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“In all these cases, we find that because of the way ancient writers write about, and rewrite, the past, it is often impossible to tell the difference between what we would call history on the one hand and midrash, legend, or expansion on the other. Perhaps the distinction is our problem: perhaps for ancient readers the notion of what really happened is not crucial.”
― Memories of Ancient Israel: An Introduction to Biblical History--Ancient and Modern
― Memories of Ancient Israel: An Introduction to Biblical History--Ancient and Modern
“What matters is that these things are allowed to stand in the text without resolution. The discrepancies either were not noticed (which seems unlikely) or were not bothered about. Either way, we learn something about the extent to which biblical
historians are punctilious about facts. They are not-at least not in the way we are. Contradictions are allowed to stand, details are embellished without any basis in historical knowledge. Are these writers bad or careless historians, or are we reading them wrongly and failing to share their understanding of the past?”
― Memories of Ancient Israel: An Introduction to Biblical History--Ancient and Modern
historians are punctilious about facts. They are not-at least not in the way we are. Contradictions are allowed to stand, details are embellished without any basis in historical knowledge. Are these writers bad or careless historians, or are we reading them wrongly and failing to share their understanding of the past?”
― Memories of Ancient Israel: An Introduction to Biblical History--Ancient and Modern
