According to biblical tradition, the clan migrated to Egypt because of a famine in the land of Canaan, were later enslaved and oppressed, and finally escaped from Egypt to the desert east of the Isthmus of Suez under a remarkable leader, Moses. The account—a proclamation, celebration, and commemoration of the event—is replete with legendary elements, but present-day scholars tend to believe that behind the legends there is a solid core of fact; namely, that Hebrew slaves who built the fortified cities of Pithom and Rameses somehow fled from Egypt, probably in the 13th century bce, under a great leader (see also Moses). A stele (inscribed stone pillar) of the pharaoh Merneptah of that time in which he claims to have destroyed Israel is the first known nonbiblical reference to the people by name. Whether the destruction was in the intervening desert or in Canaan (and whether a true or a false claim) is not clear. The tradition ascribes to Moses the basic features of Israel’s faith: a single God, called YHWH, who cannot be represented iconically, bound in a covenant relationship with his special people Israel, to whom he has promised possession of (not, as with their forefathers, mere residence in) the land of Canaan. There is some dispute among scholars as to when such features as the Mosaic Covenant actually emerged and as to which of the traditional 12 tribes of Israel entered Canaan at the end of the period of wandering in the desert.

The biblical account of the conquest of Canaan is again, from the point of view of historical scholarship, full of legendary elements that express and commemorate the elation and wonder of the Israelites at these events. The conquest of Canaan—according to tradition, a united national undertaking led by Moses’ successor, Joshua—was a rather drawn out and complicated matter. Archaeological evidence tends to refute some of the elements of the biblical account, confirm others, and leave some open. According to the tradition, after an initial unified assault that broke the main Canaanite resistance, the tribes engaged in individual mopping-up operations. Scholars believe that Hebrews who had remained resident in Canaan joined forces with the invading tribes, that the other Canaanite groups continued to exist, and that many of them later were assimilated by the Israelites.

The tribal league

The invading tribes who became masters of parts of Canaan, although effectively autonomous and lacking a central authority, considered themselves a league of 12 tribes, although the number 12 seems to have been more canonical or symbolical than historical. Some scholars, on the analogy of Greek leagues of six or 12 tribes or cities with a common sanctuary, speak of the Israelite league as an “amphictyony,” the Greek term for such an association; but others hold that there is no evidence that the Israelites maintained a common shrine. Certain leaders arose, called judges, who might rule over several tribes, but this arrangement was usually of a local or regional character. However, the stories about such “judges” (who were frequently local champions or heroes, such as Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson), though encrusted with legend, are now thought to be substantially historical. The period from about 1200 to 1020 is called, after them, the period of the judges. It was during this period that Israelite assimilation of Canaanite cultural and religious ideas and practices began to be an acute problem and that other invaders and settlers became a threat to the security of Israel. One of the chief threats was from the Philistines, an Aegean people who settled (c. 12th century bce) on the coast of what later came to be called, after them, Palestine. Organized in a league of five cities, or principalities, the Philistines, who possessed a monopoly of iron implements and weapons, pushed eastward into the Canaanite hinterland and subjugated Israelite tribes, such as the Judahites and Danites, that stood in their way, even capturing the sacred ark from the famous shrine of Shiloh when it was brought into battle against them. The Philistine threat was probably the decisive factor in the emergence of a permanent political (but at first primarily military) union of all Israel under a king—what historians call the united monarchy (or kingdom).

The united monarchy

The monarchy was initiated during the career of Samuel, a prophet of great influence and authority who was also recognized as a judge and is depicted in varying biblical accounts as either favouring or not favouring the reign of a human king over Israel. In any case, he anointed Saul, a courageous military leader of the tribe of Benjamin, as king (c. 1020 bce). Saul won substantial victories over the Ammonites, Philistines, and Amalekites, leading the tribes in a “holy war,” and for a time the Philistine advance was stopped; but Saul and his son Jonathan were killed in a disastrous battle with the Philistines in central Palestine. His successor, David, a former aide (and also his son-in-law) who had fallen out of favour with him, at first took over (c. 1010) the rule of Judah in the south and then of all Israel (c. 1000). Through his military and administrative abilities and his political acumen, David established a centralized rule in Israel, cleared the territory of foreign invaders, and, in the absence of any aggressive foreign empire in the area, created his own petty empire over neighbouring city-states and peoples. He established his capital in Jerusalem, which until then had maintained its independence as a Canaanite city-state wedged between the territories of Saul’s tribe Benjamin and David’s tribe Judah, and moved the ark there from the small Israelite town in which it had been stored by the Philistines, establishing it in a tent shrine. This felicitous combination of holy ark, political reign, and central city was to be hailed and proclaimed by future ages. Under David’s successor, his son Solomon (reigned c. 961–922), Israel became a thriving commercial power; numerous impressive buildings were erected, including the magnificent Temple (a concrete symbol of the religiopolitical unity of Israel); a large harem of foreign princesses was acquired, sealing relations with other states; the country was divided into 12 districts for administrative, supply, and taxation purposes. Foreign cults set up to serve the King’s foreign wives and foreign traders led to charges of idolatry and apostasy by religious conservatives. In the latter years of his reign, Solomon’s unpopular policies, such as oppressive forced labour, led to internal discontent and rebellion, while externally the vassal nations of Damascus (Aram) and Edom staged successful revolts against his rule. The central and northern tribes, called Israel in the restricted sense, were especially galled by the oppressive policies, and soon after Solomon’s death Israel split off to become a separate kingdom. The united monarchy thus became the divided monarchy of Israel (the northern kingdom) and Judah (the southern kingdom).