Prof. Israel Finkelstein

Tel Aviv University

Prof. Israel Finkelstein is the Jacob M. Alkow Professor of the Archaeology of Israel in the Bronze and Iron Ages at Tel Aviv University, whence he received his M.A. and Ph.D. in archaeology. He and is the director of the Megiddo expedition, is well known for his revised lower chronology, for which he won the Dan David Prize. Among his many publications are The Forgotten Kingdom, The Archaeology of the Israelite Settlement, and his best selling The Bible Unearthed (with Neil Asher Silberman).

Last Updated: November 10, 2026

Books by the Author

The Forgotten Kingdom: The Archaeology and History of Northern Israel

The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts

The Quest for the Historical Israel: Archaeology and the History of Early Israel

David and Solomon In Search of the Bible's Sacred Kings and the Roots of the Western Tradition

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Articles by Author

North Israelite Memories of the Transjordan and the Mesha Inscription

The Mesha Inscription describes Omri’s conquest of the mishor in the Transjordan, and Moab’s subsequent (re)taking of it, in the 9th century B.C.E. Reading Numbers 21 in conversation with archaeological findings confirms much of this and offers us a glimpse at the history of this region before the Omride conquest.

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