Amalek (Hebrew: עֲמָלֵק, Modern Amalek Tiberian ʻĂmālēq) is a figure in the Hebrew Bible. According to the Book of Genesis and 1 Chronicles, Amalek was the son of Eliphaz and of the concubine Timna. Timna was a Horite and sister of Lotan. Amalek was the grandson of Esau (Gen. 36:12; 1 Chr. 1:36) who was the chief of an Edomite tribe (Gen. 36:16).

At Genesis 36:16, Amalek is described as the "chief of Amalek", and thus his name can be construed to refer to a clan or a territory over which he ruled. Josephus calls him a 'bastard' (νόθος), though in a derogative sense.^[1]A late extra-Biblical tradition, recorded by Nachmanides, maintains that the Amalekites were not descended from the grandson of Esau but from a man named Amalek, from whom the grandson took his name. An eponymous ancestor of the Amalekites is also mentioned in Old Arabian poetry.^{[citation needed]}

Amalekites[link]

The Amalekites were a people mentioned a number of times in the book of Genesis, and considered to be Amalek's descendents. In the chant of Balaam at Numbers,24:20, Amalek was called the 'first of the nations', attesting to high antiquity.^[2]

According to Muslim historians such as Ibn Khaldun and Ali ibn al-Athir, Amalek is a name given to the Amorites and the Canaanites.^{[citation needed]}

The name is often interpreted as "dweller in the valley",^[3][4] and occasionally as "war-like," "people of prey", "cave-men"^[5] In some rabbinical interpretations, Amalek is etymologised as a people am, who lick blood,^[6] but most specialists regard the origin to be unknown.^[7]

In Arabic, the corresponding term for the Biblical Amalek is Imlīq, whose descendants Al-′Amālīq were early residents of the ḥaram at Mecca, later supplanted by the Banu Jurhum, and formed one of the first tribes of ancient Arabia to speak Arabic.^[8]

In Arabic, Imlik (Arabic: عملاق,ʿimlāq‎) is the singular of giant, and the plural is (عمالقة, ʿamāliqah) or (عماليق, ʿamālīq), suggesting the sons of this tribe were known for being unusually tall.^{[citation needed]}

Some interpret Gen. 14:7 (which refers to the "land of the Amalekites") to mean that the Amalekites existed as early as the time of Abraham, in the region that would later become the Roman province of Arabia Petraea.^[9] This view is similar to Nachmanides' claim of an origin for the Amalekites earlier than Esau's grandson. However, the passage in question does not require this interpretation as it may be referring to the region by a name from a later era. However, the Arab historian Abu al-Hasan 'Alī al-Mas'ūdī, citing 'traditional' Arab history, relates that the Amalekites did indeed exist at this early period having originated in the region of Mecca before the time of Abraham.

Gustave Doré, The Death of Agag. "Agag" may have been the hereditary name of the Amalekite kings. The one depicted was killed by Samuel (1 Samuel 15).

In the Pentateuch, the Amalekites are nomads who attacked the Hebrews at Rephidim (Exodus 17:8-10) in the desert of Sinai during their exodus from Egypt: "smiting the hindmost, all that were feeble behind," (Deuteronomy 25:18 HE). The Tanakh recognizes the Amalekites as indigenous tribesmen, "the first of the nations" (Numbers 24:20). In the southern lowlands too, perhaps the dry grazing lands that are now the Negev (Num. 12, 14), there were aboriginal Amalekites who were daunting adversaries of the Hebrews in the earliest times. "They dwelt in the land of the south...from Havilah until thou comest to Shur" (Numbers 13:29; 1 Samuel 15:7). At times said to be allied with the Moabites (Judg. 3:13) and the Midianites (Judges 6:3). One may consider the hypothesis that each of their kings bore the hereditary name of Agag (Num. 24:7; 1 Sam. 15:8). They also attacked the Israelites at Hormah (Num. 14:45). Saul and his army destroyed most of the people, and earned Samuel's wrath for leaving some of the people and livestock alive (1 Samuel 15:8-9) against God's command. Saul and the tribal leaders also hesitated to kill Agag, so Samuel himself executed the Amalekite king (1 Samuel 15:33).

Agag's death might be expected to have been the end of the Amalekites; however, they reappear in later periods described in the Bible (see below). Even Samuel says to Agag: "As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women."

War against the Amalekites[link]

As the Jewish Encyclopedia put it, "David waged a sacred war of extermination against the Amalekites,"^[10] who may have subsequently disappeared from history. Long after, in the time of Hezekiah, five hundred Simeonites annihilated the remnant "of the Amalekites that had escaped" on Mount Seir, and settled in their place (1 Chr. 4:42-43).

The Biblical relationship between the Hebrew and Amalekite tribes was that the Amalekite tribes without provocation pounced on the Hebrews when they were weak. The Amalekites became associated with ruthlessness and trickery and tyranny, even more so than Pharaoh or the Philistines, and required a ruthless response:

"8 Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.

"14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord is my banner, 16 saying, “A hand upon the throne of the Lord Jacob! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation." (Exodus 17)

This enmity is repeated in Numbers 24, in Balaam's fourth and final oracle:

"20 Then he looked on Amalek and took up his discourse and said, Amalek was the first among the nations, but its end is utter destruction.

And again in the law, in Deuteronomy 25:

"17 “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, 18 how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God. 19 Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget."

The fighting is mentioned again in Judges 3:13, in the Judgeship of Ehud, and again under Gideon, as the Amalekites allied with the Midianites (Judges 6:3, 6:33, 7:12). This enmity is also the background of the command of the Lord to Saul:

"2 Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. 3 Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey." (1 Sam. 15:2-3).

Saul's failure to obey this command cost him his kingship. Note the commentary on this total destruction later by Samuel, when Saul summons him from the dead through prophetic vision literary tool:

"16 And Samuel said, 'Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done to you as he spoke by me, for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. 18 Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day." (1 Sam 28)

Flavius Josephus also commented on this event:

"He betook himself to slay the women and the children, and thought he did not act therein either barbarously or inhumanly; first, because they were enemies whom he thus treated, and, in the next place, because it was done by the command of God, whom it was dangerous not to obey" (Flavius Josephus, Antiquites Judicae, Book VI, Chapter 7).

The destruction of animals and booty, however, was not universal at Saul's time. This was evidently a command for a particular battle. His contemporary David handled the matter differently a few years later.

"8 Now David and his men went up and made raids against the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites, for these were the inhabitants of the land from of old, as far as Shur, to the land of Egypt. 9And David would strike the land and would leave neither man nor woman alive, but would take away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the garments, and come back to Achish."

Survival of the Amalekites[link]

It is not clear if the historical Amalekites were exterminated or not. 1 Samuel 15:7-8 seems to imply ("He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword.") that - after Agag was also killed - the people of Agag were extinct, but in a later story in the time of Hezekiah, the Simeonites annihilated some Amalekites on Mount Seir, and settled in their place: "And five hundred of these Simeonites, led by Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi, invaded the hill country of Seir. They killed the remaining Amalekites who had escaped, and they have lived there to this day." (1 Chr. 4:42-43).

Haman and the Book of Esther[link]

In the Book of Esther, the arch villain is Haman, an Amalekite (his origin is evident from the epithet the Agagite—i.e., descendant of the agags, Amalekite kings) that led the plot to kill the Jews. Because the Lord promised to "blot out the name" of Amalek (Exodus 17:14), it is customary when the book of Esther is read at the Purim festival, for the audience to make noise whenever "Haman" is mentioned, so that his name is not heard.

Ethical issues[link]

Some commentators have discussed the ethics of the commandment to exterminate all the Amalekites, including the command to kill all the women, children, teenagers, little girls, little boys and the notion of collective punishment.^[11]

Maimonides explains that the commandment of killing out the nation of Amalek requires the Jewish people to peacefully request of them to accept upon themselves the Noachide laws and pay a tax to the Jewish kingdom. Only if they refuse must they be physically killed.

Some commentators, such as Rabbi Hayim Palaggi (1788–1869) argued that Jews had lost the tradition of distinguishing Amalekites from other people, and therefore the commandment of killing them could not practically be applied ("...We can rely on the maxim that in ancient times, Sennacherib confused the lineage of many nations." [Eynei Kol Ḥai, 73, on Sanhedrin 96b])

Commandments to exterminate Amalekites[link]

Of the 613 mitzvot (commandments) followed by Orthodox Jews, three refer to the Amalek: to remember what the Amalekites did to Jews, to not forget what the Amalekites did to Jews, and to destroy the Amalekites utterly. The rabbis derived these from Deuteronomy 25:17-18, Exodus 17:14 and 1 Sam. 15:3. Rashi explains the third commandment:

From man unto woman, from infant unto suckling, from ox unto sheep, so that the name of Amalek not be mentioned even with reference to an animal by saying "This animal belonged to Amalek"..

Amalekites in the Bible[link]

Kings of the Amalekites[link]

• Agag (1 Sam. 15:8)

Listing of Amalek/Amalekite references in Hebrew Scripture[link]

• Genesis 14:7; 36:12, 16
• Exodus 17:8-11, 13-14, 16
• Numbers 13:29; 14:25, 43, 45; 24:20; 25:19
• Deuteronomy 25:17
• Judges 3:13; 5:14; 6:3, 33; 7:12; 10:12; 12:15
• 1 Samuel 14:48;15:2-8, 15, 18, 20, 32; 27:8; 28:18; 30:1, 13, 18
• 2 Samuel 1:1, 8, 13; 8:12
• 1 Chronicles 1:36; 4:43; 18:11
• Psalms 83:7

Allies of the Amalekites[link]

In the books of 1 Samuel and Judges, the tribe of Kenites are associated with the Amalekites, sometimes their allies, sometimes allied with the tribes of Israel.^{[citation needed]} The Amalek people are invariably enemies of Israel. Saul's successful expedition against the unidentified "city of Amalek," in the plain (1 Sam. 15) resulted in the capture of the Amalekite king, Agag. In Judges 6-8 in the story of Gideon, the Amalekites and the Midianites are said to have amassed a visible army of at least 135,000 encamped against Israel.

In Rohl's Reconstruction[link]

David Rohl moves the Amalekites from the Negev and the Sinai to the northern Land of Israel, in the neighborhood of Mount Carmel and Jenin. See New Chronology (Rohl).

Amalekites in post-biblical era[link]

In Jewish tradition, the Amalekites came to represent the archetypal enemy of the Jews. The concept has been used by some hassidic rabbis (particularly the Baal Shem Tov) to represent atheism or the rejection of God. Nur Masalha, Elliot Horowitz and Josef Stern suggest that Amalekites have come to represent an "eternally irreconcilable enemy" that wants to murder Jews, and that Jews in post-biblical times sometimes associate contemporary enemies with Haman or Amalekites, and that some Jews believe that pre-emptive violence is acceptable against such enemies.^[12]

Armenians as Amalekites[link]

Beginning in the 10th century, and continuing until the 19th century, Armenians were considered to be Amalekites by some Jewish authorities.^[13]

Nazis as Amalekites[link]

"Davidster" (Star of David) by Dick Stins is a World War II memorial in The Hague. The text at the side (in Dutch and Hebrew) is from Deuteronomy 25:17,19 - "Remember what Amalek has done to you...do not forget."

The Nazis and Adolf Hitler have been referred to as Amalekites.^[14]

A prominent 19th and early 20th century rabbi, Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, claimed upon Kaiser Wilhelm's visit to Palestine in 1898, three decades before Hitler's rise to power, he had a tradition from his teachers that the Germans are descended from the ancient Amalekites.^[15]

Samuel's words to Agag: "As your sword bereaved women, so will your mother be bereaved among women." (Samuel 1:15:33) were quoted by Israeli President Itzhak Ben-Zvi in his handwriting in response to a telegram sent by Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann's wife pleading for clemency after he was taken to Israel and sentenced to death.^[16][17]

Palestinians as Amalekites[link]

Nur Masalha has written that:

"Frequently Jewish fundamentalists refer to the Palestinians as the 'Amalekites' … of today… According to the Old Testament, the Amalek … were regarded as the Israelites' inveterate foe, whose 'annihilation' became a sacred duty and against whom war should be waged until their 'memory be blotted out' forever (Ex 17:16; Deut 25:17-19)…. Some of the [modern] political messianics insist on giving the biblical commandment to 'blot out the memory of the Amalek' an actual contemporary relevance in the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians.^[18]

The Palestinians have been associated with Amalek since 1974 when Rabbi Moshe Ben-Tzion Ishbezari of Ramat Gan made the association in a book.^[19]The equation began to circulate in Gush Emunim circles, and its full implications were spelled out by Rabbi Yisrael Hess in 1980.^[20] A former campus rabbi of Bar-Ilan University, Hess published in the university's student paper in February 1980 an article on "The Genocide Commandment in the Torah",^[21] in which he concluded that:

'The day is not far when we shall be called to this holy war, to this commandment of the annihilation of Amalek.'

Hess's reference to Amalekites was later taken in Israel to be an allusion to the Palestinian Arabs, especially since he spoke of a jihad.

'Against this holy war God declares a counter jihad . .in order to emphasise that this is the background for the annihilation and that it is over this that the war is being waged and that it is not a conflict between two peoples. . HGod is not content that we annihilate Amalek -'blot out the memory of Amalek' - he also enlists personally in this war . .because, as has been said, he has a personal interest in this matter, this is the principal aim.'^[22]

In 1982 Danny Rubinstein, in his book On the Lord's Side argued that this notion permeates the Gush Emunim movement's bulletins, citing one such article on 'The Right to Hate' which affiremed:-

'In every generation there is an Amalek. The Amalekism of our generation finds expressionj in the deep Arab hatred towards our national revival in our forefathers' land.'

In 1985 Uriel Tal, in his Foundations of a Political Messianic Trend in Israel,^[23]argued that Hess's position is to be contextualised within a totalitarian messianic force, whose process he summed up as follows.

• Palestinians in the Occupied Territories were to be reduced to the halakhic status of resident alien.
• The promotion of Arab 'transfer'
• The implementation of the commandment of Amalek, involving the 'annihilation' of Palestinian Arabs.^[24]

Ron Geaves^[25] also writes that 'in settler circles, the Palestinians are likely to be identified with the Amalekites', and citing the same pamphlet from the campus rabbi attached to Bar-Ilan University, adds that the message is passed on through 'the religious schools where boys are taught that the Arab is Amalek.' After Baruch Goldstein's massacre of Palestinians at the Mosque in Hebron, rabbi Arthur Waskow argued that Goldstein had decided to 'blot out the memory of Amalek' by machine-gunning the Palestinian worshippers, and commented:

So then, in our generation, for some Jews the Palestinians become Amalek. Some Palestinians are terrorists? Some Palestinians call publicly for the State of Israel to be shattered? The archetypes of fear slide into placed: all Palestinians are Amalek. And the fantasies of the powerless become the actions of the powerful. For in our generation, Jews have power.’^[26]

After the death of Yassir Arafat, a declaration was issued by 200 rabbis of Pikuach Nefesh asserting that the anniversary of the death of 'this Amalek of our generation' should be celebrated as 'a day of rejoicing'.^[27]

Shulamit Aloni, a member of the Israeli Knesset indicated in 2003 that Jewish children in Israel were being taught in religious schools that Palestinians were Amalek, and that therefore total genocide was a religious obligation.^[28]

See also[link]

• Herem (war or property)
• Judaism and violence
• New Chronology (Rohl)

References[link]

• The Punishment of Amalek in Jewish Tradition: Coping with the Moral Problem, Avi Sagi, Harvard Theological Review Vol.87, No.3 (1994) p. 323-46.

External links[link]

• Wipe Out Amalek, Today? chabad.org
• Amalek, Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe
• Remember Amalek: A lesson in Divine Providence
• Remembering Amalek
• Latznu: Popular Culture and the Disciples of Amalek
• Antiquities of the Jews - by Josephus Flavius
• The Jewish Encyclopedia, 1901-6: Amalek
• A Kabbalistic view of Amalek
• Amalec - Catholic Encyclopedia article
• Between Rephidim and Jerusalem - Amalek symbolism in relations between Israelis and Palestinians
• Contemporary Amalek - Hirhurim - a blog post by Rabbi Gil Student explaining Rav Soloveitchik's controversial view that the Nazis were considered Amalekites

Footnotes[link]

This article improperly uses one or more religious texts as primary sources without referring to secondary sources that critically analyze them. Please help improve this article by adding references to reliable secondary sources, with multiple points of view.

Mosaic of the 12 Tribes of Israel. From a synagogue wall in Jerusalem.

Part of a series on
Jews and Judaism
Etymology Who is a Jew? Jewish peoplehood Jewish identity
Religion God in Judaism Names Principles of faith Mitzvot 613 Halakha Shabbat Holidays Prayer Tzedakah Land of Israel Brit Bar and Bat Mitzvah Marriage Bereavement Philosophy Ethics Kabbalah Customs Synagogue Rabbi
Texts Tanakh Torah Nevi'im Ketuvim Targum Talmud Mishnah Gemara Rabbinic Midrash Tosefta Mishneh Torah Tur Shulchan Aruch Zohar
Communities Ashkenazi Sephardi Mizrahi Bukharan Kurdish Mountain Romaniotes Related groups: Lemba Khazars Karaim Krymchaks Samaritans Crypto-Jews Mosaic Arabs
Population Land of Israel Israeli Jews Palestinian Jews Europe Russia Poland Germany Netherlands Austria Hungary Romania United Kingdom France Portugal Spain Italy Greece Bulgaria Asia Iraq Yemen Syria Lebanon Iran Turkey Georgia India Pakistan China Africa Morocco Algeria Tunisia Libya Egypt Ethiopia South Africa North America United States Canada Latin America Argentina Brazil Mexico Oceania Australia New Zealand Judaism by country Lists of Jews Rabbis Historical population comparisons
Denominations Alternative Conservative Humanistic Karaite Liberal Orthodox Haymanot Reconstructionist Reform Renewal Traditional
Culture Minyan Wedding Niddah Pidyon haben Music Cuisine Hiloni Shidduch Zeved habat Conversion to Judaism
Languages Hebrew Biblical Yiddish Juhuri Judæo-Iranian Ladino Judeo-Aramaic Judeo-Arabic
History Timeline Leaders Ancient Kingdom of Judah Temple in Jerusalem Babylonian captivity Yehud Medinata Jerusalem in Judaism Timeline Hasmonean dynasty Sanhedrin Schisms Pharisees Jewish–Roman wars Christianity and Judaism Islamic–Jewish relations Diaspora Middle Ages Sabbateans Hasidism Haskalah Emancipation The Holocaust Aliyah Israel history Arab–Israeli conflict Land of Israel Baal teshuva Persecution Antisemitism history
Politics Zionism Labor Revisionist Religious Green General Bundism World Agudath Israel Feminism Politics of Israel Left Right
Category Portal WikiProject
v t e

The Israelites (בני ישראל, Standard: Bnai Yisraʾel; Tiberian: Bnai Yiśrāʾēl; ISO 259-3: Bnai Yiśraˀel) were a Hebrew-speaking people of the Ancient Near East, who inhabited the Land of Canaan during the tribal and monarchic periods (15th to 6th centuries BCE), later evolving into Jews and Samaritans of the classic period, inhabiting Judea and Samaria respectively. In Modern Hebrew usage, an Israelite is, broadly speaking, a lay member of the Jewish ethnoreligious community, as opposed to the priestly orders of Kohanim and Levites.

The word "Israelite" derives from the Biblical Hebrew word "Israel". Although most literary references to Israelites are located in the Hebrew Bible, there is also abundant non-biblical archaeological and historical evidence of ancient Israel and Judah. The ethnonym is attested as early as the 13th century BCE in an Egyptian inscription. The Hebrew Bible etymologizes the name as from yisra "to prevail over" or "to struggle/wrestle with", and el, "God, the divine".^[1][2] The eponymous biblical patriarch of the Israelites is Jacob, who wrestled with God who gave him a blessing and renamed him "Israel" because he had "striven with God and with men, and have prevailed." (Genesis 32:24-32) According to the Hebrew Bible, Israelites were the "chosen people" of God. The name Hebrews is sometimes used synonymously with "Israelites". The Qurʾānic term is for Israelites is Banī Israʾīl (children of Israel).

The biblical term "Israelites" (also the "Twelve Tribes" or "Children of Israel") means both the direct descendants of the patriarch Jacob (Israel) as well as the historical populations of the kingdom of Israel.^[3] For the post-exilic period, beginning in the 5th century BCE, the remnants of the Israelite tribes came to be referred to as Jews (tribes of Judah, Simeon and partially Benjamin and Levi), named for the kingdom of Judah. This change is explicit in the Book of Esther (4th century BCE).^[4] On the other hand, Samaritans (tribes of Menasseh, Ephraim and partially Benjamin and Levi) became named for Samaria. It replaced the title Children of Israel.^[5]

Terminology[link]

Prior to a meeting with rival brother, Esau; the biblical patriarch Jacob wrestles an angel on the shores of the Jabbok and is given the name 'Israel'.^[1][2] Throughout the rest of the Torah, Jacob is referred to at times as both Jacob and Israel, depending on which aspect of his character the text means to convey.

In modern Hebrew, B'nei Yisrael ("Children of Israel") can denote the Jewish people at any time in history; it is typically used to emphasize Jewish religious identity. From the period of the Mishna (but probably used before that period) the term Yisrael ("an Israel") acquired an additional narrower meaning of Jews of legitimate birth other than Levites and Aaronite priests (kohanim). In modern Hebrew this contrasts with the term Yisraeli, a citizen of the modern State of Israel, regardless of religion or ethnicity (English "Israeli").

The Greek term Jew historically refers to a member of the tribe of Judah, which formed the nucleus of the kingdom of Judah. The term Hebrew, perhaps related to the name of the Habiru nomads, has Eber as an eponymous biblical patriarch. It is used synonymously with "Israelites", or as an ethnolinguistic term of the historical speakers of the Hebrew language in general.

Ancient times[link]

Biblical Israelites[link]

Tribes of Israel
The Tribes Reuben Simeon Levi Judah Dan Naphtali Gad Asher Issachar Zebulun Joseph Manasseh Ephraim Benjamin
Related topics Israelites Tribal allotments Ten Lost Tribes
v t e

The following is a summary of pages 18-20 of Stephen L. Wylen's "The Jews in the Time of Jesus: An Introduction"^[6]

Pentateuch

The Torah traces the Israelites to the patriarch Jacob, grandson of Abraham, who was renamed Israel after a mysterious incident in which he wrestles all night with God or an angel. Jacob's twelve sons (in order of birth), Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin, become the ancestors of twelve tribes, with the exception of Joseph, whose two sons Mannasseh and Ephraim become tribal eponyms.

The mothers of Jacob's sons are:

• Leah: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun
• Rachel: Joseph, Benjamin
• Bilhah (Rachel's maid): Dan, Naphtali
• Zilpah (Leah's maid): Gad, Asher (Gen 35:22-26)

Jacob and his sons are forced by famine to go down into Egypt. When they arrive they and their families are 70 in number, but within four generations they have increased to 600,000 men of fighting age, and the Pharaoh of Egypt, alarmed, first enslaves them and then orders the death of all male Hebrew children. The God of Israel reveals his name to Moses, a Hebrew of the line of Levi; Moses leads the Israelites out of bondage and into the desert, where God gives them their laws and the Israelites agree to become his people. Nevertheless, the Israelites lack complete faith in God, and the generation which left Egypt is not permitted to enter the Promised Land.

Former Prophets

Following the death of the generation of Moses a new generation, led by Joshua, enters Canaan and takes possession of the land in accordance with the curse placed upon Canaan by Noah. Yet even now the Israelites lack strength in God in the face of the peoples of the land, and periods of weakness and backsliding alternate with periods of resilience under a succession of Judges. Eventually the Israelites ask for a king, and God gives them Saul. David, the youngest (divinely favored) son of Jesse of Bethlehem would succeed Saul. Under David the Israelites establish the kingdom of God, and under David's son Solomon they build the Temple where God takes his earthly dwelling among them. Yet Solomon sins by allowing his foreign wives to worship their own gods, and so on his death and reign of his son, Rehoboam, the kingdom is divided in two.

The kings of the northern kingdom of Israel are uniformly bad, permitting the worship of other gods and failing to enforce the worship of God alone, and so God eventually allows them to be conquered and dispersed among the peoples of the earth; in their place strangers settle the northern land. In Judah some kings are good and enforce the worship of God alone, but many are bad and permit other gods, even in the Temple itself, and at length God allows Judah to fall to her enemies, the people taken into captivity in Babylon, the land left empty and desolate, and the Temple itself destroyed.

Ezra-Nehemiah-Chronicles

Yet despite these events God does not forget his people, but sends Cyrus, king of Persia as his messiah to deliver them from bondage. The Israelites are allowed to return to Judah and Benjamin, the Temple is rebuilt, the priestly orders restored, and the service of sacrifice resumed. Through the offices of the sage Ezra, Israel is constituted as a holy community, bound by the Law and holding itself apart from all other peoples.

Historical Israelites[link]

The Merneptah stele (JE 31408), bearing the first record of the name Israel (Cairo Museum)

The name Israel first appears c. 1209 BCE, at the end of the Late Bronze Age and the very beginning of the period archaeologists and historians call Iron Age I, in an inscription of the Egyptian pharaoh Merneptah. The inscription is very brief and says simply: "Israel is laid waste and his seed is not". The hieroglyph accompanying the name "Israel" indicates that it refers to a people, most probably located in the highlands of Samaria.^[7]

Description of Israelite captives from the kingdoms of Israel and Judea, as they were portrayed on the Southern wall of Shoshenq I's Temple of Amun in Karnak (dated 925/6 BCE)

Over the next two hundred years (the period of Iron Age I) the number of highland villages increased from 25 to over 300^[8] and the settled population doubled to 40,000.^[9] There is general agreement that the majority of the population living in these villages was of Canaanite origin.^[8] By the 10th century BCE a rudimentary state had emerged in the north-central highlands,^[10] and in the 9th century this became a kingdom. The kingdom was sometimes called Israel by its neighbours, but more frequently it was known as the "House (or Land) of Omri."^[11] Settlement in the southern highlands was minimal from the 12th through the 10th centuries BCE, but a state began to emerge there in the 9th century,^[12] and from 850 BCE onwards a series of inscriptions are evidence of a kingdom which its neighbours refer to as the "House of David."^[13]

In this carving on the Black Obelisk, possibly Jehu, king of Israel, or Jehu's ambassador, bows before Shalmaneser III of Assyria. Dated 825 BCE.

A reconstructed Israelite house, Monarchy period, 10th–7th BCE. Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel

Map of the twelve tribes of Israel

Transition into modern ethnic groups[link]

Classic period: Jews and Samaritans[link]

Jews (Hebrew: יְהוּדִים‎, Yehudim), also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating from the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East.^{[citation needed]} According to the Books of Chronicles chapter 9 line 2, the Israelites, who took part in The Return to Zion, are stated to be from the Tribe of Judah alongside the Tribe of Simeon that was absorbed into it, the Tribe of Benjamin, the Tribe of Levi (Levites and Priests). The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, which the Samaritans themselves and some biblical scholars consider to be the remaining population of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, who were not exiled during the ten tribes exile formed the Samaritan community. Some biblical scholars also consider that parts of the Judean population had stayed to live in their homes during the excilic period and later joined the returning Israelites from Babylon and formed the Jews of the classic and Hasmonean era.

After the Persian conquest of Babylon in 539 Judah (Hebrew: יְהוּדָה Yehuda) became a province of the Persian empire. This status continued into the following Hellenistic period, when Yehud became a disputed province of Ptolemaic Egypt and Seleucid Syria. In the early part of the 2nd century BCE, a revolt against the Seleucids led to the establishment of an independent Jewish kingdom under the Hasmonean dynasty. The Hasmoneans adopted a deliberate policy of imitating and reconstituting the Davidic kingdom, and as part of this forcibly converted to Judaism their neighbours in the Land of Israel. The conversions included Nabateans (Zabadeans) and Itureans, the peoples of the former Philistine cities, the Moabites, Ammonites and Edomites. Attempts were also made to incorpoarate the Samaritans, following takeover of Samaria. The success of mass-conversions is however questionable, as most groups retained their tribal separations and mostly turned Hellenistic or Christian, with Edomites perhaps being the only exception to merge into the Jewish society under Herodian dinasty and in the following period of Jewish-Roman Wars. While there are some references to maintaining the tribal separation among Israelites during the Hasmonean period, the dominant position of the tribe of Judah as well as nationalistic policies of Hasmoneans to refer to residents of Hasmonean Judea as Jews practically erased the tribal distinction, with the exception of the priestly orders of Levites and Kohanim (tribe of Levi).

The Babylonian Jewish community, though maintaining permanent ties with the Hasmonean and later Herodian kingdoms, evolved into a separate Jewish community, which during the Talmudic period assembled its own practices (the Babylonian Talmud, slightly differing from the Jerusalem Talmud. The Babylonian Jewry is considered to be the predecessor of most Mizrachi Jewish communities.

Post-Israelite groups during the Middle Ages[link]

Ashkenazi Jews[link]

Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew word for "Germany", and is the umbrella term used to describe several Jewish populations, which used to live in Germania during the Middle Ages and until the modern times used to adhere the "Yiddish-culture" and the "Ashkenazi" prayer style. There is evidence that groups of Jews had been settled in Germania since the Roman Era; they were probably merchants, who followed the Roman Legions during their conquests. To larger degree modern Ashkenazi Jews are the descendants of Jews, who migrated into northern France and lower Germany around 800–1000 CE, and later migrated also into Eastern Europe. Many Ashkenazi Jews in fact also have mixed Sephardic origins, as a result of exiles from Spain, first during Islamic persecutions (11th-12th centuries) and later Christian conquests (13th-15th centuries) and Spanish Inquisition (15th-16th centuries). In this sense, modern term "Ashkenazi" refers to a subset of Jewish religious practices, appropriated over time, rather than to a strict ethno-geographic division, which became erased over-time.

Genetic analysis of Ashkenazi Jews[link]

In 2006, a study by Doron Behar and Karl Skorecki of the Technion and Ramban Medical Center in Haifa, Israel demonstrated that the vast majority of Ashkenazi Jews, both men and women, have Middle Eastern ancestry;^[14] Ashkenazi Jews share a common ancestry with other Jewish groups;^[15] only 5%-8% of the Ashkenazi Jews were found to have genes, which possibly originated in non-Jewish European populations.^[16]

According to Hammer, his study suggests that the Ashkenazi population expanded through a series of bottlenecks - events that squeeze a population down to small numbers - perhaps as it migrated from the Middle East after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE to Italy, reaching the Rhine Valley in the 10th century. Dr. David Goldstein, a Duke University geneticist and director of the Duke Center for Human Genome Variation, has noted that the Technion and Ramban team confirmed that genetic drift played a major role in shaping Ashkenazi mitochondrial DNA, therefore mtDNA studies fail to draw a statistically significant linkage between modern Jews and Middle Eastern populations, however, this differs from the patrilineal case, where Dr. Goldstein said there is no question of a Middle Eastern origin.^[14]

Sephardic Jews[link]

Sephardim are Jews whose ancestors lived in Spain or Portugal, where they lived for possibly as much as a millennia before being finally expelled in 1492 by the Catholic Monarchs (the Alhambra decree); the Sephardic communities subsequently migrated to North Africa (Maghreb), Christian Europe (Netherlands, Britain, France and Poland), throughout the Ottoman Empire and even the newly discovered Latin America. In the Ottoman Empire, the Sephardim mostly settled in the European portion of the Empire, and mainly in the major cities such as: Istanbul, Selânik and Bursa. Selânik, which is today known as Thessaloniki and found in modern-day Greece, had a large and flourishing Sephardic community as was the community of Maltese Jews in Malta.

A large population of Sephardic refugees, who fled via the Netherlands as Marranos eventually settled in Hamburg and Altona Germany in the early 16th century, eventually appropriating Ashkenazic Jewish rituals into their religious practice. One famous figure from the Sephardic Ashkenazic population is Glückel of Hameln. Others among those who settled in the Netherlands, were some who would again relocate to the United States, establishing the country's first organized community of Jews and erecting the United States' first synagogue. Other Sephardim remained in Spain and Portugal as Anusim (forced converts to Catholicism), which would also be the fate for those who had migrated to Spanish and Portuguese ruled Latin America.

Sephardic Jews evolved to form most of North African Jewish communities of the modern times, as well as the bulk of the Turkish, Syrian, Galilean and Jerusalemite Jews of the Ottoman period.

Mizrachi Jews[link]

Mizrahim are Jews descended from the Jewish communities of the Middle East, Central Asia and the Caucasus, largely originating from the Babylonian Jewry of the classic period. The term Mizrahi is used in Israel in the language of politics, media and some social scientists for Jews from the Arab world and adjacent, primarily Muslim-majority countries. The definition of Mizrachi includes the modern Iraqi Jews, Syrian Jews, Lebanese Jews, Persian Jews, Afghan Jews, Bukharian Jews, Kurdish Jews, Mountain Jews, Georgian Jews. Some also include the North-African Sephardic communities and Yemenite Jews under the definition of Mizrahi, but do that from rather political geeralization than ancestral reasons.

Yemenite Jews[link]

Temanim are Jews, who had been living in Yemen prior their migration to modern Israel. Their geographic and social isolation from the rest of the Jewish community over the course of many centuries allowed them to develop a liturgy and set of practices that are significantly distinct from those of other Oriental Jewish groups; they themselves comprise three distinctly different groups, though the distinction is one of religious law and liturgy rather than of ethnicity. Traditionally the genesis of the Yemenite Jewish community came after the Babylonian excile, though the community most probably emerged in the Roman times, and was significantly reinforced during the reign of Dhu Nuwas in the 6th century CE and later Muslim conquests of the 7th century CE, which drove the Arab Jewish tribes out from central Arabia.

Karaite Jews[link]

Karaim are Jews who during the Middle Ages used to live mostly in Egypt, Iraq, and Crimea. They are distinguished by the form of Judaism they observe. Rabbinic Jews of varying communities have affiliated with the Karaite community throughout the millennia. As such, Karaite Jews are less an ethnic division, than they are members of a particular branch of Judaism. Karaite Judaism recognizes the Tanakh as the single religious authority of the Jewish people. Linguistic principles and contextual exegesis are used in arriving at the correct meaning of the Torah. Karaite Jews strive to adhere to the plain or most obvious understanding of the text when interpreting the Tanakh. By contrast, Rabbinical Judaism regards an Oral Law (codified and recorded in the Mishnah and Talmuds) as being equally binding on Jews, and mandated by God. In Rabbinical Judaism, the Oral Law forms the basis of religion, morality, and Jewish life. Karaite Jews rely on the use of sound reasoning and the application of linguistic tools to determine the correct meaning of the Tanakh; while Rabbinical Judaism looks toward the Oral law codified in the Talmud, to provide the Jewish community with an accurate understanding of the Hebrew Scriptures.

The differences between Karaite and Rabbinic Judaism go back more than a thousand years. Rabbinical Judaism originates from the Pharisees of the Second Temple period. Karaite Judaism may have its origins in the Sadducees of the same era. Sadducees and Karaite Jews hold the entire Hebrew Bible to be a religious authority. As such, the vast majority of Karaites believe in the resurrection of the dead.^[17] Karaite Jews are widely regarded as being halachically Jewish by the Orthodox Rabbinate. Similarly, members of the rabbinic community are considered to be Jews by the Moetzet Hakhamim, if they are patrilineally Jewish.^{[citation needed]}

Modern denominations[link]

Israeli Jews[link]

Jews of Israel comprise an increasingly mixed wide range of Jewish communities originated from the Middle East, Europe and North Africa. While a significant portion of Israeli Jews still retain memories of their Sephardic, Ashkenazi and Mizrahi origins, mixed Jewish marriages among the communities are very common. There are also smaller groups of Yemenite Jews, Indian Jews and others, still retaining a semi-separate communal life. There are also approximately 50,000 adherents of Karaite Judaism, most of whom live in Israel, but exact numbers are not known, as most Karaites have not participated in any religious censuses. The Beta Israel, though somewhat disputed as descendants of ancient Israelites, are widely recognized in Israel as Ethiopian Jews.

American Jews[link]

The ancestry of most American Jews goes back to Eastern European Ashkenazi Jewish communities, which migrated to US on the course of 19th and 20th centuries, as well as more recent influxes of Persian, Israeli and other Middle Eastern Jews. The American Jewish community is considered to contain the highest percentage of mixed marriages between Jews and non-Jews, thus both creating assimilation and a significant influx of non-Jews to become self-identified within the definition of Jewry. With most widespread practice in the U.S, becoming the Reform Judaism, it doesn't require or see the Jews as direct descendants of the ethnic Jews or Biblical Israelites, but rather adherents of the Jewish faith in its Reformist version, in contrary to the Orthodox Judaism, the mainstream practice in Israel, which considers the Jews as a closed ethnoreligious community, with very strict procedures of conversion.

French Jews[link]

The Jews of modern France are numbering around 400,000 persons, largely descendants of North African Sephardic communities, which came to Spain, following the Jewish exodus from Arab countries, and to a smaller degree members of the Ashkenazi Jewish communities, who survived the WWII and the Holocaust. Most French Jews are practising Orthodox Judaism and have permanent and close ties with the Israeli Jewish community.

Anusim[link]

This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this section if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (September 2010)

During the Jewish diaspora, Jews who lived in Christian Europe were usually attacked by the local population and were portrayed by many Anti-semites motives, many of them were forced to convert to Christianity by the local population or by the religious leadership, and were called by Jews: "Anusim" ('forced-ones'), they continued practicing Judaism in secret, while living outside as ordinary Christians. The most known case of "Anusim" was the one of the Jews of Spain and Jews of Portugal (although "Anusim" were also in other European countries). In the Muslim countries, many Jews were forced to convert to Islam by force over the years since the rise of the Islamic religion, and the most known case of those conversion was the case of Mashhad Jews, that lived as ordinary Muslims in Persia towards the neighbour population but kept practicing Judaism secretly, and eventually made an Aliyah and returned being Jewish in Israel. Many Anusim's descendants left Judaism over the years. On December 2008, genetic test showed that 19.8% of the Iberian Peninsula population is originated from the Anusim.^{[18][verification needed]}

Modern Samaritans[link]

The Samaritans, who in the classic times comprised a comparatively large group, now count 745 people, who live in two communities in Israel and the West Bank, and still regard themselves as descendants of the tribes of Ephraim (named by them as Aphrime) and Manasseh (named by them as Manatch). Samaritans adhere to a version of the Torah, known as the Samaritan Pentateuch, which differs in some respects from the Masoretic text, sometimes in important ways, and less so from the Septuagint.

The Samaritans consider themselves Bnei Yisrael ("Children of Israel" or "Israelites"), but do not regard themselves to be Yehudim (Jews). They view this term "Jews" as a designation for followers of Judaism, which they assert is a related but altered and amended religion brought back by the exiled Israelite returnees which is not the true religion of the ancient Israelites, which according to them is Samaritanism.

DNA evidence[link]

Modern DNA evidence has proven that most of the world's Jews and Samaritans have a common ancestral lineage in the Levant, which can possibly be traced to Israelites, largely on the paternal lines in both cases. Maternally, both Jews and Samaritans have had very low rates of intermarriage with local host (for Jews, local populations in their host diaspora regions)^[19] or alien (for Samaritans, foreigners resettled in their midst in attempts by ruling foreign elites to obliterate national identities) populations.^[20] Both populations' DNA results indicate the groups having had a high percentage of marriage within their respective communities; in contrast to a low percentage of interfaith marriages (as low as 0.5% per generation).

See also[link]

• Bible
• Gentile
• Half Jewish
• House of Israel (Ghana)
• Israeli Jews
• Israelis
• Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)
• Noahides
• Shavei Israel
• Tribal allotments of Israel
• Kaifeng Jews

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Albertz, Rainer (1994) [Vanderhoek & Ruprecht 1992]. A History of Israelite Religion, Volume I: From the Beginnings to the End of the Monarchy. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-664-22719-7. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=yvZUWbTftSgC&pg=RA1-PA145&lpg=RA1-PA145&dq=History+of+Israelite+Religion,+Volume+1++Albertz#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Albertz, Rainer (1994) [Vanderhoek & Ruprecht 1992]. A History of Israelite Religion, Volume II: From the Exile to the Maccabees. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-664-22720-3. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=exjyhvRy7YUC&dq=Albertz+a+history+of+israelite+religion&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Albertz, Rainer (2003a). Israel in Exile: The History and Literature of the Sixth Century B.C.E.. Society of Biblical Literature. ISBN 978-1-58983-055-4. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=Xx9YzJq2B9wC&dq=Rainer+Albertz,+%22Israel+in+exile%22&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Albertz, Rainer; Becking, Bob, eds. (2003b). Yahwism After the Exile: Perspectives on Israelite Religion in the Persian Era. Koninklijke Van Gorcum. ISBN 978-90-232-3880-5. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=hwExATCqwvwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Yahwism+after+the+exile:+perspectives+on+Israelite+religion+in+the+Persian+era#v=onepage&q&f=false.  Becking, Bob. "Law as Expression of Religion (Ezra 7–10)". 
• Amit, Yaira, et al., eds. (2006). Essays on Ancient Israel in its Near Eastern Context: A Tribute to Nadav Na'aman. Eisenbrauns. ISBN 978-1-57506-128-3. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=Ku4OKVrEd4MC&pg=PA467&lpg=PA467&dq=Essays+on+Ancient+Israel+in+its+Near+Eastern+Context:+A+Tribute+to+Nadav+Na%27aman#v=onepage&q=Essays%20on%20Ancient%20Israel%20in%20its%20Near%20Eastern%20Context%3A%20A%20Tribute%20to%20Nadav%20Na%27aman&f=false.  Davies, Philip R. "The Origin of Biblical Israel". 
• Avery-Peck, Alan, et al., eds. (2003). The Blackwell Companion to Judaism. Blackwell. ISBN 978-1-57718-059-3. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=asYoIwz9z2UC&pg=PA230&lpg=PA230&dq=The+Blackwell+Companion+to+Judaism++By+Jacob+Neusner,+Alan+Avery-Peck#v=onepage&q=&f=false.  Murphy, Frederick J. R. "Second Temple Judaism". 
• Barstad, Hans M. (2008). History and the Hebrew Bible. Mohr Siebeck. ISBN 978-3-16-149809-1. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=zqJxkKy-cMMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Barstad+History+and+the+Hebrew+Bible:+studies+in+ancient+Israelite+and+ancient+Near#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Becking, Bob, ed. (2001). Only One God? Monotheism in Ancient Israel and the Veneration of the Goddess Asherah. Sheffield Academic Press. ISBN 978-1-84127-199-6. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=z72KmReV-bIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Only+One+God%3F+Monotheism+in+Ancient+Israel+and+the+Veneration+of+the+Goddess+Asherah#v=onepage&q&f=false.  Dijkstra, Meindert. "El the God of Israel, Israel the People of YHWH: On the Origins of Ancient Israelite Yahwism".  Dijkstra, Meindert. "I Have Blessed You by Yahweh of Samaria and His Asherah: Texts with Religious Elements from the Soil Archive of Ancient Israel". 
• Becking, Bob; Korpel, Marjo Christina Annette, eds. (1999). The Crisis of Israelite Religion: Transformation of Religious Tradition in Exilic and Post-Exilic Times. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-11496-8. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=lak_YWjCjDMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+crisis+of+Israelite+religion:+transformation+of+religious+tradition#v=onepage&q&f=false.  Niehr, Herbert. Religio-Historical Aspects of the Early Post-Exilic Period. 
• Bedford, Peter Ross (2001). Temple Restoration in Early Achaemenid Judah. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-11509-5. http://books.google.com/?id=MOd320e710IC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Osarsiph#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Ben-Sasson, H.H. (1976). A History of the Jewish People. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-39731-2. 
• Blenkinsopp, Joseph (1988). Ezra-Nehemiah: A Commentary. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-664-22186-7. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=3PvirfZkfvQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Ezra-Nehemiah:+A+Commentary++By+Joseph+Blenkinsopp#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Blenkinsopp, Joseph; Lipschits, Oded, eds. (2003). Judah and the Judeans in the Neo-Babylonian Period. Eisenbrauns. ISBN 978-1-57506-073-6. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=R65fhpcUFcgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Judah+and+the+Judeans+in+the+neo-Babylonian+period#v=onepage&q&f=false.  Blenkinsopp, Joseph. "Bethel in the Neo-Babylonian Period".  Lemaire, Andre. "Nabonidus in Arabia and Judea During the Neo-Babylonian Period". 
• Blenkinsopp, Joseph (2009). Judaism, the First Phase: The Place of Ezra and Nehemiah in the Origins of Judaism. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-8028-6450-5. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=m1V1DeBS6P0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Judaism,+the+first+phase:+the+place+of+Ezra+and+Nehemiah#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Brett, Mark G. (2002). Ethnicity and the Bible. Brill. ISBN 978-0-391-04126-4. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=RfFRhC4FpZkC&pg=PA45&lpg=PA45&dq=Finkelstein+haser-style+layout#v=onepage&q=Finkelstein%20haser-style%20layout&f=false.  Edelman, Diana. "Ethnicity and Early Israel". 
• Bright, John (2000). A History of Israel. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-664-22068-6. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=0VG67yLs-LAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Bright+History+of+Israel#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Coogan, Michael D., ed. (1998). The Oxford History of the Biblical World. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-513937-2. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=zFhvECwNQD0C&dq=The+Oxford+History+of+the+Biblical+World&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false.  Stager, Lawrence E. "Forging an Identity: The Emergence of Ancient Israel". 
• Coogan, Michael D. (2009). A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-533272-8. http://books.google.com/books?id=nlb1PQAACAAJ&dq=A+brief+introduction+to+the+old+testament+coogan. 
• Coote, Robert B.; Whitelam, Keith W. (1986). "The Emergence of Israel: Social Transformation and State Formation Following the Decline in Late Bronze Age Trade". Semeia (37): 107–47. 
• Davies, Philip R. (1992). In Search of Ancient Israel. Sheffield. ISBN 978-1-85075-737-5. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=pMcM8GGO_n8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Philip+Davies+In+search+of+Ancient+Israel#v=onepage&q=&f=false. 
• Davies, Philip R. (2009). "The Origin of Biblical Israel". Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 9 (47). http://www.arts.ualberta.ca/JHS/Articles/article_47.htm. 
• Day, John (2002). Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan. Sheffield Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-8264-6830-7. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=y-gfwlltlRwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Yahweh+and+the+gods+and+goddesses+of+Canaan#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Dever, William (2001). What Did the Biblical Writers Know, and When Did They Know It?. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-8028-2126-3. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=6-VxwC5rQtwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=What+did+the+biblical+writers+know,+and+when+did+they+know+it#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Dever, William (2003). Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From?. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-8028-0975-9. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=8WkbUkKeqcoC&dq=Who+were+the+early+Israelites,+and+where+did+they+come+from%3F&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=&f=false. 
• Dever, William (2005). Did God Have a Wife?: Archaeology and Folk Religion in Ancient Israel. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-8028-2852-1. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=6AOE9sxg3bMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Did+God+have+a+wife%3F:+archaeology+and+folk+religion+in+ancient+Israel#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Dunn, James D.G; Rogerson, John William, eds. (2003). Eerdmans commentary on the Bible. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-8028-3711-0. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=2Vo-11umIZQC&pg=PA153&lpg=PA153&dq=John+W.+Rogerson+Deuteronomy#v=onepage&q=John%20W.%20Rogerson%20Deuteronomy&f=false.  Rogerson, John William. "Deuteronomy". 
• Edelman, Diana, ed. (1995). The Triumph of Elohim: From Yahwisms to Judaisms. Kok Pharos. ISBN 978-90-390-0124-0. http://books.google.com/?id=bua2dMa9fJ4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+crisis+of+Israelite+religion:+transformation+of+religious+tradition#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Finkelstein, Neil Asher; Silberman (2001). The Bible Unearthed. ISBN 978-0-7432-2338-6. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=lu6ywyJr0CMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Bible+Unearthed:+Archaeology%27s+New+Vision+of+Ancient+Israel#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Finkelstein, Israel; Mazar, Amihay; Schmidt, Brian B. (2007). The Quest for the Historical Israel. Society of Biblical Literature. ISBN 978-1-58983-277-0. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=jpbngoKHg8gC&dq=The+quest+for+the+historical+Israel:&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=&f=false.  Mazar, Amihay. "The Divided Monarchy: Comments on Some Archaeological Issues". 
• Gnuse, Robert Karl (1997). No Other Gods: Emergent Monotheism in Israel. Sheffield Academic Press. ISBN 978-1-85075-657-6. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=0Kf1ZwDifdAC&dq=Robert+Karl+Gnuse,+%22No+Other+Gods:+Emergent+Monotheism+in+Israel%22&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Golden, Jonathan Michael (2004a). Ancient Canaan and Israel: An Introduction. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-537985-3. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=EResmS5wOnkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Ancient+Canaan+and+Israel:+An+Introduction++By+Jonathan+M+Golden#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Golden, Jonathan Michael (2004b). Ancient Canaan and Israel: New Perspectives. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-57607-897-6. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=yTMzJAKowyEC&pg=PA62&lpg=PA62&dq=Late+Bronze+collapse+in+Canaan#v=onepage&q=Late%20Bronze%20collapse%20in%20Canaan&f=false. 
• Goodison, Lucy; Morris, Christine (1998). Goddesses in Early Israelite Religion in Ancient Goddesses: The Myths and the Evidence. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 978-90-04-10410-5. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=VSJWkrXfbLQC&dq=Family+religion+in+Babylonia,+Syria,+and+Israel&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Grabbe, Lester L. (2004). A History of the Jews and Judaism in the Second Temple Period. T&T Clark International. ISBN 978-0-567-04352-8. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=VK2fEzruIn0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=A+history+of+the+Jews+and+Judaism+in+the+Second+Temple+Period#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Grabbe, Lester L., ed. (2008). Israel in Transition: From Late Bronze II to Iron IIa (c. 1250–850 B.C.E.). T&T Clark International. ISBN 978-0-567-02726-9. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=tR0Qpz2zRogC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Israel+in+transition:+from+late+Bronze+II+to+Iron+IIa+%28c.+1250-850+B.C.E.%29#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Greifenhagen, F.V (2002). Egypt on the Pentateuch's ideological map. Sheffield Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-8264-6211-4. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=DaVjGgPmmCsC&pg=PA269&dq=Formation+of+the+Pentateuch#v=onepage&q=Formation%20of%20the%20Pentateuch&f=false. 
• Joffe, Alexander H. (2006). The Rise of Secondary States in the Iron Age Levant. University of Arizona Press. http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:yEjgq10p2R8J:faculty.ksu.edu.sa/archaeology/Publications/The%2520Near%2520East/THE%2520RISE%2520OF%2520SECONDARY%2520STATES%2520IN%2520THE%2520IRON%2520AGE%2520LEVANT.pdf+The+rise+of+secondary+states+in+the+iron+age+levant&hl=en&gl=au&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShOFDyR0nZTkKYMxNV_Bx_-ZnxPxtcxPIqYaszJb9MLwTo87ghGRAIm3BVfoyLdnPoGusSIdYcU-Vb4bC0if-u6UVbcXqaH8lLnkpb1YxAlGuGUAbZns30JANGo2a4l8LwU1rGv&sig=AHIEtbSIm7oZkrq-cmEGQ9VcnnvfejrQSQ&pli=1. 
• Killebrew, Ann E. (2005). Biblical Peoples and Ethnicity: An Archaeological Study of Egyptians, Canaanites, and Early Israel, 1300–1100 B.C.E.. Society of Biblical Literature. ISBN 978-1-58983-097-4. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=VtAmmwapfVAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Biblical+peoples+and+ethnicity:+an+archaeological#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• King, Philip J.; Stager, Lawrence E. (2001). Life in Biblical Israel. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 0-664-22148-3. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=OtOhypZz_pEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Life+in+biblical+Israel++By+Philip+J.+King,+Lawrence+E.+Stager#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Kuhrt, Amélie (1995). The Ancient Near East c. 3000–330 BC. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-16763-5. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=V_sfMzRPTgoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Am%C3%A9lie+Kuhrt+The+ancient+Near+East#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Lemche, Niels Peter (1998). The Israelites in History and Tradition. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-664-22727-2. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=JIoY7PagAOAC&dq=lemche+the+israelites+in+history+and+tradition&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=&f=false. 
• Levy, Thomas E. (1998). The Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land. Continuum International Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8264-6996-0. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=-etsKv-4V2oC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+archaeology+of+society+in+the+Holy+Land++Thomas+E.+Levy#v=onepage&q&f=false.  LaBianca, Øystein S.; Younker, Randall W. "The Kingdoms of Ammon, Moab and Edom: The Archaeology of Society in Late Bronze/Iron Age Transjordan (c. 1400–500 CE)". 
• Lipschits, Oded (2005). The Fall and Rise of Jerusalem. Eisenbrauns. ISBN 978-1-57506-095-8. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=78nRWgb-rp8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Lipschitz,+Oded+fall+and+rise#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Lipschits, Oded, et al., eds. (2006). Judah and the Judeans in the Fourth Century B.C.E.. Eisenbrauns. ISBN 978-1-57506-130-6. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=6NsxZRnxE70C&pg=PA75&lpg=PA75&dq=Lipschits+Yehud#v=onepage&q=Lipschits%20Yehud&f=false.  Kottsieper, Ingo. "And They Did Not Care to Speak Yehudit".  Lipschits, Oded; Vanderhooft, David. "Yehud Stamp Impressions in the Fourth Century B.C.E.". 
• Markoe, Glenn (2000). Phoenicians. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-22614-2. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=smPZ-ou74EwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Phoenicians++Glenn+Markoe#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Mays, James Luther, et al., eds. (1995). Old Testament Interpretation. T&T Clarke. ISBN 978-0-567-29289-6. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=SNLN1nEEys0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Old+Testament+Interpretation+James+Luther+Mays,+David+L.+Petersen,+Kent+Harold+Richards#v=onepage&q&f=false.  Miller, J. Maxwell. "The Middle East and Archaeology". 
• McNutt, Paula (1999). Reconstructing the Society of Ancient Israel. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-664-22265-9. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=hd28MdGNyTYC&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33&dq=Reconstructing+the+Society+of+Ancient+Israel++By+Paula+M.+McNutt#v=onepage&q=&f=false. 
• Merrill, Eugene H. (1995). "The Late Bronze/Early Iron Age Transition and the Emergence of Israel". Bibliotheca Sacra 152 (606): 145–62. 
• Middlemas, Jill Anne (2005). The Troubles of Templeless Judah. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-928386-6. http://books.google.com/?id=Jrpx-op_-XkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=lester+grabbe+1995#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Miller, James Maxwell; Hayes, John Haralson (1986). A History of Ancient Israel and Judah. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 0-664-21262-X. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=uDijjc_D5P0C&dq=A+history+of+ancient+Israel+and+Judah++By+James+Maxwell+Miller,+John+Haralson+Hayes&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=&f=false. 
• Miller, Robert D. (2005). Chieftains of the Highland Clans: A History of Israel in the 12th and 11th Centuries B.C.. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-8028-0988-9. http://books.google.com.kh/books?id=Gtm7NtK87poC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Chieftains+of+the+highland+clans#v=onepage&q=&f=false. 
• Nodet, Étienne (1999) [Editions du Cerf 1997]. A Search for the Origins of Judaism: From Joshua to the Mishnah. Sheffield Academic Press. ISBN 978-1-85075-445-9. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=rE49wYHz5YUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=A+search+for+the+origins+of+Judaism:+from+Joshua+to+the+Mishnah#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Pitkänen, Pekka (2004). "Ethnicity, Assimilation and the Israelite Settlement". Tyndale Bulletin 55 (2): 161–82. http://www.tyndalehouse.com/tynbul/library/TynBull_2004_55_2_01_Pitkanen_EthnicityIsraelSettlement.pdf. 
• Silberman, Neil Asher; Small, David B., eds. (1997). The Archaeology of Israel: Constructing the Past, Interpreting the Present. Sheffield Academic Press. ISBN 978-1-85075-650-7. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=qX7r2lAQdFkC&pg=PA238&lpg=PA238&dq=hesse+wapnish#v=onepage&q=hesse%20wapnish&f=false.  Hesse, Brian; Wapnish, Paula. "Can Pig Remains Be Used for Ethnic Diagnosis in the Ancient Near East?". 
• Smith, Mark S. (2001). Untold Stories: The Bible and Ugaritic Studies in the Twentieth Century. Hendrickson Publishers. 
• Smith, Mark S.; Miller, Patrick D. (2002) [Harper & Row 1990]. The Early History of God. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-8028-3972-5. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=1yM3AuBh4AsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Smith+Early+History+of+God#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Soggin, Michael J. (1998). An Introduction to the History of Israel and Judah. Paideia. ISBN 978-0-334-02788-1. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=Dzw_H5GhkfYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=An+introduction+to+the+history+of+Israel+and+Judah++By+J.+Alberto+Soggin#v=onepage&q=&f=false. 
• Thompson, Thomas L. (1992). Early History of the Israelite People. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-09483-3. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=XqoMRPJca-wC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Early+history+of+the+Israelite+people:+from+the+written+and+archaeological+...++By+Thomas+L.+Thompson#v=onepage&q=&f=false. 
• Van der Toorn, Karel (1996). Family Religion in Babylonia, Syria, and Israel. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-10410-5. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=VSJWkrXfbLQC&dq=Family+religion+in+Babylonia,+Syria,+and+Israel&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Van der Toorn, Karel; Becking, Bob; Van der Horst, Pieter Willem (1999). Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible (2d ed.). Koninklijke Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-11119-6. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=yCkRz5pfxz0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Dictionary+of+Deities#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Vaughn, Andrew G.; Killebrew, Ann E., eds. (1992). Jerusalem in Bible and Archaeology: The First Temple Period. Sheffield. ISBN 978-1-58983-066-0. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=yYS4VEu08h4C&dq=Jerusalem+in+Bible+and+archaeology:+the+First+Temple+period++By+Andrew+G.+Vaughn,+Ann+E.+Killebrew&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=&f=false.  Cahill, Jane M. "Jerusalem at the Time of the United Monarchy".  Lehman, Gunnar. "The United Monarchy in the Countryside". 
• Wylen, Stephen M. (1996). The Jews in the Time of Jesus: An Introduction. Paulist Press. ISBN 978-0-8091-3610-0. http://books.google.com/?id=SHgiy-k_wsUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=An+introduction+to+early+Judaism++By+James+C.+VanderKam#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Zevit, Ziony (2001). The Religions of Ancient Israel: A Synthesis of Parallactic Approaches. Continuum. ISBN 978-0-8264-6339-5. http://books.google.com/?id=db4hr55j0yYC&pg=PA1&dq=The+religion+of+ancient+Israel++By+Patrick+D.+Miller#v=onepage&q&f=false. 

Julius Erving

Julius Erving with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1987
No. 32, 6
Small forward / Shooting guard
Personal information
Born	(1950-02-22) February 22, 1950 (age 62) Nassau County, New York[1][2][3][4][5]
Nationality	American
High school	Roosevelt (Roosevelt, New York)
Listed height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight	210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
College	UMass (1968–1971)
NBA Draft	1972 / Round: 1 / Pick: 12th overall
Selected by the Milwaukee Bucks
Pro career	1971–1987
League	ABA and NBA
Career history
1971–1973	Virginia Squires (ABA)
1973–1976	New York Nets (ABA)
1976–1987	Philadelphia 76ers
Career highlights and awards
NBA Champion (1983) 2× ABA Champion (1974, 1976) 3× ABA leader in points per game (1973, 1974, 1976) 2× ABA Playoffs MVP (1974, 1976) NBA Most Valuable Player (1981) 3× ABA Most Valuable Player (1974–1976) 11× NBA All-Star (1977–1987) 5× ABA All-Star (1972–1976) 2× NBA All-Star Game MVP (1977, 1983) 5× All-NBA First Team (1978, 1980–1983) 2× All-NBA Second Team (1977, 1984) 4× All-ABA First Team (1973–1976) All-ABA Second Team (1972) ABA All-Defensive First Team (1976) ABA All-Rookie First Team (1972) J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award (1983) NBA 35th Anniversary Team ABA All-Time Team NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team #6 Retired by the Philadelphia 76ers #32 Retired by the New Jersey Nets
Career ABA and NBA statistics
Points	30,026 (24.2 ppg)
Rebounds	10,525 (8.5 rpg)
Steals	2,272 (2.0 spg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Basketball Hall of Fame as player

Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is a retired American basketball player who helped launch a modern style of play that emphasizes leaping and play above the rim. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA). He was the best known player in the ABA when the ABA-NBA merger joined it with the National Basketball Association (NBA) after the 1976 season.

Erving won three championships, four Most Valuable Player Awards, and three scoring titles while playing with the ABA's Virginia Squires and New York Nets, and the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers. He is the fifth-highest scorer in professional basketball history, with 30,026 points (NBA and ABA combined). He was well known for slam dunking from the free throw line in Slam Dunk Contests and was the only player to have been voted Most Valuable Player in both the ABA and the NBA.

Erving was named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time team and in 1993 was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2004, he was inducted into the Nassau County Sports Hall of Fame. Many consider him among the most spectacular basketballers ever, and one of the best dunkers of all time. While players such as Connie Hawkins, "Jumping" Johnny Green, Elgin Baylor, and Gus Johnson were performing spectacular dunks before Erving's time, "Dr. J" is usually the one most people credit with bringing the practice into the mainstream. His signature dunk was the "slam" dunk, since incorporated into the vernacular and basic skill set of the game, in the same manner as the "cross-over" dribble and the "no look" pass.

Career[link]

High school and college[link]

Erving was born in Nassau County, New York,^{[1][2][3][4][5]} and raised from the age of 13 in Roosevelt, New York.^[6] He played for Roosevelt High School and received the nickname "Doctor" or "Dr. J" from a high school friend.^[7] He explains,

I have a buddy--his name is Leon Saunders--and he lives in Atlanta, and I started calling him "the professor," and he started calling me "the doctor." So it was just between us...we were buddies, we had our nicknames and we would roll with the nicknames. Low and behold we graduate from high school together, we both go to U-Mass, and we separated for many years 'cause he went over to Africa and did some stuff, and I went my way. But now he's my golf buddy in Atlanta...and I love him. He's just like a little brother to me even though, you know, there's only months between us. But he's the professor and he was the first one to call me "the doctor." And that's where it came from.

Erving enrolled at the University of Massachusetts in 1968. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1986 through the University Without Walls at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst^[8][9][10] In two varsity college basketball seasons, he averaged 32.5 points and 20.2 rebounds per game, becoming one of only five players to average more than 20 points and 20 rebounds per game in NCAA Men's Basketball.^[11]

At that time, professional basketball was in flux, split between two leagues whose players rapidly switched clubs and leagues. Erving joined the ABA in 1971 as an undrafted free agent with the Squires.^{[citation needed]}

Virginia Squires[link]

Erving quickly established himself as a force and gained a reputation for hard and ruthless dunking. He scored 27.3 points per game as a rookie, was selected to the All-ABA Second Team, made the ABA All-Rookie Team, and finished second to Artis Gilmore for the ABA Rookie of the Year Award. He led the Squires into the Eastern Division Finals, where they lost to the Rick Barry-led New York Nets.^{[citation needed]}

When he became eligible for the NBA draft in 1972, the Milwaukee Bucks picked him in the first round (12th overall). This move would have brought him together with Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Instead, the 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m), 210-pound (95 kg) Erving signed a contract with the Atlanta Hawks before the 1972–73 season.^[12]

As attorneys tried to reach an agreement among three teams in two leagues, Erving joined Pete Maravich and the Hawks's training camp, as they prepared for the upcoming season. Erving enjoyed his brief time with Atlanta, and he would later duplicate with George Gervin his after-practice playing with Maravich. He played three exhibition games with the Hawks until, because of a legal injunction, he was obliged by a three-judge panel to return to the ABA Squires. The NBA fined Atlanta $25,000 per game for Erving's Hawks appearances because Milwaukee owned his NBA rights.^{[citation needed]}

Back in the ABA, his game flourished, and he achieved a career-best 31.9 points per game in the 1972–1973 season. The following year, the cash-strapped Squires sold him to the New York Nets.^{[citation needed]}

New York Nets[link]

The Squires, like most ABA teams, were on rather shaky financial ground. They were forced to trade Erving to the Nets in 1973—a move which eventually sent the Squires into oblivion. Erving led the Nets to their first ABA title in 1973–74, defeating the Utah Stars. Erving established himself as the most important player in the ABA. His spectacular play established the Nets as, finally, one of the better teams in the ABA, and brought fans and credibility to the league.^{[citation needed]}

The end of the 1975-76 ABA season finally brought the ABA-NBA merger. The Nets and Nuggets had applied for admission to the NBA before the season, in anticipation of the eventual merger that had first been proposed by the two leagues in 1970 but whish was delayed for various reasons, including the Oscar Robertson suit. The Erving-led Nets defeated the Denver Nuggets in the swan-song finals of the ABA. In the postseason, Erving averaged 34.7 points and was named Most Valuable Player of the playoffs.^{[citation needed]}

In all, Erving played five seasons in the ABA. In that time, he won two championships, three MVP trophies, and three scoring titles.^{[citation needed]}

Philadelphia 76ers[link]

Erving performing a slam dunk in 1981

The Nets, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, and San Antonio Spurs joined the NBA for the 1976–77 season. With Erving and Nate Archibald (acquired in a trade with Kansas City), the Nets were poised to pick up right where they left off.^{[citation needed]} However, the New York Knicks upset the Nets' plans when they demanded that the Nets pay them $4.8 million for "invading" the Knicks' NBA territory. Coming on the heels of the fees the Nets had to pay for joining the NBA, owner Roy Boe reneged on a promise to raise Erving's salary. Erving refused to play under these conditions and held out in training camp.^{[citation needed]}

The Nets offered Erving's contract to the Knicks in return for waiving the indemnity, but the Knicks turned it down.^[13] When the Philadelphia 76ers offered to buy Erving's contract for $3 million—roughly the same amount as the Nets' expansion fee—Boe had little choice but to accept. For all intents and purposes, the Nets traded their franchise player for a berth in the NBA. The Erving deal left the Nets in ruin; they promptly crashed to a 24-58 record, the worst in the league.^{[citation needed]} Years later, Boe regretted having to trade Erving, saying, "The merger agreement killed the Nets as an NBA franchise . . . . The merger agreement got us into the NBA, but it forced me to destroy the team by selling Erving to pay the bill."^[14]

Erving quickly became the leader of his new club and led them to an exciting 50-win season. The Sixers, featuring other stars like George McGinnis and Doug Collins, won the Atlantic Division and were the top drawing team in the NBA. The Sixers defeated the defending champions, the Boston Celtics, to win the Eastern Conference. Erving took them into the NBA Finals against the Portland Trail Blazers of Bill Walton. After the Sixers took a 2–0 lead, however, the Blazers defeated them with four straight victories.^{[citation needed]}

However, Dr.J enjoyed success off the court, becoming one of the first basketball players to endorse many products and to have a shoe marketed under his name. It was at this time that he appeared in television commercials urging young fans asking for his autograph in an airport to refer to him henceforth as "Dr. Chapstick." He also starred in the 1979 basketball comedy film, The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh.^{[citation needed]}

A famous TV commercial for Sixers season tickets during the 1977–78 off-season summed up Erving's desire to win an NBA Title. In the commercial, Erving was in the Sixers locker room and he said to fans, "We owe you one" while he held up his index finger. It took a few years for the Sixers franchise to build around Erving. Eventually coach Billy Cunningham and top-level players like Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney, and Bobby Jones were added to the mix and the franchise was very successful.^{[citation needed]}

In the following years, Erving coped with a team that was not yet playing at his level. The Sixers were eliminated twice in the Eastern Conference Finals. In 1979, Larry Bird entered the league, reviving the Boston Celtics and the storied Celtics-76ers rivalry; these two teams faced each other in the Eastern Conference Finals in 1980, '81, '82, and '85. The Bird vs. Dr. J matchup became arguably the top personal rivalry in the sport (along with Bird vs. Magic Johnson), inspiring the early Electronic Arts video game One on One: Dr. J vs. Larry Bird.^{[citation needed]}

In 1980, the 76ers prevailed over the Celtics to advance to the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. There, Erving executed the legendary "Baseline Move, a behind-the-board reverse layup. However, the Lakers won 4–2 with superb play from, among others, Magic Johnson.^{[citation needed]}

Erving again was among the league's best players in the 1980-1981 and 1981-1982 seasons, although more disappointment came as the Sixers stumbled twice in the playoffs: in 1981, the Celtics eliminated them in 7 games in the 1981 Eastern Finals after Philadelphia had a 3-1 series lead, but lost both Game 5 and Game 6 by 2 points and the deciding Game 7 by 1) and in 1982, the Sixers managed to beat the defending champion Celtics in 7 games in the 1982 Eastern Finals but lost the NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers in 6 games. Despite these defeats, Erving was named the NBA MVP in 1981 and was again voted to the 1982 All-NBA first Team.^{[citation needed]}

Finally, for the 1982–83 season, the Sixers obtained the missing element to combat their weakness at their center position, Moses Malone. Armed with one of the most formidable and unstoppable center-forward combinations of all time, the Sixers dominated the whole season, causing Malone to make the famous prediction of "fo-fo-fo (four-four-four)". Erving understood the comment to mean that all the Sixers needed to do was win four games in each series, but Malone claims he actually meant the Sixers would sweep the entire playoffs.^[15] In fact, the Sixers went four-five-four, losing one game to the Milwaukee Bucks in the conference finals, then sweeping the Lakers to win the NBA title.^{[citation needed]}

Erving maintained his all-star caliber of play into his twilight years, averaging 22.4, 20.0, 18.1, and 16.8 points per game in his final seasons.^{[citation needed]} In 1986, he announced that he would retire after the season, causing every game he played to be sold out with adoring fans.^{[citation needed]} That final season saw opposing teams pay tribute to Erving in the last game Erving would play in their arenas, including in cities such as Boston and Los Angeles, his perennial rivals in the playoffs.^{[citation needed]}

Career summary[link]

Erving retired in 1987 at the age of 37. "A young Julius Erving was like Thomas Edison, he was always inventing something new every night," Johnny Kerr told ABA historian Terry Pluto. He is also one of the few players in modern basketball to have his number retired by two franchises: the New Jersey Nets (formerly the New York Nets) have retired his No. 32 jersey, and the Philadelphia 76ers his No. 6 jersey.

In his ABA and NBA careers combined, he scored more than 30,000 points. In 1993, Erving was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. When he retired, Erving ranked in the top 5 in scoring (third), field goals made (third), field goals attempted (fifth) and steals (first). On the combined NBA/ABA scoring list, Erving ranked third with 30,026 points. As of 2011^[update], Erving ranks fifth on the list, behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain.

Post-basketball career[link]

Erving (top left) with other former NBA players visit the New York NBA Store in January 2005

After his basketball career, Erving completed college and became a businessman, obtaining ownership of a Coca-Cola bottling plant in Philadelphia and doing work as a television analyst. In 1997, he joined the front office of the Orlando Magic.^{[citation needed]}

Erving and former NFL running back Joe Washington fielded a NASCAR Busch Grand National Series team in the late 1990s, becoming the first ever NASCAR racing team at any level owned completely by minorities. The team had secure sponsorship from Dr Pepper for most of its existence. Erving, a racing fan himself, stated that his foray into NASCAR was an attempt to raise interest in NASCAR among African-Americans.^{[citation needed]}

He has also served on the Board of Directors of Converse (prior to their 2001 bankruptcy), Darden Restaurants, Inc., Saks Incorporated and The Sports Authority. As of 2009, Erving is the owner of The Celebrity Golf Club International outside of Atlanta.^{[citation needed]} He was ranked #15 on SLAM Magazine's Top 50 NBA Players of All Time in 2009.^{[citation needed]}

Erving is the father of professional tennis player Alexandra Stevenson.^[16]

NBA statistics[link]

Games – 836; Field Goal % – .507; Rebounds – 5,601; Assists – 3,224; Total Points – 18,364; Points per game [PPG] – 22.0

Memorable feats[link]

Although dunking from the foul line had been done by other players (Jim Pollard and Wilt Chamberlain in the 1950s, for example), Erving introduced the dunk jumping off the foul line to a wide audience, when he demonstrated the feat in the 1976 ABA All-Star Game Dunking Contest. He is revered for his legacy of amazing acrobatic and powerful offensive moves.

The Baseline Move[link]

One of his most memorable plays occurred during the 1980 NBA Finals, when he executed a seemingly impossible finger-roll behind the backboard.^[17] He drove past Lakers forward Mark Landsberger on the right baseline and went in for a layup. Then 7'2" center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar crossed his way, blocking the route to the basket and forcing him outwards. In mid-air, it was apparent that Erving would land behind the backboard. But somehow he managed to reach over and score on a right-handed layup despite the fact that his whole body, including his left shoulder, was already behind the hoop. This move, along with his free-throw line dunk, has become one of the signature events of his career.

Rock The Baby over Michael Cooper[link]

Another of Erving's most memorable plays came in the final moments of a regular-season game against the Los Angeles Lakers in 1983. After Sixers point guard Maurice Cheeks deflected a pass by Lakers forward James Worthy, Erving picked up the ball and charged down the court's left side, with one defender to beat—the Lakers' top defensive player Michael Cooper. As he came inside of the 3-point line, he cupped the ball into his wrist and forearm, rocking the ball back and forth before taking off for what Lakers radio broadcaster Chick Hearn best described as a "Rock The Baby" slam dunk: he slung the ball around behind his head and dunked over a ducking Cooper. This dunk is generally regarded as one of the greatest dunks of all time.

Quotations[link]

Erving in May 2008

• "As a basketball player, Julius was the first to actually take the torch and become the spokesman for the NBA. He understood what his role was and how important it was for him to conduct himself as a representative of the league. Julius was the first player I ever remember who transcended sports and was known by one name, Doctor". – his coach, Billy Cunningham.
• "I saw that basketball could be my way out and I worked hard to make sure it was."
• "Respect is a lot more important, and a lot greater, than popularity."
• "Here I was, trying to win a championship, and my mouth just dropped open. He actually did that! I thought, 'What should we do? Should we take the ball out, or should we give him the ball back and ask him to do it again?' It's still the greatest move I've ever seen in a basketball game, the all-time greatest." – Magic Johnson on the Baseline Move.
• "We heard about Julius Erving and asked for a tape of him. We got this grainy black-and white film of the UMass-North Carolina game in the NIT. The quality was so bad that you could hardly tell what was going on, but we saw enough of Julius to sign him after his Junior year. Since we'd never seen him live before he wore a (Virginia) squires uniform, we thought he'd be able to help us on the boards and we hoped he'd be able to score some. We had no idea what he's become." – Johnny "Red" Kerr
• "....If you look at greatness there is one quality all these players have. They're always striving for perfection even though they know they'll never achieve that. Julius Erving was no different." – Billy Cunningham

Influences[link]

• Glenn "Doc" Rivers got his nickname while at Marquette University for the "Dr. J" t-shirt he often wore to basketball practice.
• Chicago Bears defensive end Julius Peppers was named after Erving.
• Erving was U.S. President Barack Obama's childhood sports hero; as a child, he had his posters in his room.^[18]
• Erving's nickname "Dr. J" influenced the rapper Dr. Dre's name

In popular culture[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Erving was the subject of a video game, One on One: Dr. J vs. Larry Bird, which was released originally for the Apple II and subsequently for several other systems. He is also popular among musicians; Erving was idolized by American rapper Dr. Dre, who even rapped using the alias "Dr. J" for a short time. American rappers Gucci Mane & Yo Gotti created the song "Julius" from the mixtape "Deeper Than Trap" in his honor, and You Be Illin' by Run-D.M.C. mentions a clutch shot by Erving. In addition to rap, legendary smooth jazz musician Grover Washington, Jr., a fan of the 76ers, created the song "Let It Flow (For Dr. J)", from the album Winelight, in honor of Erving. Gene Wilder makes reference to Julius Erving during a phone call in the movie The Woman in Red. Rapper Andre Nickatina made reference to Dr. J on the song "Cougar" from the 2002 album Hells Kitchen.

Family[link]

Erving was married to Turquoise Erving from 1972 until 2003. Together, they had four children. Their son, Cory, drowned after driving his vehicle into a pond in 2000.^[19]

In 1979, Erving began an adulterous affair with sportswriter Samantha Stevenson, resulting in the 1980 birth of American tennis player Alexandra Stevenson. Although Erving's fatherhood of Alexandra Stevenson was known privately to the families involved, it did not become public knowledge until Stevenson reached the semifinals at Wimbledon in 1999, the first year she qualified to play in the tournament. Erving had provided financial support for Stevenson over the years, but beyond that, had not been a part of her life. The public disclosure of their relationship did not initially lead to contact between father and daughter. However, in 2008, Stevenson contacted him, and they at last did initiate a further relationship with one another.^[20]

In 2003, Erving fathered a second child outside of his marriage, this time with a woman named Dorýs Madden. Julius and Turquoise Erving were subsequently divorced. Julius Erving continued his relationship with Madden, with the couple having two more children together.^[20] In 2008, Erving and Madden were married.^[21]

See also[link]

• List of National Basketball Association career steals leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career blocks leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career playoff scoring leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career playoff steals leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career playoff blocks leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career playoff turnovers leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career playoff free throw scoring leaders

References[link]

External links[link]

• Basketball Hall of Fame profile
• nba.com: NBA History profile
• nba.com: Historical playerfile
• The Baseline Move (includes animated GIF)
• Ultimatenba: Julius Erving playerfile
• basketball-reference.com: Career statistics
• YouTube: Dr J's "Rock The Baby" dunk video
• Philly.com: "Dr. J: ABA through today" photo gallery
• Julius Erving at the Internet Movie Database