The Untold Story of the Kingdom of Judah | Tel Aviv 360

About The Untold Story of the Kingdom of Judah | Tel Aviv 360

The biblical story of the history of the Kingdom of Judah, as told in the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings, describes the point of view of the Jerusalem elite: what it knew, what it wanted to tell and what served its political, religious and economic interests. In this podcast Prof. Oded Lipschits will try to find out what the authors of biblical history didn't tell. Archaeological and historical studies, as well as a critical reading of the biblical text, allow us to not only understand the stories we have been told, but also to uncover the untold stories surrounding them, which co

Publisher

Tel Aviv University

Category

history

Language

he

Explicit

No

First episode

30 Nov 2025

Latest episode

1 Dec 2025

Latest episodes

34 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   1 Dec 2025

   (E8) The Untold Story of Jeremiah the Prophet

   Jeremiah was not one of the popular figures in Jerusalem on the eve of the Temple’s destruction. The ideology he held was contrary to that of many of the ministers and public leaders who championed the rebellion in Babylon and believed in the divine protection over the city, the temple and the dynasty of the House of David who were chosen by God and were given the eternal promise. This was also the ideology of the biblical historiographers, against whom the prophet stood on the eve of the destruction of Jerusalem. The prophet’s attitudes and his hostile attitude towards the priests, the royal house and the Jerusalem elite, and the hostile attitude of many in Jerusalem towards the prophet, are all connected to the definition of his origin in the opening verse of the book “The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin,” and to the questions of why this is mentioned in the opening of the book, and why is this information regarding his being a priest who comes from a family in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin described as part of Jeremiah’s presentation? It seems that the untold story about the fate of the Shiloh and Nob priests, and their connection to the family of priests in Anathoth, even if it is historically reliable, whether it is a historiographical work from beginning to end, or a compilation of details based on fragments of information from various sources, can give depth and a better understanding of Jeremiah’s views on the eve of the destruction of Jerusalem, his ideology and his actions during this period. Against this background, it can also be assumed that it was the association with the family of the priests who were expelled from Jerusalem that placed Jeremiah in such an oppositional position to the House of David, who was responsible for their deportation to Anathoth, despite the family patriarch’s unreserved loyalty to David, and for the physical elimination of his family, the priests of the temple in Nob. In the description of the chronicles of the Kingdom of Judah, the things are not explicitly stated, and Jeremiah himself is not mentioned in the historical description. __________________ Tel Aviv 360, Israel's largest and most diverse podcast about research and innovation • Tel Aviv 360 official website ◄ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://360tau.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://360tau.com) • Tel Aviv 360 in Instagram ◄ ⁠⁠⁠https://360tau.com/Instagram⁠⁠⁠ (https://360tau.com/Instagram) • Tel Aviv 360 in Facebook ◄ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://360tau.com/Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://360tau.com/Facebook) • Tel Aviv 360 in WhatsApp (Silent group) ◄ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://360tau.com/WhatsApp⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://360tau.com/WhatsApp) • Tel Aviv 360 in Spotify ◄⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://360tau.com/Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ( https://360tau.com/Spotify)

2. 

   1 Dec 2025

   (E7) The Untold Story of King Josiah

   From the biblical historiographer’s point of view, Josiah was the greatest of the kings who reigned in Judah. The reform carried out in his time in the spirit of Deuteronomy, during which the cult in Judah was purified and concentrated in Jerusalem, is the measure by which, looking back, all the other kings in Judah were judged. The days of his reign can be dated to the years 640-609 BCE. However, despite Josiah’s importance and centrality to the biblical historiographer and historiography, nothing is known about him except for one event that took place over a short period of time during the 18th year of his reign. This event can be dated to the year 622 BCE, and from the analysis of the extensive history of the Ancient Near East, it can be assumed that in this period, the Assyrian withdrawal from all strongholds beyond the Euphrates was completed, and there was a political vacuum for several years prior to the Egyptians’ entry into the region as a “successor kingdom”. This was the period of time in which Josiah could carry out a cultic reform, which also had great national and ideological implications. Despite his greatness and importance, nothing is said about Josiah except for the cultic reform which took place in the 18th year of his reign. In my opinion, this point in time was determined to be the end of the historical composition written in the days of the First Temple, and the completion of the story of Josiah was also written by historiographers who completed the description from the days of Josiah until the exile in Babylon, and therefore neither added nor detailed anything about the 13 years of Josiah’s reign until he was killed in Megiddo by Pharaoh Necho of Egypt. An even more interesting question surrounds the untold story of the first 18 years of Josiah’s reign. Why did the author, who wrote the description during the days of Josiah and who knew many details about the king and what was happening in Jerusalem and Judah during this time period, and so did their target audience, not describe even a single detail, or tell of even a single event from the king’s life until the cultic reform? In this chapter I try to show that this was a deliberate omission, since at this time Josiah was an Assyrian vassal, and the biblical historiographer could not have described him as such. Since both the historiographer and their target audience knew the reality, ignoring this period conveys the message to the readership and emphasizes what was being told against what remained in the dark. __________________ Tel Aviv 360, Israel's largest and most diverse podcast about research and innovation • Tel Aviv 360 official website ◄ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://360tau.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://360tau.com) • Tel Aviv 360 in Instagram ◄ ⁠⁠⁠https://360tau.com/Instagram⁠⁠⁠ (https://360tau.com/Instagram) • Tel Aviv 360 in Facebook ◄ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://360tau.com/Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://360tau.com/Facebook) • Tel Aviv 360 in WhatsApp (Silent group) ◄ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://360tau.com/WhatsApp⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://360tau.com/WhatsApp) • Tel Aviv 360 in Spotify ◄⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://360tau.com/Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ( https://360tau.com/Spotify)

3. 

   1 Dec 2025

   (E6) The Untold Story of King Manasseh

   This chapter deals with the most untold story about one of the kings of Judah. King Manasseh reigned longer than any of the other kings of Judah, he was the son of Hezekiah and the grandfather of Josiah, and during his long reign Judah recovered from the severe blow inflicted on it by Sennacherib’s campaign. Judah was integrated into the Assyrian Empire which was at the height of its power and strength, and the archaeological evidence from this time testifies to the prosperity that the region experienced during this period. The economy and the administration continued to develop, and Manasseh is also remembered in Assyrian documents as a king who maintained his loyalty to Assyria and fulfilled his duties as a vassal. And yet, nothing was written in the Book of Kings about Manasseh, except for a very broad description of the cultic sins that existed in his day. This is the most extreme example of the untold story about a king who completely disappeared from the biblical historiography and all his deeds were forgotten, and this in a period very close to the days of his reign, when many details about the king and the kingdom of Judah in his time were known to the authors and their readership even without the need for any written sources. Still, the story about the days of Manasseh is not told, and Manasseh became a king in the biblical historiography, and all that is told about him are the cultic sins he committed and which took place in his time. In this chapter of the podcast we will clarify why the biblical historiographer singled out Manasseh as playing the one definite role of the one who caused the sins that Josiah corrected, and in doing so he created a one-dimensional figure that matched his assessment of the king who was enslaved to Assyria all his life and also committed serious cultic sins. In this respect, the untold story of Manasseh is the most extreme example of an omission left purposefully out by the biblical historiographers, who acted according to their cultic ideology and according to the literary interests of the story they wrote. __________________ Tel Aviv 360, Israel's largest and most diverse podcast about research and innovation • Tel Aviv 360 official website ◄ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://360tau.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://360tau.com) • Tel Aviv 360 in Instagram ◄ ⁠⁠⁠https://360tau.com/Instagram⁠⁠⁠ (https://360tau.com/Instagram) • Tel Aviv 360 in Facebook ◄ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://360tau.com/Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://360tau.com/Facebook) • Tel Aviv 360 in WhatsApp (Silent group) ◄ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://360tau.com/WhatsApp⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://360tau.com/WhatsApp) • Tel Aviv 360 in Spotify ◄⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://360tau.com/Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ( https://360tau.com/Spotify)

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