Defeated Canaanite warriors from the painted limestone relief at Thebes
After completing my second book, "The Enchanting Encounter with the East", I returned for a while to the old plan and started to browse evidence concerning Early Israel in hope to find material for a short article.
In the course of my recent quest, I haven't put my finger on a particular plot but I realized that the origins of Israel are hidden much deeper than their first emergence on Merneptah Stela. I believe that the People of the Book made up an offshoot of the robust tree of the West Semites and their culture sprang up from the common Canaanite background.
I was born in Moscow but my heart has driven me to the Land of Canaan. That happened years after I had repatriated to Israel, raised a family, and embarked on an ungrateful career of a high-school teacher.
My fascination with Canaan began with the search for the origins of Early Israel. I penned an account about Exodus, where I defined this tale as a foundation myth and established a firm link between Proto-Israelites, who flooded the highlands at the climax of the Late Bronze Age (13-12 centuries BCE), and their lowland neighbors. You can view 'The Generation of Exodus' at scriggler.com/DetailPost/Opinion/26251
You can also take a gander at my second report, 'Mesha the Dibonite Recovers His Voice', which is available at scriggler.com/DetailPost/Opinion/27980
I asked myself: if these Proto-Israelites were part and parcel of a local ethnic Landschaft, which features of their background could prove it beyond reasonable doubt? In plain English, who were the Canaanites and what was their legacy that I can claim- in due respect- as my own?
I have not found the answers because it's time to think about my third book. I am hopeful to return to this issue sometime in the future.
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