Generous teacher sharing years of research. It was a bit "shattering" for a Christian to have your beliefs brought into question, but faith is faith, you either believe G-d or you don't. Overall it was a very good course and I recommend it to anyone who likes history, Biblical history, Israel and the Ancient Near East. The primary teacher, Dr Oded Lipschits , shares the spotlight with other specialists in the field which is quite enlightening.

Exceptionally good course, cross-referencing historical and archaeological evidence with Biblical texts about the destruction of Jerusalem. Professor Lipschits is also drily hilarious. I can't recommend it highly enough.

A sumarized but complete and deep study of the geopolitical situations Judah had to face from the 7th to the 5th century BC. A very interesting and revealing course from the beginning until the end.

The course was well presented and went in depth into the issues surrounding the kingdom of Judah and the city of Jerusalem during a tumultuous time in the 7th and 6th centuries BC.

Professor Lipschits and the other lecturers were exceptional with their presentations. I enjoyed the course very much and learned a lot. Thanks to Tel Aviv university.

The course is a very welcome addition to some of the others dealing with the ancient near east especially those dealing with the bible, historical jerusalem and so on

This was a great course. Aside from its comprehensive scope, Lipschitz does a great job of mixing biblical text, archeology and extra-biblical sources. On the other hand, the course suffers from amateurish editing of the slides with typos and places where concepts are often repeated in the same slides and across slides.

These faults were distracting from what struck me as a world class introduction to the topic. I hope the instructor can bring in editors to help him tighten the presentation.

Professor Lipschitz is an amazing lecturer. As a professional archeologist who focused on US prehistoric societies during my graduate studies, I find this class fascinating. The ability to tie archeology to history through written documents is an approach that works quite well. Professor Lipschitz’ use of maps in the lectures really helps to follow the battles and takeovers throughout the Fertile Crescent. I also have to recognize the excellent lecture that Professor Cohen presented on the Babylonian Chronicles. I hope at some point, Professor Cohen is able to present a full class on Assyriology. I will also sign up for any additional courses taught by Professor Lipschitz.

Honestly, I learned a lot and important thinkgs through this course. I understand why it may lead many to abandon it. And the reason is that, objectively, compared to Coursera's other courses, is definitely more difficult. However, my point is that such a topic, with lots of information, names and chronologies, could not be taught otherwise. I would like to thank Professor Oded Lipschits, as well as his entire scientific team for the excellent course. It was important for me to fill my learning gaps in issues, that are directly related to the Aegean cultures and especially the ancient Greek civilization. Greetings from Greece and the city of Thessaloniki!!

Dear course friends

The Fall and Rise of Jerusalem

I want to express my deep gratitude for this incredible opportunity to participate in the course “The Fall and Rise of Jerusalem”, taught by Professor Doctor Oded Lipschits, Director of the Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archeology and Full Professor in the Department of Archeology and Ancient Near East Studies at the Tel-Aviv University.

I also thank each of the employees at Tel-Aviv University / Coursera who have worked together to make this partnership a real breadbasket of learning, so important and significant for the present time.

Brotherly Hug!

Márcio Monteiro Rocha

Thankyou so much for this excellent lecture on the Fall and Rise of Jerusalem

We were in Jerusalem 5 years ago and i really wished i had this information before i went. i would like to learn more and will continue to search for more lectures such as yours. When in Jerusalem 5 yrs ago we were in Tel Aviv , such a beautiful city .My ancesters from Lebanon immigrated through Tel Aviv in 1910, so this trip there and learning about the Land of Israel has been so fascinating and feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to travel there and now learn more about the history of the land.

Again thankyou so much

Its a LOT of NOTES and INFO, but its well worth it! Ive studied this period of time and the Bible in general for a long time and I learned a lot in this class. I know I will reference his books and these notes for a lifetime to come. I will also be watching his career for now on, as well. This really was a well put together course just packed with information from the 1st CEN BCE to 7th CEN BCE, so a wide range of time periods and with guests professors too. You wont be disappointed, but please dedicated time to spend on the course each week, you will need it..

I found the course very well presented and it followed a natural sequence of historical findings. Even though there's a lot going on in that part of the world the course shows the true facts of how the civilizations back then evolved and their days of glory and downfall. Jerusalem was small and regarded as remote to the great nations back then but it's interesting how much Jerusalem and Israel as a whole were much involved with all the history being made so long ago. I'd recommend this to anyone with an interest.

An excellent course for those willing to take a "deep dive" into the details of this period and the evidence that backs the assumptions and conclusions of the professor. At times I found the lecture presentations too rapid, and remedied this by slowing down the speed of the video to .75. The summary charts at the conclusion of each lecture were very helpful. A scholarly course presented in a concise and enthusiastic manner!

This was a interesting class that gave not only the history behind the fall of Jeruselem but also the destruction of the temple and what happened in the land between the destruction and the resettlement of the city in the Persian Period. I would highly recommend this course to history students, anthropology students, archaeology students, and religion students who want a deeper understanding of this time.

Good strong perspective on the real history of ancient Judah & the Middle East. Sometimes overwhelming due the number of facts punctuated by the dates & the supporting evidence but overall excellent, especially in factual presentation & chronological presentation. Showed how the Bible & other supporting ancient texts are more than just books of metaphor & faith.

The course introduced me to the end of the first temple period, which I greatly enjoyed. If you want an Agnostic to pick up a Bible and start reading ferociously, recommend this course to him/her. Note: I took this course after "Organising an Empire: The Assyrian Way", which was a nice change of viewpoint for a similar time and place. Highly recommended.

Dr. Lipschits was very clear and very linear in the way he explained the evidence. I also loved the guest lecuturers who added another dimension to the information that we needed to absorb. I feel like I would take more classes on this subject to learn more - a direct result of the how interesting the material was to the student.

A truly fascinating course across all 6 Weeks. Professor Lipschits is a wonderful and informative teacher who provides an interesting and very well-informed picture of late Iron Age Judea and its transformation under Babylonian Rule and of the impact the exiled Judean elite had when they returned to Judea in the Persian Period.

La historia cuando es contada de forma amena, te permite un viaje al pasado y en ese viaje revisar los errores y aciertos que permanece en nuestro diario hacer. La historia no es solo conocimiento adquirido es hacer de ese conocimiento herramienta que te ayude a crecer en el presente y proyectar en el futuro.