ABSTRACT

The geography of Judah is unique among the territorial kingdoms of the southern Levant, featuring four distinct regions with the potential for exploitation in different economic strategies. In the Iron IIB the vassal kingdom experienced a dramatic economic transformation directed by the Assyrian empire, from traditional Mediterranean subsistence to specialised economy based on its four zones: viticulture in the highlands, oleo-culture in the Shephelah, services to the Arabian trade in the Beersheba Valley and date and exotic plant groves in the Dead Sea Valley oases. This high-risk/high-gain system may clarify the development of advanced administration, which, in turn, explains the unique features in the material culture of Judah compared to neighbouring kingdoms: The system of stamped handles and weights and the proliferation of scribal activity. The division of the kingdom into districts, as portrayed in Josh 15, is connected to this reality, and hence probably originated slightly earlier than conventionally argued.

摘要

犹大的地理在黎凡特南部的领土王国中是独一无二的，具有四个不同的区域，具有不同经济战略的开发潜力。在 Iron IIB 时期，附庸国经历了由亚述帝国主导的戏剧性经济转型，从传统的地中海自给自足型经济转变为基于其四个区域的专业化经济：高地的葡萄种植、Shephelah 的油脂种植、为阿拉伯贸易提供的服务贝尔谢巴谷和死海谷绿洲中的椰枣和外来植物林。这种高风险/高收益的系统可能会阐明先进行政管理的发展，这反过来又解释了与邻国相比，犹大物质文化的独特之处：加盖把手和重量的系统以及抄写活动的激增.