I study the texts, history, and historical geography of the Land of Israel in the Biblical period, particularly on the First Temple Period. I specialize in the literary contacts between Israelite society in the Biblical period and the other societies of the Near East. My current researches studies the Neo-Assyrian empire and its influence on the Land of Israel, and an exploration of how Biblical prophetic literature responds to the literature, ideology, and political culture of the Neo-Assyrian empire. It is important to recognize that Biblical prophecy was not written in a historical vacuum; it responds to the historical realities of specific time periods. Recognizing the historical and ideological background to which prophetic texts react has potential to bring these texts to life, by allowing us to see them as records of a real ideological polemic.

Research

Dr. Shawn Zelig Aster researches the history and geography of the Land of Israel in the biblical period, history of the people of Israel in the biblical period, the prophetic literature in its historical context, the Bible and the ancient East.