Publisher's Synopsis
His Inheritance is a collection of studies written in honor of the late Adam Zertal (1936-2015), who went from being an economist and agriculturalist to one of the best known Israeli archaeologists of modern times. A pioneer in the rediscovery of the land of Israel, Zertal launched a survey of the region that, according to the Bible, was the inheritance of the tribe of Manasseh. The survey has documented thousands of sites, many of which were previously unknown to modern research, and is one of the most important surveys ever undertaken in the land of Israel. It provides a catalogue of entirely new data for the study of this important region. The discovery for which Zertal may be best known is that of the Early Iron Age structure on Mt. Ebal, which he discovered while surveying its northern slope. His identification of the structure with the altar of Josh 8:30-35 led to his being associated with a stream of archaeology that views parts of the Bible as historical which, however, does not really do justice to his archaeological work. Zertal had a successful career as a professor at the University of Haifa and as a field archaeologist, and influenced scores of students and colleagues. In this volume, many of them have come together to pay tribute to their teacher, mentor, and friend. These essays demonstrate the scholarly and archaeological legacy that is his inheritance.
