Bedouin culture in the Bible

Author's name: Clinton Pelley Publisher: Al-Rafidain for Publishing and Distribution Year of publication: 2020 Literary classification: History Brief about the book: The American researcher (Clinton Pelley) spent about five decades of his life (born in 1936) in a deep study of the lives of the Bedouins of Negev and Sinai, and closely got to know their sheikhs and dignitaries, and had deep friendships with most of them. This resulted in several books about their affairs and proverbs, as he wrote about their poetry, culture, and laws, in an attempt to reach the influence of their group as an ethnic group, on the era of writing the Torah, with complete scientific and neutral objectivity. So this distinguished book came with its material. In the introduction, there is an incident narrated—despite its importance—with a humorous touch, that (Pelley) was lured in 1970 to a camp of one of the Sinai Bedouin tribes, on the basis of drinking coffee, but when he did and was about to leave, he found that the table preparations had been made, and it became necessary for him, being committed to his research schedules at all times, to stay longer: When I finished drinking the coffee and announced my intention to leave, (Sweilem) suddenly showed his hand in front of me, soaked with sheep's blood, and declared: "You can't leave now, we just slaughtered your dinner. You can't leave until you eat!" The purpose of this was to mediate with the Israeli forces to allow them to hold a collective circumcision party for those who completed their thirteenth year, in a side hidden by high hills from the open space. The reason for holding the party in that area of Sinai—the occupied territory at the time—is so that the camp would be visible to everyone. "For the Bedouins, not holding the party where it can be seen by passersby was like being inhospitable, as if they didn't want guests. Hence, their request and its importance to them." From this, it becomes clear how much influence this man has, as he can influence the Israeli forces on one hand, and on the other hand, we see the strength of the relationship that binds him to these hosts, among whom he has been a friend, a researcher of their affairs, and an activist in defending their civil rights, since 1978 until now.