Mobility and Migration in the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near East: In Pursuit of Viable Heuristics for Interdisciplinary Study

ABSTRACT Historians of the ancient Near East and Biblical Scholars have shown interest in movement and migration as features of ancient texts and ancient lived experience, but few have appreciatively integrated theoretical groundings from mobility or migration studies in their analyses. Through the addition of both theory and data, mobility and migration studies hold promise as interlocutory fields that can enrich understandings of movement and migration at various scales. Mobility and migration studies admittedly stand as dauntingly large fields. This article, therefore, provides initial guidance on what theoretical groundings from mobility and migration studies can be most useful for modeling and interpreting movement in the ancient Near East and in biblical sources. This necessary (re)focus on fundamental conceptual categories and terminological frameworks will further guide ongoing interdisciplinary studies of mobility and migration in the ancient past.