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Foundations of Contemporary Interpretation #5
The Art of Biblical History
A brilliant treatment of the relationship between history and
the art of history-writing in the Old Testament in the light of modern
hermeneutical debate. Deliberately echoing the titles of Robert Alter's
seminal 'The art of biblical narrative' and 'The art of biblical poetry',
Dr Long engages the issues of the nature of history, the importance of
historicity, and modern disagreements over historicity at a conceptual
level, and he then provides an extended case study on 'The Rise of Saul'.
the art of history-writing in the Old Testament in the light of modern
hermeneutical debate. Deliberately echoing the titles of Robert Alter's
seminal 'The art of biblical narrative' and 'The art of biblical poetry',
Dr Long engages the issues of the nature of history, the importance of
historicity, and modern disagreements over historicity at a conceptual
level, and he then provides an extended case study on 'The Rise of Saul'.
247 pages, Paperback
Published September 23, 1994
8 people are currently reading
108 people want to read
About the author
V. Philips Long
17 books8 followersV. Phillips Long (Ph.D., Cambridge) is professor of Old Testament, Regent College, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
March 1, 2022
honestly this book would have been a slog to get through if it wasn't written in such a straightforward and clear manner. Im especially glad it isn’t since the book’s content is so helpful in terms of reading the bible seriously, worshipfully, but also on its own terms. As much as I wanted to judge this book by its cover, 5 minutes on adobe sparkpost could have produced a better result, I'm glad I didn't.
Maybe the lesson is that we should be allowed to judge a book by it's cover as long as we still read the book and judge it by its contents :)
Maybe the lesson is that we should be allowed to judge a book by it's cover as long as we still read the book and judge it by its contents :)
November 11, 2015
The best book out of the three assigned for Exegesis class. Too bad I had to rush through 80% of it in two days. Long provides a balanced and reasonable perspective in addressing biblical history. Long lays out competing views and writes clearly. Good biblical studies book.
October 17, 2022
I skimmed this one. As someone who got deep into the Bible as literature scene, I really wanted to give this question a look. This book is the great one-stop defense of the Bible as history, even though it includes literary elements. Long has a very sophisticated and careful take on how the terms "history" and "fiction" are used nowadays, particularly by folks like Robert Alter.
He also has a killer exegesis of 1 Samuel, which often gets dinged for having historical contradictions. Long argues that when Saul is told to wait for Samuel at Gilgal in chapter 11, there is an intentional "delay" before chapter 13 because Saul is timid, and that it's a hint of Saul's first failure. Really sophisticated.
The one question that I think is going to become more pressing for Evangelicals is how much of the Biblical text is meant to be understood historically (for example, are the sequences of events intended to be understood historically? How many details are being "contrived"?). I do not have all the answers to these questions, but Long both points out that, if Jericho is not razed, we are dead in our sins. However, he also has a good warning for conservatives: "only where a text's truth claims involve historicity does a denial of historicity become a denial of the truth value of the biblical text, and thus become a problem for those holding a high view of Scripture." (p. 389) In other words, conservatives do not need to worry about every single thing in the text being historical, but only those things in the text that claim to be historical.
So there's a lot of questions to be asked about how much history is in the Bible. I am grateful though that non-reactive conservatives like Long have at least given me a framework for those questions.
He also has a killer exegesis of 1 Samuel, which often gets dinged for having historical contradictions. Long argues that when Saul is told to wait for Samuel at Gilgal in chapter 11, there is an intentional "delay" before chapter 13 because Saul is timid, and that it's a hint of Saul's first failure. Really sophisticated.
The one question that I think is going to become more pressing for Evangelicals is how much of the Biblical text is meant to be understood historically (for example, are the sequences of events intended to be understood historically? How many details are being "contrived"?). I do not have all the answers to these questions, but Long both points out that, if Jericho is not razed, we are dead in our sins. However, he also has a good warning for conservatives: "only where a text's truth claims involve historicity does a denial of historicity become a denial of the truth value of the biblical text, and thus become a problem for those holding a high view of Scripture." (p. 389) In other words, conservatives do not need to worry about every single thing in the text being historical, but only those things in the text that claim to be historical.
So there's a lot of questions to be asked about how much history is in the Bible. I am grateful though that non-reactive conservatives like Long have at least given me a framework for those questions.
February 13, 2025
Had to read it for class! some parts were insightful but I definitely disagree with some things!
September 10, 2016
Review: Helpful. Long is a good guide in laying the foundations for a biblical hermeneutic, especially as it regards OT narrative and the issue of historicity.
Chapter 1: History and the Genre(s) of the Bible
Long distinguishes between truth value and truth claim. The questions which pertain to each are distinct.
Truth value: concerns the macro-genre of the Bible--its essential character or ontological status.
Truth claim: that which a text intends to convey, command, etc.
Long describes the Bible as a foreign book and because of this, its interpreters must be fluent in the literary conventions of the ANE. So, "an increased appreciation of the literary mechanisms of a text--how a story is told--often becomes the avenue of greater insight into the theological, religious and even historical significance of the text--what the story means" (43).
Qualifications concerning Genre Criticism: First, the usefulness is descriptive, not prescriptive. Second, resist Enlightenment notion that shorter, purer forms are early, whereas mixed, elaborated forms are late. Third, don't think that unique texts cannot exist.
Discourse principle: language is organized in top-down fashion. The successively higher level of textual organization influences all the lower levels of which it is composed (47).
Key: Biblical narrative regulated by set of three principles: Ideological, Historiographic, Aesthetic.
Chapter 2: History and Fiction
Thesis: the concept of fiction, if it can be properly defined and guarded against misunderstanding, may be fruitfully employed in discussions of biblical historiography (58).
History can either mean events in the past or verbal accounts of these events.
R. Alter: the Hebrew Bible narratives are organized on literary principles (61).
History-Writing as Representational Art: Long distinguishes between representational narratives and aesthetic narratives. Long helpfully uses a painting analogy to describe the historiographic project. Three impulses: constraint by the subject matter, point of view, aesthetic choices--are all used in biblical literature. This is a good section--read again before final.
Chapter 3: History and Truth
Chapter 1: History and the Genre(s) of the Bible
Long distinguishes between truth value and truth claim. The questions which pertain to each are distinct.
Truth value: concerns the macro-genre of the Bible--its essential character or ontological status.
Truth claim: that which a text intends to convey, command, etc.
Long describes the Bible as a foreign book and because of this, its interpreters must be fluent in the literary conventions of the ANE. So, "an increased appreciation of the literary mechanisms of a text--how a story is told--often becomes the avenue of greater insight into the theological, religious and even historical significance of the text--what the story means" (43).
Qualifications concerning Genre Criticism: First, the usefulness is descriptive, not prescriptive. Second, resist Enlightenment notion that shorter, purer forms are early, whereas mixed, elaborated forms are late. Third, don't think that unique texts cannot exist.
Discourse principle: language is organized in top-down fashion. The successively higher level of textual organization influences all the lower levels of which it is composed (47).
Key: Biblical narrative regulated by set of three principles: Ideological, Historiographic, Aesthetic.
Chapter 2: History and Fiction
Thesis: the concept of fiction, if it can be properly defined and guarded against misunderstanding, may be fruitfully employed in discussions of biblical historiography (58).
History can either mean events in the past or verbal accounts of these events.
R. Alter: the Hebrew Bible narratives are organized on literary principles (61).
History-Writing as Representational Art: Long distinguishes between representational narratives and aesthetic narratives. Long helpfully uses a painting analogy to describe the historiographic project. Three impulses: constraint by the subject matter, point of view, aesthetic choices--are all used in biblical literature. This is a good section--read again before final.
Chapter 3: History and Truth
January 7, 2021
This was a helpful book in thinking about the historical nature of the Bible. The basic theses of the book are helpfully summarized in a brief conclusion at the end of each chapter and the concluding epilogue.
Some of the most helpful gems for me included the following:
-“An increased appreciation of the literary mechanisms of the text - how the story is told - often becomes the avenue of greater insight into the theological, religious, and even historical significance of the text - what the text means.”
- “...recent studies have highlighted a the tendency of the second of the parallel (half-) lines to sharpen, intensify, and advance the thought of the first.” (Referring to the often synthetic, antithetic, and synonymous structure of Hebrew poetic parallelism).
- The distinction between history as event and history as account. History as event is simply raw data about the past whole history as account is the interpretation and meaning extracted from those data.
- His idea that “a good way to view ancient historiography is as a kind of verbal representative art, with all that this implies about the interplay of creativity and constraint in the depiction.”
- The distinction between pure literature and applied literature. The former is lit. created for purely aesthetic purpose while the later is lit. created with other goals in mind (for example historical, theological, identity formation, moral shaping, etc).
Some of the most helpful gems for me included the following:
-“An increased appreciation of the literary mechanisms of the text - how the story is told - often becomes the avenue of greater insight into the theological, religious, and even historical significance of the text - what the text means.”
- “...recent studies have highlighted a the tendency of the second of the parallel (half-) lines to sharpen, intensify, and advance the thought of the first.” (Referring to the often synthetic, antithetic, and synonymous structure of Hebrew poetic parallelism).
- The distinction between history as event and history as account. History as event is simply raw data about the past whole history as account is the interpretation and meaning extracted from those data.
- His idea that “a good way to view ancient historiography is as a kind of verbal representative art, with all that this implies about the interplay of creativity and constraint in the depiction.”
- The distinction between pure literature and applied literature. The former is lit. created for purely aesthetic purpose while the later is lit. created with other goals in mind (for example historical, theological, identity formation, moral shaping, etc).
June 26, 2025
"Divine revelation should be located in both historical events and the interpretative world which mediates these events to us."
A fantastic introduction to the topic of Biblical history. Long is able to explore a wide range of topics associated with Biblical history in a nuance and engaging way. He also helpfully covers some history of historiography so that the reader can appreciate the different trends that have taken place over the last few centuries (for example Strauss). The book also includes a handy list of further readings.
A fantastic introduction to the topic of Biblical history. Long is able to explore a wide range of topics associated with Biblical history in a nuance and engaging way. He also helpfully covers some history of historiography so that the reader can appreciate the different trends that have taken place over the last few centuries (for example Strauss). The book also includes a handy list of further readings.
February 16, 2020
I don't always put seminary reads on here, but this was a fine little volume that would go a long way to set someone who has intellectual doubts about the historicity of the Bible at ease. Nice, thorough, but not overly dense.
September 26, 2019
very helpful, overall. Good interaction with critical sources and methods, but could have been more concise.
July 23, 2022
Excellent.
July 1, 2014
A bit uneven. I'd heard lots of good things about this work. It's less a study of the art of Biblical history than a review of what other scholars have said about the subject (not that there's anything wrong with that). Good discussions of genre, fictional vs. fictive (the Bible is the latter, but not the former), truth claims, etc. By far the highlights of the book are the last two chapters. In fact, you could read only them and find the book profitable.
The next-to-last chapter is a how-to look at reading the Bible historically--listening to truth claims and discerning truth value (internal and external consistency being key). Then Long concludes the book by applying this all to the narratives of the rise of Saul in 1 Kings. Many critical scholars find these narratives quite incoherent, but Long shows why this mustn't be the case.
The next-to-last chapter is a how-to look at reading the Bible historically--listening to truth claims and discerning truth value (internal and external consistency being key). Then Long concludes the book by applying this all to the narratives of the rise of Saul in 1 Kings. Many critical scholars find these narratives quite incoherent, but Long shows why this mustn't be the case.
January 15, 2009
This book is written by one of my professors. In it he argues for taking seriously the historicity of the biblical text and advocates for utilizing the historical-critical method but without an ideological commitment to a naturalistic reading of history. However Long sets the historical method within the context of reading with an eye toward the literary artistry of the text and the theological content. This gives him a balanced hermeneutic.
I enjoyed this book and it was a quick read, but I think Provan, Long and Longman's Biblical History of Israel gives a fuller answer on the historical question than this (Long is involved with both books). I think that this is worth reading and clearly communicates his argument and provides a convincing case.
I enjoyed this book and it was a quick read, but I think Provan, Long and Longman's Biblical History of Israel gives a fuller answer on the historical question than this (Long is involved with both books). I think that this is worth reading and clearly communicates his argument and provides a convincing case.
March 25, 2013
Dubious cover art aside, Phil Long's The Art of Biblical History is a solid sketch of the issues involved in biblical history.
Particularly strong is his description of literary history with painting as an analogy. Long is a painter and so he knows how to wield the analogy well.
Weaker often are his criticisms of more post modern philosophies. While not necessarily wrong per se, they appeal to evidence not really admissible in the post-modernist's court, and so fail to address the issues on a level that would persuade anyone who didn't already think them wrong. For example, appealing to shared common sense about language against derridian deconstructionists.
Still, overall a worthwhile read if you want to become acquainted with the art of biblical history.
Particularly strong is his description of literary history with painting as an analogy. Long is a painter and so he knows how to wield the analogy well.
Weaker often are his criticisms of more post modern philosophies. While not necessarily wrong per se, they appeal to evidence not really admissible in the post-modernist's court, and so fail to address the issues on a level that would persuade anyone who didn't already think them wrong. For example, appealing to shared common sense about language against derridian deconstructionists.
Still, overall a worthwhile read if you want to become acquainted with the art of biblical history.
December 27, 2015
I found this to be a very helpful book in understanding the relationships between various books in the biblical canon. I recommend this book for those who are challenged by seeming disagreements or apparent contradictions between various biblical sources. I believe they will find it a helpful guide in understanding the rich tapestry which is the Bible.
March 7, 2012
Great introduction to issues of biblical historiography and historicity. A valuable tool for the serious student of the Bible.
March 9, 2013
Long provides some interesting and thought-provoking questions on what history is and its relation to story. I found it to be quite helpful in approaching OT narrative interpretation.
December 15, 2013
The Art of Biblical History gives a nice overview of questions to consider when reading the Bible.
February 13, 2014
simply outstanding!
March 25, 2016
Excellent book on hermeneutics.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews