Joseph A. Callaway

Trude Dothan, Hebrew University archaeologist, rests her arm on a roof-support pillar of a house at Ai, as Hebrew University Bible historian, Abraham Malamat, looks on. If Dothan, who is five feet two inches tall, towers over this pillar, similar in height to the many other roof support pillars unearthed at the site, then the question arises—were Ahilud and his neighbors less than five feet two inches tall? Although the author found no skeletal remains at Ai to prove an answer, he believes that the Israelites in the days of the Judges were indeed people of diminutive height.