Israel and Judah Redefined
Migration, Trauma, and Empire in the Sixth Century BCE

Uses migration research, trauma studies, and postcolonial theory to explore the Babylonian exiles effect on Israelite and Judahite identity.

C. L. Crouch (Author)

9781108473767, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 12 August 2021

350 pages
22.3 x 14.5 x 1.6 cm, 0.34 kg

'This excellent monograph is a nuanced and balanced culmination of Crouch's ongoing critical reflection on Israelite identity.' Katherine Southwood, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

In Israel and Judah Redefined, C. L. Crouch uses trauma studies, postcolonial theory, and social-scientific research on migration to analyse the impact of mass displacements and imperial power on Israelite and Judahite identity in the sixth century BCE. Crouch argues that the trauma of deportation affected Israelite identity differently depending on resettlement context. Deportees resettled in rural Babylonia took an isolationist approach to Israelite identity, whereas deportees resettled in urban contexts took a more integrationist approach. Crouch also emphasises the impact of mass displacement on identity concerns in the homeland, demonstrating that displacement and the experience of Babylonian imperial rule together facilitated major developments in Judahite identity. The diverse experiences of this period produced bitter conflict between Israelites and Judahites, as well as diverse attempts to resolve this conflict. Inspired by studies of forced migration and by postcolonial analyses of imperial domination, Crouch's book highlights the crucial contribution of this era to the story of Israel and Judah.

1. Israel and Judah
2. Israel in Jerusalem
3. Israel in Rural Babylonia
4. Israel in Urban Babylon
5. Judah under Babylonian Rule
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Sacred texts [HRLC], Biblical studies & exegesis [HRCG], Old Testaments [HRCF1], Religion: general [HRA]