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Ancient Israel: From Abraham to the Roman Destruction of the Temple, 3rd Edition
Considered the leading book on the subject, this book is an authoritative exploration of the complete history of ancient Israel—from Abraham, the first Hebrew, to the Roman destruction of the Second Temple in 70 A.D. It offers superlative authorship from acknowledged leaders in their specialties, from a wide range of nationalities, faiths, and backgrounds. The book is quite manageable in length and is packed with vivid color and black-and-white photographs, maps, charts, and timelines.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 8, 2013
This is an ambitious volume, bringing together 13 authors to introduce the history of Israel from the ancestral period to the destruction of the second temple. Concise and clear, the book follows the chronology and periodization of the Hebrew Bible, and would make an excellent historical companion to a canonical (though not literal) reading of that text. Overall, this is more a "biblical history" than a "history of Ancient Israel"--though the authors discuss non-biblical texts and archaeological debates, the scope of the volume is determined by the interests of biblical authors.
Take, for example, Kyle McCarter and Ron Hendel's chapter on the patriarchal period. The chapter is clearly the work of biblical scholars and not social historians or archaeologists--the primary emphasis is on assessing the historicity and possible significance of biblical narratives. That said, their reading is capacious and attentive, considering Genesis as history, cultural memory, and myth.
Other highlights include James Purvis and Eric Meyers' beautifully concise and accessible chapter on the Babylonian and Persian periods, and Shaye Cohen and Michael Satlow's nuanced and broadly-sourced treatment of the period of Roman rule.
I do wish more attention had been given to issues of gender, either in the content or is composing the (all-male) team of authors. Perhaps this is better addressed in the 3rd edition.
Take, for example, Kyle McCarter and Ron Hendel's chapter on the patriarchal period. The chapter is clearly the work of biblical scholars and not social historians or archaeologists--the primary emphasis is on assessing the historicity and possible significance of biblical narratives. That said, their reading is capacious and attentive, considering Genesis as history, cultural memory, and myth.
Other highlights include James Purvis and Eric Meyers' beautifully concise and accessible chapter on the Babylonian and Persian periods, and Shaye Cohen and Michael Satlow's nuanced and broadly-sourced treatment of the period of Roman rule.
I do wish more attention had been given to issues of gender, either in the content or is composing the (all-male) team of authors. Perhaps this is better addressed in the 3rd edition.
February 24, 2023
Ancient Israel: A Short History from Abraham to the Roman Destruction, edited by Hershel Shanks, consists of eight essays by noted biblical scholars. They use as reference material the findings of biblical archaeology and the Old Testament. Unfortunately there is no obvious archaeological evidence that the events in the Torah happened. The Torah consists of the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis to Deuteronomy. This is more than a little distressing, because the Jews consider the Torah to be the most holy part of the Old Testament, which they call the Holy Scriptures.
Nevertheless, most bible scholars believe that many of the events in the Torah did happen, if not precisely the way they are described in the Torah. Much of ancient Egyptian writing survives to this day. There is no mention of Joseph, who according to Genesis rose to a prominent position in the Egyptian government, or of Moses. The Egyptians did not like to write about slaves and military defeats. If a large number Hebrew slaves escaped into the Sinai Peninsula, and if an Egyptian army sent to bring them back drowned in the Red Sea of the Reed Sea, the Egyptians would probably not have written about it. They may have scrubbed the historical record of early mention of the Israelites.
Linguistic evidence indicates that the oldest part of the Bible is “The Song of the Sea,” which is found in Genesis 15: 1-18. It celebrates the drowning of the Egyptian Army, and appears to have been composed by an eye witness.
The oldest archaeological evidence of written Hebrew dates back to about 1000 BC. Nevertheless, the oral tradition can remember events happening centuries before they were written down.
Archaeologists believe that the Trojan War did happen. Shortly after the Trojan War the Greeks forgot how to use the Linear B script they had invented. They were illiterate for about four centuries until they invented a new alphabet, which like Hebrew, had been developed from the Phoenician alphabet. During these centuries stories of the Trojan War were remembered and told by troubadours, who embellished on them, until some of them were written down by Homer and Hesiod. The oral tradition survived long enough to inspire the tragic dramas of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides.
The Nibelungenlied was written in Germany about 1200. The Volsunga Saga was written independently in Iceland at about the same time. Together they inspired Wagner’s Ring Cycle. They both mention events that we know did happen six centuries earlier. A character in each is Attila the Hun.
The earliest mention of Israel outside of the Bible has been found in the Merneptah Stela, which dates to the early 13th century BC. By claiming inaccurately, “Israel is laid waste and his seed is not,” it reminds me of early Egyptian accounts of the Six Days War of 1967.
Ancient Israel does not mention this, but the phrase “Yahweh of the Shasu” has been found in Egyptian writing the the 14th and 13th centuries BC. Yahweh was later on mistranslated as “Jehovah.” The Shasu were people similar to modern day Bedouins. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob’s sons can be recognized as Shasu.
Beginning with the reign of King Saul the Old Testament appears to be essentially historical, and based on reference material written during or shortly after the events described. Events and Israelite kings mentioned in the Old Testament are also mentioned in writings of the Assyrians and the Babylonians.
King David conquered Syria, and three nations who lived in what is now Jordan. These were from north to south, Ammon, Moab, and Edom. His son Solomon built the Temple of Jerusalem. Solomon’s son Rehoboam needless provoked a revolt of the northern Tribes. The Northern Kingdom came to be called “Israel.” The Southern Kingdom, which consisted of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi, and which included Jerusalem and the Davidic Dynasty, came to be called “Judah.”
With David’s kingdom divided it could no longer hold onto David’s conquests. Syria, Ammon, Moab, and Edom became independent. They were frequently at war with Israel, Judah, or both. Sometimes Israel and Judah fought each other. While this was happening, the nation of Assyria, which lived in what is now northern Iraq, was becoming more powerful. Eventually it destroyed Israel and conquered Judah.
Another nation conquered by Assyria was the Chaldeans, whose capital was Babylon, in what is now southern Iraq. The Chaldeans, AKA the Babylonians, successfully revolted from Assyria, and destroyed the Assyrian capital at Nineveh. The Old Testament book of Nahum celebrates the destruction of Nineveh. Those celebrations were short lived. The Babylonians conquered Judah, destroyed Solomon’s Temple, and began the Babylonian Captivity.
That Captivity was ended when Persia conquered the Babylonian empire. Cyrus the Great, emperor of Persia, encouraged the Jews in Babylon to return to their homeland and rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem. By doing so he earned a lot of good ink in the Old Testament. With the return of the Jews to Jerusalem the Old Testament ends.
The Apocrypha was written during the time between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament. The Apocrypha describes the successful revolt of the Jews from a hybrid empire of Macedonians, Greeks, and Syrians. Once the Jews were independent they began re conquering the territory earlier conquered by David. The Jews gave the Gentiles in the land they conquered the choice between converting to Judaism, leaving, or being killed. That was the only time Jews have used force to achieve conversions.
The growing empire of the Jews was conquered by the larger and much more powerful Roman Empire. The Romans demonstrated their power by crushing two Jewish rebellions. That ended Jewish occupation of their homeland until the twentieth century.
Nevertheless, most bible scholars believe that many of the events in the Torah did happen, if not precisely the way they are described in the Torah. Much of ancient Egyptian writing survives to this day. There is no mention of Joseph, who according to Genesis rose to a prominent position in the Egyptian government, or of Moses. The Egyptians did not like to write about slaves and military defeats. If a large number Hebrew slaves escaped into the Sinai Peninsula, and if an Egyptian army sent to bring them back drowned in the Red Sea of the Reed Sea, the Egyptians would probably not have written about it. They may have scrubbed the historical record of early mention of the Israelites.
Linguistic evidence indicates that the oldest part of the Bible is “The Song of the Sea,” which is found in Genesis 15: 1-18. It celebrates the drowning of the Egyptian Army, and appears to have been composed by an eye witness.
The oldest archaeological evidence of written Hebrew dates back to about 1000 BC. Nevertheless, the oral tradition can remember events happening centuries before they were written down.
Archaeologists believe that the Trojan War did happen. Shortly after the Trojan War the Greeks forgot how to use the Linear B script they had invented. They were illiterate for about four centuries until they invented a new alphabet, which like Hebrew, had been developed from the Phoenician alphabet. During these centuries stories of the Trojan War were remembered and told by troubadours, who embellished on them, until some of them were written down by Homer and Hesiod. The oral tradition survived long enough to inspire the tragic dramas of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides.
The Nibelungenlied was written in Germany about 1200. The Volsunga Saga was written independently in Iceland at about the same time. Together they inspired Wagner’s Ring Cycle. They both mention events that we know did happen six centuries earlier. A character in each is Attila the Hun.
The earliest mention of Israel outside of the Bible has been found in the Merneptah Stela, which dates to the early 13th century BC. By claiming inaccurately, “Israel is laid waste and his seed is not,” it reminds me of early Egyptian accounts of the Six Days War of 1967.
Ancient Israel does not mention this, but the phrase “Yahweh of the Shasu” has been found in Egyptian writing the the 14th and 13th centuries BC. Yahweh was later on mistranslated as “Jehovah.” The Shasu were people similar to modern day Bedouins. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob’s sons can be recognized as Shasu.
Beginning with the reign of King Saul the Old Testament appears to be essentially historical, and based on reference material written during or shortly after the events described. Events and Israelite kings mentioned in the Old Testament are also mentioned in writings of the Assyrians and the Babylonians.
King David conquered Syria, and three nations who lived in what is now Jordan. These were from north to south, Ammon, Moab, and Edom. His son Solomon built the Temple of Jerusalem. Solomon’s son Rehoboam needless provoked a revolt of the northern Tribes. The Northern Kingdom came to be called “Israel.” The Southern Kingdom, which consisted of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi, and which included Jerusalem and the Davidic Dynasty, came to be called “Judah.”
With David’s kingdom divided it could no longer hold onto David’s conquests. Syria, Ammon, Moab, and Edom became independent. They were frequently at war with Israel, Judah, or both. Sometimes Israel and Judah fought each other. While this was happening, the nation of Assyria, which lived in what is now northern Iraq, was becoming more powerful. Eventually it destroyed Israel and conquered Judah.
Another nation conquered by Assyria was the Chaldeans, whose capital was Babylon, in what is now southern Iraq. The Chaldeans, AKA the Babylonians, successfully revolted from Assyria, and destroyed the Assyrian capital at Nineveh. The Old Testament book of Nahum celebrates the destruction of Nineveh. Those celebrations were short lived. The Babylonians conquered Judah, destroyed Solomon’s Temple, and began the Babylonian Captivity.
That Captivity was ended when Persia conquered the Babylonian empire. Cyrus the Great, emperor of Persia, encouraged the Jews in Babylon to return to their homeland and rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem. By doing so he earned a lot of good ink in the Old Testament. With the return of the Jews to Jerusalem the Old Testament ends.
The Apocrypha was written during the time between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament. The Apocrypha describes the successful revolt of the Jews from a hybrid empire of Macedonians, Greeks, and Syrians. Once the Jews were independent they began re conquering the territory earlier conquered by David. The Jews gave the Gentiles in the land they conquered the choice between converting to Judaism, leaving, or being killed. That was the only time Jews have used force to achieve conversions.
The growing empire of the Jews was conquered by the larger and much more powerful Roman Empire. The Romans demonstrated their power by crushing two Jewish rebellions. That ended Jewish occupation of their homeland until the twentieth century.
June 1, 2015
A concise overview of the modern scholastic understanding of Israel's history. Introduces a lot of the major arguments along with their evidences and reasons that bring history, bible, and scholarship alive. Many helpful and useful notes and references. Entertaining, educational, and thought-provoking. Written in easy-to-understand language. Ideal for anyone just getting their feet wet or who really want to dig in. The one drawback is the liberal slant that permeates the text and dubiously colors some of the conclusions.
March 6, 2016
This book is a set of scholarly articles discussing the various eras of the history of Israel. The author of each article lays out the archaeology/history of an era (e.g., Persian). A theory of that eras events is explained and backed up with facts/analysis and earlier theories are taken apart. It is fascinating to me to see how the use of extra-Biblical texts can illuminate Biblical writings and how they are both impacted by archaeology. If you have a closed mind about what Biblical writings are and are not, this may crack it open just a bit.
June 2, 2014
A remarkably well-written book. However, I'm not particularly enlightened. Having read the works of Josephus, I noticed that much of the information contained in this book is gleaned from his writings.
To all who wish to learn more about the history of Israel, Judaism, Christianity, and even our present world, I'd encourage you to read this book. Although it's dry and moves slowly at times, it will build upon the base of knowledge you've already acquired.
To all who wish to learn more about the history of Israel, Judaism, Christianity, and even our present world, I'd encourage you to read this book. Although it's dry and moves slowly at times, it will build upon the base of knowledge you've already acquired.
November 25, 2010
This book is good in the later chapters. I didn't finish it. I didn't like the beginning chapters. Everything is about how Abraham and the early bible stories are myths, there isn't much that archaeology can say about those times currently. The later chapters are interesting, though because the archaelogical evidence is much richer. Maybe I'll go back and finish the last two or three chapters.
December 9, 2013
Simply excellent.
April 24, 2024
This book offers a comprehensive journey through the history of Israel, spanning from the era of Abraham to the pivotal event of the Roman destruction of the Second Temple. The book adeptly provides an insightful overview of each period, with a focus on archaeological findings and historical context. One of the book's strengths lies in its thorough examination of each era, presenting theories alongside factual analysis while dismantling earlier interpretations.
Particularly compelling is the author's exploration of how extra-Biblical texts shed light on biblical narratives, demonstrating the intricate relationship between archaeology and ancient writings.
While the book's detailed approach enriches the reader's understanding, it occasionally suffers from a dry and slow-paced narrative. However, the book gets better in its later chapters (Persian, Greek and Roman periods). One standout chapter delves into the scant evidence of the Israelites' presence in Egypt.
Overall, "Ancient Israel" offers a valuable resource for those interested in archaeology, history, and biblical studies, despite its occasional pacing issues.
Particularly compelling is the author's exploration of how extra-Biblical texts shed light on biblical narratives, demonstrating the intricate relationship between archaeology and ancient writings.
While the book's detailed approach enriches the reader's understanding, it occasionally suffers from a dry and slow-paced narrative. However, the book gets better in its later chapters (Persian, Greek and Roman periods). One standout chapter delves into the scant evidence of the Israelites' presence in Egypt.
Overall, "Ancient Israel" offers a valuable resource for those interested in archaeology, history, and biblical studies, despite its occasional pacing issues.
August 28, 2020
If you want to know more about the culture of early Israel this is a great book. It is pretty dry though.
June 27, 2024
I enjoyed this book as it did a fine job of providing an overview of Israel from time of Abraham until when the Romans destroyed the 2nd temple. Although, I feel bringing in the story of Christ from the perspective of the Jews as more than just a footnote would have served the historical perspective more fully.
March 2, 2014
Excellent book for those interested in the history of the lands of the Bible.
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August 8, 2014933 A541 2011
September 2, 2015
Like others have said, the first section of this book leading up to the establishment of the kingdom of David is wanting in good source material, but I liked the sections of the book that followed.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews