INVESTIGADORES
PFOH Emanuel Oreste
artículos
Título:
Proto-Israelites: The Story of a Misleading Term
Autor/es:
RAZ KLETTER; LUKASZ NIESIOLOWSKI-SPANÒ; EMANUEL PFOH
Revista:
Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament
Editorial:
Taylor & Francis
Referencias:
Lugar: Londres; Año: 2023 vol. 37 p. 187 - 209
ISSN:
0901-8328
Resumen:
The prefix proto, originally from the Greek, carries several meanings, including first, earliest, original and primitive. A prototype is the first or original type, and proto may indicate something in the way of becoming. In this article we offer a critical review of the history and uses of the term proto-Israelites in biblical and archaeological studies since 1943. The prehistory of early Israel has shrunk from the Early Bronze to the Iron Age, but the use of proto-Israel has grown since the 1990s, tied to issues of historicity and ethnicity. Proto-Israelite is a misleading term. It enables scholars to re-find a united, ethnic Israel, by projecting it onto the past in disguise, as proto-Israel. There are no proto-people that carry proto-ethnicity. The use of proto-Israelites serves modern ideologies. We suggest more neutral terms, which do not beg the question whether an Israelite ethnic community existed, or can be identified in material remains of the Iron Age I.