I posted this r/Judaism, and someone suggested I ask here too.
Tl;dr, trying to find out more about the history of the Israeli territory.
I hate that Israel seems to be one of the only first world nation w/o a clear history! Were early jews there in 12000 b.c.e? Is the Bible really a historical text we can trust to tell us about the region? What’s the deal with Canaanites? (New research says it’s possible that the Israelites were genetically related) [2017 research ](www.sciencemag.com/news/2017/07/ancient-dna-reveals-fate-mysterious-canaanites)
Searching the web for information gets confusing because there is so much controversy and many contradictions. Any suggestions as to where I should start?
“Israel’s history and the history of Israel” by Mario Liverani who is a well regarded specialist of ancient Near East history should be a good starting point. This book is on askhistorians recommended list on the subject of Ancient Israel.