ABSTRACT
Having assessed a picture of Persian-period Phoenicia based on classical, epigraphic, numismatic, and material-culture sources, we now turn to a very complicated and, in a sense, problematic source to use in historical reconstructions – ancient Jewish writings. Among many complicating factors is the fact that although the Persian-period Phoenician city-states of Tyre and Sidon receive ample coverage in ancient Jewish texts, the term “Phoenicia” is largely absent. 2 Whether it was a reflection of the traditional Near Eastern cognitive framework, a deliberate challenge to the Eastern Mediterranean ethos where the term originated, or something else is not entirely clear. More importantly, the texts themselves raise numerous questions as to their usability for historical reconstructions since they have a complicated history of composition, tumultuous and at times conflicting relationship to archaeological artifacts, and much-debated provenance. 3
