History of the Jews

After the Bronze Age Collapse, Canaan lay in ruins.

The invading Sea Peoples emerge as a dominant power, asserting control over the coast of Canaan. But tucked away in the highlands, the Israelites slowly recover and adapt to a dangerous new world.

During the late 11th and 10th centuries, this new reality forces them out of their defenseless villages and back into fortified cities. They reinforce their frontiers and build forts to keep a watchful eye on the Philistines and their other neighbors.

Out of this period of crisis and transformation emerged something new: perhaps a united Israelite kingdom, perhaps the early foundations of Israel and Judah. Whatever it was, it prepared them for the next great threat.

Far in the distance, Assyria was shaking off the dust from the Bronze Age Collapse. And looking westward.

Read the episode and bonus content at: https://historyofthejews.substack.com/

You can also reach me at: [email protected]

How did the Israelites remember their past? And how does that memory compare to the history uncovered by archaeology?

The previous episode (The Israelite Origin Story: The History), told the Israelites origin story from the perspective of archeology. In this episode, we explore the Bible not as history, but as Israelite memory. From Abraham and the Patriarchs to Egypt, the Exodus and the conquest of Canaan, we ask:

What the Israelites chose to remember, what they forgot, and what that reveals about who they were.

Read the episode and bonus content at: https://historyofthejews.substack.com/

You can also reach me at: [email protected]

Who were the Israelites? Where did they come from?

This episode tells the origin story of the Israelites based on archeology - condensing centuries of history into a coherent prequel and first chapter of Jewish history.

Competition between Canaan and Egypt creates the conditions for a resurgent New Kingdom Egypt that will dominate the Canaanites for centuries. The Bronze Age Collapse changes the world order, creating a power vacuum in Canaan and new opportunities. And the Israelites leave their homes in search of the good life in the highlands, doing their best to leave the ashes behind.

Read the episode and bonus content at: https://historyofthejews.substack.com/

You can also reach me at: [email protected]

Who were the early Israelites—and where did they come from?

In this episode, the Bronze Age Collapse tears apart the eastern Mediterranean, and the Egyptian Empire loses its hold on Canaan. We trace what that collapse looked like on the ground—and the opportunities it created for the people living through it.

Overlooking the ashes of the Canaanite cities, new communities take shape in the highlands. The Israelites forge a new life. We step inside an early Israelite home, exploring their culture before turning to the deeper question of how they got there.

Were they invaders, nomads, or just Canaanites looking for a better life?

Read the episode and bonus content at: https://historyofthejews.substack.com/

You can also reach me at: [email protected]

The Israelites enter recorded history around 1208 BC—right as the world of the Eastern Mediterranean unravels in what we call the Bronze Age Collapse.

In this episode, we explore that collapse—the final piece of the puzzle before we can begin telling the story of the ancient Israelites.

We trace its impact across the region, from the great powers of Greece and Anatolia to the empire of Egypt. Along the way, we confront one of history’s enduring mysteries: the “Sea Peoples.” Who were they, and what did they want? Displacement—perhaps caused by drought, famine, or earthquakes—may have pushed them into a wave of migration and conflict.

As they move south, clashing with the civilizations of the Near East, their advance ultimately ends in Egypt. There, they are defeated—and many are resettled in Canaan, setting the stage for the later encounters between the Israelites and the Philistines.

Read the episode and bonus content at: https://historyofthejews.substack.com/

You can also reach me at: [email protected]

Did you know that Egypt ruled Canaan before the Israelites?

After the Egyptians ravage the Hyksos, they integrate Canaan into their empire and rule there for hundreds of years.

This episode follows the story of Lab'ayu, a corrupt Canaanite king, to show the chaos and corruption that pervaded Canaan under the Egyptians. We also examine the Habiru (Hapiru, Apiru), a mysterious group of outsiders often linked to the Hebrews, and their role in the chaos of the time. This history comes to us through the Amarna Letters, hundreds of letters between the local Canaanite rulers and the Egyptian administration.

Read the episode and bonus content at: https://historyofthejews.substack.com/

You can also reach me at: [email protected]

Who were the Hyksos—the “foreign kings” who once ruled Egypt—and why did they leave such a deep scar on Egyptian memory? And could they be connected to the origins of the Israelites?

In this episode, we trace the long and bitter relationship between Egypt and its northern neighbors. As migrants from Canaan move into Egypt, they rise from traders and migrants to rulers of the Nile Delta, establishing the Hyksos kingdom. Their rule provokes a violent Egyptian response: the rise of the New Kingdom and a campaign of destruction that reaches into Canaan itself.

By the end of the episode, the world before the Israelites looks very different—shaped by migration, conquest, and the lingering memory of foreign rule.

Read the episode and bonus content at: https://historyofthejews.substack.com/

You can also reach me at: [email protected]

We begin our journey through Jewish history with the first explicit mention of Israel in the historical record: the Merneptah Stele. But on its own, it raises more questions than it answers—why are the Egyptians attacking Israel, and who are these Israelites in the first place?

We turn to ancient accounts—from the Bible and Greek writers—but they don’t fully explain what we see. So instead, we step back and explore the broader world of Bronze Age Canaan and Egypt. As that context comes into focus, the tension between them—and the stage on which Israel first appears—begins to take shape.

Read the episode and bonus content at: https://historyofthejews.substack.com/

You can also reach me at: [email protected]

This episode introduces History of the Jews.

Through the story of Dmitrii Bogrov, a revolutionary assassin, we explore how Jewish history is often misunderstood—reduced to familiar themes like religion or antisemitism. This podcast takes a different approach: telling a full history, grounded in archaeology and contemporary sources, and focused on context rather than clichés.

Check out Substack to see bonus posts! This weeks post explores two other ways to look at Bogrov's life.

Substack: https://historyofthejews.substack.com/