Early Israel and the Surrounding Nations
is a histori cal account written in the late 19th century. This detailed exploration delves into the origins of early Israel within the broader context of ancient Near Eastern civilizations, providing insight into the geographical, cultural, and political dynamics of the region. The book examines how the scanty population of ancient Palestine, despiteits size, played a pivotalrole inshap ingtheearlynarrativesofcivilization, particularlyinrelationtoitssurround ing nations, empires, and cultures. The opening of the book introduces the reader to the small yet significant landscape of Palestine, emphasizing its importance as a center of ancient history. Sayce outlines the geographi cal features that contributed to the complexities of the region's population and their interactions with neighboring cultures, such as the Babylonians, Egyptians, and Hittites. The text hints at the complexities of these relation ships, noting how the Israelites, initially invaders, eventually mingled with the local populations, leading to a rich tapestry of cultural and religious ex changes. Saycesetsthestageforadeeperinvestigationintotheconsequences of these interactions on the development of Israelite identity, religion, and their eventual historical narrative was the inheritance which the Israelites won for themselves by the sword. Their ancestors had already settled in it in patriarchal days. Abraham "the Hebrew" from Babylonia had bought in it a burying-place near Hebron; Jacob had purchased a field near Shechem, where he could water his flocks from his own spring. It was the "Promised Land" to which the serfs of the Pharaoh in Goshen looked forward when they should again become free men and find a new home for themselves. Canaanhadeverbeentherefugeofthe AsiaticpopulationofEgypt, thegoal at which they aimed when driven out of the land of the Nile. The Hyksos conquerors from Asia had retreated to Jerusalem when the nativeEgyptians recovered their independence and had expelled them from their seats in the Delta. ThoughMoseshadassuredthePharaohthatallthe Israelites needed wastogoashortjourneyofthreedaysintothewilderness, andtheresacrifice to their God, it waswell understoodthat the desert was nottobetheendof their pilgrimage. Canaan, and Canaan only, was the destined country they had in view
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