Cover -- Contents -- Abbreviations -- Introduction -- The Place of this Book in Research -- The Period under Discussion -- The Book's Structure -- History of Historical Inquiry on Israelite Society: Summary of Previous Research -- A Few Preliminary Notes -- Traditional Social Organization -- Social Organization at the End of the Monarchy -- Processes of Change in Israelite Society -- Did Changes Occur in the Transition from Settlement to Monarchy? -- Summary -- History of Archaeological Study on Israelite Society -- General Studies -- Economic Specialization -- Socioeconomic Stratification -- Analysis of Residential Houses and Family Structure -- Detailed Analyses of Specific Settlements -- Between the Eighth and Seventh Centuries b.c.e. -- Summary -- Between Monarchy and Kinship: Urban Society -- Definitions and Methodology -- The Cities of the Kingdom of Israel -- Cities of the Kingdom of Judah in the Eighth Century b.c.e. -- Cities of the Kingdom of Judah in the Seventh Century b.c.e. -- Discussion: Public Buildings -- The City Gate as an Urban Community Element -- Urban Planning -- Conclusions -- Appendix: Small Finds and Social Stratification -- Community and Family: Rural Society -- Definitions and Methodology -- The Sites: Villages -- The Sites: Fortress Villages -- The Sites: Large Villages or Townships -- The Sites: Farms -- Discussion: Social and Community Organization in the Israelite Village -- Conclusions -- Fortified Structures in the Countryside: Between the Military and the Administration -- "Real Fortresses" -- Fortified Structures in the Rural Areas of the Kingdom of Judah -- The Function of the Fortified Structures and the Settlements below Them -- Discussion -- Summary -- Political Organization in the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah -- Archaeological Evidence for the Existence of a State: General Characteristics.

Israel and Judah -- Summary -- Appendix: Residential Buildings in Iron Age II -- The Four-Room House and Israelite Society -- The Essence of the Four-Room House -- Social and Cognitive Aspects of Four-Room Houses -- Summary -- Pots and Peoples: Ethnic Groups in the Kingdom of Israel -- Archaeology and Ethnicity -- The Rural Sites in the Northern Valleys -- Analysis: The Unique Features of the Sites -- Ethnic Groups in the Northern Valleys -- Summary -- From Hamlets to Monarchy: Israelite Society from the Settlement Period to the End of the Period of the Monarchy -- The Settlement Period -- The Period of the Monarchy -- Summary -- Epilogue -- The Status of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah -- The Question of Social Stratification -- City and Country -- Social Identity -- Directions for Continuing a Socioarchaeological Study of the Period of the Monarchy -- Bibliography -- Map 1. Map of the urban sites discussed in chap. 3. -- Graph 1. Graph showing an equal distribution of wealth. -- Graph 2. Graph showing an unequal distribution of wealth. -- Fig. 1. Samaria: the royal compound (Herzog 1997a: 230). Reprinted courtesy of Zeʼev Herzog. -- Fig. 2. Hazor: the structure at Area G (redrawn after Yadin et al. 1989: pl. 13 -- Geva 1989: fig. 16:3). -- Fig. 3. Hazor: a residential neighborhood in area A (redrawn after Yadin 1972 -- Geva 1989). -- Fig. 4. Hazor: two four-room structures in area B (redrawn after Yadin 1972 -- Geva 1989). -- Fig. 5. Hazor: the structure in area L (redrawn after Yadin 1972 -- Geva 1989). -- Fig. 6. Kinrot: general plan of the Iron II city (Herzog 1997a: 236). Reprinted courtesy of Zeʼev Herzog. -- Fig. 7. Kinrot: a stratum II dwelling (Fritz 1993: 201). Reprinted courtesy of the Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University.

Fig. 8. Kinrot: stratum I dwellings (Fritz 1993: 202). Reprinted courtesy of the Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University. -- Fig. 9. Tirzah: the Iron Age IIA settlement (Herzog 1997: 219). Reprinted courtesy of Zeʼev Herzog. -- Fig. 10. Tirzah: the Iron Age IIB settlement (Herzog 1997: 231). Reprinted courtesy of Zeʼev Herzog. -- Fig. 11. Shikmona: general plan of the excavated area (Elgavish 1994: 49). -- Fig. 12. Megiddo: the Iron II city (according to Herzog -- Herzog 1997a: 227). Reprinted with permission. -- Fig. 13. Jerusalem: the eighth-century city (Shiloh: 1993a: 707). -- Fig. 14. Mizpah: general plan of the Iron II city (Herzog 1997a: 238). Courtesy of Zeʼev Herzog. -- Fig. 15. Beth-Shemesh: a group of Iron Age dwellings (Shiloh 1978: 40). -- Fig. 16. Lachish: general plan of the Iron Age II city (Herzog 1997a: 240). Courtesy of Zeʼev Herzog. -- Fig. 17. Tell Beit Mirsim: general plan of the Iron Age II city (Albright 1993: 179). -- Fig. 18. Tell Beit Mirsim: the northwestern quarter (Shiloh 1970: 187). -- Fig. 19. Tell Beit Mirsim: the southeastern quarter (Shiloh 1978: 38). -- Photograph 1. The Western Tower at Tell Beit Mirsim. -- Photograph 2. Pillared buildings, Beerseheba. -- Photograph 3. A four-room house, Kh. Jemein. -- Photograph 4. An installation for the production of olive-oil, Beit Areyh. -- Photograph 5. An aerial photograph of the farm at Kh. er-Ras (1): the farmstead is located in the middle and is surrounded by its fields (Edelstein 2000: 40). -- Photograph 6. The fort at Arad. -- Back Cover.