I did not know any Semitic languages when I started this line of research—almost two years later, I still don’t know that much, but I have learned enough to be able to understand some limited Aramaic and Ancient Hebrew and analyze them. With the help of dictionaries and translations, I am able to make sense of original texts and of later commentaries.
Investigating an early historic society is tricky, because of its very nature: you want a lot of written sources, whihc is the definition of a historic society—but an ealry historic society does not have many.
There are, however, extraordinary advantages to studying early Israelite society for socioeconomic purposes. First, many later sources purport to have captured oral testimonies, histories and traditions (Halakha): this is not true of any other early historic society we know. The capture is certinly not perfect, nor is it unbiased. But it is there.
Second, there is an extraordinarily rich literature of commentaries, starting around the 2nd century BC and going, uninterrupted, until our times—although I drew an end to my sources after the Middle Ages for reasons already discussed.
This environment is so rich that its nomenclature must be explained, in order to be able to discuss it properly. So our next step is to introduce some vocabulary.
Born left-handed 