its terminology. He stresses the importance of patrimony in these West-Semitic societies, describes the connections of the Patriarchs to the River Land (the biblical Aram Naharaim), tries to relate the West-Semitic attitude toward the ban (herem), and to define the phenommenon of prophecy in both societies.
| Translated title of the contribution | REFLECTIONS ON THE EARLIEST PERIOD OF ANCIENT ISRAEL |
|---|---|
| Original language | Hebrew |
| Pages (from-to) | 193-197 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | קתדרה: לתולדות ארץ-ישראל וישובה |
| Volume | 70 |
| State | Published - Jan 1994 |