The Natural History of the Bible East–west (above) and north–south (below) physiographic transects of Canaan. DANIEL HILLEL Th Thee NNaattuurraall HHiissttoorryy ooff tthhee BBiibbllee AN ENVIRONMENTAL EXPLORATION OF THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES Columbia University Press New York Columbia University Press Publishers Since 893 New York Chichester, West Sussex Copyright © 2006 Daniel Hillel All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hillel, Daniel. The natural history of the Bible : an environmental exploration of the Hebrew scriptures / Daniel Hillel. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–23–3362–6 (cloth : alk. paper) . Bible. O.T.—Criticism, interpretation, etc. 2. Human ecology in the Bible. 3. Human ecology—Biblical teaching. 4. Human ecology—Religious aspects— Judaism. I. Title. BS99.N34H55 2005 22.9'—dc22 2005050740 Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper. Printed in the United States of America c 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2  Dedicated to the gentle spirit and enduring legacy of my grandfather, Haim Mordekhai Fromberg, ‘alaiv hashalom CONTENTS Acknowledgments ix A Note on Translation xi Chronology xiii PROLOGUE A Personal Testament  . ENVIRONMENT AND CULTURE A Premise and Its Implications  2. THE ECOLOGICAL CONTEXT A Region of Disparate Domains 26 3. THE FIRST RIVERINE DOMAIN Influence of Mesopotamia 40 4. THE PASTORAL DOMAIN Legacy of the Bedouin Patriarchs 54 5. THE SECOND RIVERINE DOMAIN Sojourn and Slavery in Egypt 87 VIII CONTENTS 6. THE DESERT DOMAIN Wanderings in Sinai and the Negev 8 7. THE RAINFED DOMAIN Settlement in the Hill District of Canaan 40 8. THE MARITIME DOMAIN Interactions with Philistines and Phoenicians 63 9. THE URBAN DOMAIN Convergence of King and Cult in Jerusalem 77 0. THE EXILE DOMAIN Expulsion, Survival, Revival, and Return 93 . THE OVERARCHING UNITY Culmination of Ethical Monotheism 206 EPILOGUE The Lasting Relevance of Early Ecological Influences 22 APPENDIXES . On the Historical Validity of the Bible 229 2. Perceptions of Humanity’s Role on God’s Earth 24 3. Selected Passages Regarding the Seven Domains 247 Notes 277 Bibliography 39 Index 339 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS HEN I first chose the title of this book, I was unaware that it had been W used before. Only later did I discover that the English naturalist and explorer Henry B. Tristram had published a book with the same title as long ago as 873, under the aegis of the London- based Society for Promoting Chris- tian Knowledge. His is indeed a beautiful book, elegantly written and richly illustrated, remarkable for its time and still fascinating to read. However, while describing the geography, climate, fauna, and flora of the Holy Land, as it was then known, Tristram made no attempt to define and interpret the cultural evolution of the Israelite people and of their Scriptures as influenced by the natural environment. Hence I tend to think of Tristram’s book as “the natural history of the land of the Bible” (as, indeed, he defined it in his preface), rather than as the natural history of the Bible per se. So while I credit the pioneering explorer Henry Tristram with originating the title, I feel free to use it some 30 years later. Several colleagues read parts of the manuscript at various stages of its devel- opment. Among them were Professor Michal Artzy of Haifa University; Profes- sor Bill Dalesky of Hebrew University, Jerusalem; Professor Raymond Scheindlin of Jewish Theological Seminary, New York; Dr. Vivien Gornitz of the Goddard Institute, New York; Dr. David Arnow of the New Israel Foundation, New York; Professors Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim of Bucknell University, Lewis- burg, Pennsylvania; and—last but certainly not least—author Bill McKibben. Others with whom I discussed different aspects of the subject include Profes-