Problem 1: What do the Lachish reliefs and the information in chapter 2 of the textbook reveal about how governing authorities created and maintained empires during the early Iron Age? In particular consider how the imperial strategies of the Assyrians compared to the Persians? (You should also draw on information from the documentary about the Israelites' relations with imperial powers such as Assyrians, Persians, and Neo-Babylonians.)
Problem 2: Using information from the documentary (and the textbook) explain how non-Biblical sources about the ancient Hebrews (both the writings of other peoples and archaeological discoveries) provide alternative perspectives on the origins and development of the Israelites. (You may want to consider one or more of the following issues: how scholars now understand Moses, the Exodus, the conquest of Canaan, and the development of monotheism among the Israelites.)