Residential patterns in the ancient Israelite city

It is the aim of the present paper to examine residential and land use patterns in the ancient Israelite city. These patterns are examined in various Iron Age II cities in the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah in relation to Sjoberg's influential model of 'the pre-industrial city'. The analysis reveals that while some towns conform with this famous model, many others do not. The paper, by observing the changes that took place in residential and land-use patterns in some cities through time, and in light of archaeology's unique ability to view long-term processes, attempts to explain the differences, and to find the reasons that lie behind these patterns.