A Biblical History of Israel

by Iain W. Provan, V. Philips Long, Tremper Longman III

For over a decade, A Biblical History of Israel has gathered praise and criticism for its unapologetic approach to reconstructing the historical landscape of ancient Israel through a biblical lens. In this much-anticipated second edition, the authors reassert that the Old Testament should be taken seriously as a historical document alongside other literary and archaeological sources.

Significantly revised and updated, A Biblical History of Israel, Second Edition includes the authors' direct response to critics. In part 1, the authors review scholarly approaches to the historiography of ancient Israel and negate arguments against using the Bible as a primary source. In part 2, they outline a history of ancient Israel from 2000 to 400 BCE by integrating both biblical and extrabiblical sources. The second edition includes updated archaeological data and new references. The text also provides seven maps and fourteen tables as useful references for students.

Genres: History, Biblical Studies, Old Testament, Theology, Christian, Nonfiction, Religion

512 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 23, 2015

About the author

Marshall Sheppard Professor of
Biblical Studies (OT) at Regent College (Vancouver) and formerly senior lecturer in Hebrew and Old Testament Studies at the University of Edinburgh.

Reviews

[Peyton Gunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook saved my bacon. Ain’t no way I would have finished reading this on my own. Helpful sections, but a snooze fest overall.
Also, if I listened to this book, can I even count it as “read” if I didn’t look at one word of the book?

[Jimmy Reagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Iain Provan, V. Philips Long, and Tremper Longman, well-respected scholars all, have extensively updated this book for its second edition. Apparently, the first edition raised the dander of the extreme left side of scholarship. There’s even an appendix that you might want to read first called “In Praise of Critical Thought” that addresses the misunderstandings and over-the-top criticisms leveled at the first edition. To my mind, some of these criticisms were so absurd that trying to answer them was tantamount to killing those you have already slain.

Part one covering five chapters and 150 pages tackles history, historiography, and the Bible. That section can best be summarized as explaining and refuting the worst that extreme, radical scholarship has thrown at the credibility of Bible history. For the scholar who needs that interpretive history outlined and answered, you will love that section. Others may already feel a complete confidence in the credibility of biblical history.

I found Part Two, which covers the different phases of Old Testament history in order, to be much more beneficial. In fact, these pages will make a nice reference when studying the various passages. Again, the authors laid out the scholarly attacks against the history in each of these epochs clearly and answers them. Archaeology, historical detail, the biblical text, and logic are all brought to bear to prove the point that Old Testament narratives are historically trustworthy.

The detail presented is incredible. For example, when studying the historical time period of the days of Joshua, some great detail on Jericho, Bethel, and Ai was brought out that showed some scholarly conclusions that are often crammed down our throats are not all they’re cracked up to be. Again, you will find here some fine material to reference in your studies. The book just goes through the Exile and after, meaning this history just covers the Old Testament.

This book is a more advanced biblical history of Israel than many on the market. Many other volumes just go through the material almost as a historical survey and ignores the broadsides from the critical camp. This volume respects those scholars enough to interact with their views. To handle its goal, the material is more challenging than some others. Without a doubt, though, scholars will love it.

Despite the circuitous route it must take, this volume lands at many conclusions where a more conservative student of the Scriptures would agree. It succeeds in what it sets out to do, and so is a voice to be reckoned with in the scholarly world.


I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

[Felicity Chen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review for myself to remind myself what I felt the book was about: I enjoyed the structure of this book. First part deals with the concept of using the Bible as a historical source and the history of biblical history in general. Second part walks through different parts of biblical history (story-by-story) and discusses , and . (EG, with Abraham they’re like: okay, this story mentions these specific kings, so we can look at other historical sources and see if they mention these kinds, and if so, do the dates align? Etc.) Doesn’t shy away from a discussion of genre bearing on how to read the text. Definitely both a conservative and scholarly work. I think they tried to be more objective than they actually were haha but such is life 😅😂❤️

[Brad Hough · Rating 5 out of 5]

5.0 // I don’t have much to compare it to, but this book was immensely helpful in creating a solid foundation from which to understand and interpret the Historical Books of the Old Testament. I especially appreciated the authors’ argument for taking testimony seriously as historical narrative. Didn’t agree with everything the authors wrote, but still a valuable resource.

[Isaiah Padgett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit dense, and some of the chapters are better than others, but overall the historical presentation was good and sensitive to the available historical evidence. In particular, the conversation in part one concerning historiography and epistemology is certainly worth reading.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” Therefore when we decide to ignore our history we lose our sense of identity.  For Christian’s that sense of identity can be found in Christ as part of the family of God.  Now the family of God is the nation of Israel, not physical Israel but spiritual Israel, therefore all Christian must know the history of their family, and the way to do so is by studying the narratives in the Old Testament. 

A wonderful scholastic book on this matter is, A Biblical History of Israel by Iain Provan, V. Phillips Long, and Tremper Longman III produced by Westminster John Knox Press.  All of these men are well respected scholars in the field of Old Testament Biblical Studies.  This book is now in its second edition and is as well done as its predecessor.  The second edition has been extensively revised and updated to include recent discoveries in critical scholarship.

In A Biblical History of Israel, a critical study is laid out in two parts.  The first part of this work tackles history, the study of history, and the Bible.  There are many radial critical arguments explained and refuted in this section, and are extremely helpful to a scholar who is looking for a highly technical work on the subject.

Where the work becomes helpful to the non-scholar is in part two of the work, where this trio of scholars tackles the different eras of Old Testament History in chronological order.   In this they detail dates, places, and times of the events which are recorded in scripture and examine critical scholarships arguments for and against traditional arguments.  In the end the authors argue that the narrative of the Old Testament are historically trustworthy.  Furthermore the recent advances in the field of archeology are detailed in this work and make it a fascinating read. 

A Biblical History of Israel, is one of the most through and critical studies on Biblical history on the market.  I was pleasantly surprised that while tackling such a critical heavy subject that most of the conclusions drawn had an conservative element to them.  With that said I would be very cautious with this work, if you are not highly educated in critical thought, for the work can be wordy and arguments can be circuitous, yet it succeeds in what it set out to do, and places a mostly conservative voice in a highly critical scholastic world.

This book was provided to me free of charge from Westminster John Knox Publishing in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.



A Biblical History of Israel, Second Edition

© 2015 by Iain Provan, V. Phillips Long, and Tremper Longman III

Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press

Page Count: 550 Pages

ISBN: 978-0664239138

[Daniel Supimpa · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting and thought-provoking book in the arena of both the modernist disdain for the reliability of the biblical texts as a source for doing history, and the postmodern skepticism to the possibility of reaching/revisiting the past. For many people, the first chapters seem quite long and tedious (just like reading N. T. Wright's "The NT and the People of God"). They are, however, the whole apologetic argument for the possibility of history that most conservatives are not developing. The value in the work of Provan, Long and Longman, in my view, lies in their deep defence of the possibility of doing history based on testimony (here, they depend a lot on the philosophical work of Coady).
There is a negative point, that is the arbitrary initial point in Abraham, with the assumption that what comes before it cannot be accessed as a historical testimony. Somehow, it feels that the authors repeated the criticized attitude of Soggin and Miller/Hayes.
I highly recommend it.

[Gregory Johnston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once the book actually starts reviewing the Biblical History of Israel, I found it a lot more interesting. The first 155 pages focus on justifying why historians should use the Biblical testimony when dissecting Israel's history. While I understand that that is a very important subject and the assault from skeptics on the text has been heavy, just one chapter (instead of three 50 + page chapters) may have been sufficient. Other than that this an essential book for the student of the Bible to put the history of Israel in proper context.

[Ben Eastman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read as part of required reading for a Graduate level Scripture course at the Augustine institute. Admittedly, there was a sizeable chapter on archaeological methodology that was not required, and that I therefore did not read, but the real meat of this book is the second part where they go systematically through the Bible and dispute or argue against many of the leading Scripture Scholars who have got it wrong.

Dense at times, recommended for the serious Bible Scholar and not so much for a casual read. Will definitely be rereading at some point to better understand their arguments.

[Justine Olawsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book that integrates historical-critical methods with the latest archaeological research while giving serious attention to the testimony of Scripture in order to form a highly readable overview of the history of ancient Israel. Also, the authors are super-punchy and do not suffer the fools who dismiss their methods on purely ideological grounds at all. Read the appendix for a rocking good time.

[CJ Parmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book smashes the modern historical-critical methodology for historiography and its post-enlightenment epistemology and proposes in its place an epistemology built on careful trust in testimony. And that’s only the introductory first part. Besides that the book is also a carefully studied, culturally in-tuned, balanced telling of the story of Israel. One of the most worthwhile books to read for the student of the OT. Highly recommended.

[Someone Someplace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not a history or archaeology person. I had to read this. That said, I appreciated what it said and the topics it undertook. But this was way too academic for my cup of tea and was tough to read through. For anyone who is into these topics, it may be more of an exciting read.

[Keith Pinckney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful textbook that insightfully deals with epistemology, historiography, and the nature of testimony in part I. In part II the history of Israel is chronicled from Abraham to the post exilic period, while in dialogue with archaeology and critical scholarship.

[Lynn P · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this as required reading for a class on salvation history. It is a heavy read! Be prepared to take your time to process because this is not casual reading. Good if you are interested in biblical studies

[Austin Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book contains a great amount of information regarding Israel and the Old Testament. Tough to read at times, but deep and academic.

[Eric Olsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant. Incredible biblical history apologetics the first 100 pages. Great history of Israel for the balance. Incredible book.

[Paul Vittay · Rating 3 out of 5]

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[Andrew Christiansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book that counters many of the minimalist assumptions of the academy

[Matthew Bonzon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The authors offer a sustained and detailed critique of liberal/historical-critical methodologies concerning the Old Testament, which is helpful. Though in this it made me feel like I had missed something because I hadn’t read the first edition and the reviews of the first edition, which is a bit of a strange reading experience, and perhaps it was a tad long winded.
Their reading of the OT narrative is helpful.

[John Kight · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Biblical History of Israel by Iain Provan, V. Philips Long, and Tremper Longman III has been a useful and well-respected textbook for over a decade. It has been received with both praise and criticism for its unapologetic approach in the reconstruction of Israel by scholars and students alike, but the former has always seemed outweighed the latter. Now, significantly revised and updated, this second edition of A Biblical History of Israel proves to be more refined and useful than ever.

If the reader is familiar with the previous edition of the book, the content, and organization of this second edition is largely the same as before. In part one, the authors provide a helpful review of the various scholarly approaches to the historiography of ancient Israel and argue against the minimalist consensus that seeks to negate the use of the Bible as a primary source for such task. This section constructs a needed framework for the conversation and provides the reader with a useful introduction to the issues surrounding historiography and ancient Israel.

In part two, the authors shape a history of ancient Israel from the time of Abraham to the Persian Period (2000 to 400 BCE) by integrating biblical sources, extrabiblical sources, and a number of relevant archaeological discoveries. In regards to the latter, the second edition has been thoroughly updated to concur with the most recent archaeological data and discoveries over the past decade, as well as new references have been added and updated. This section has and continues to be a helpful reference for the reader. It is well-documented throughout, clearly stated, convincingly argued, and judiciously presented.

Additionally, in this second edition of the book, the authors have intentionally sought to address a large array of criticism against the effort of the first edition. This interaction is witnessed throughout the book and makes for a more engaging read that is certain be enjoyed by readers of all persuasions. The authors have also included a designated appendix that is aimed more specifically at the criticism against the first edition, and the attentive reader is sure to find this level of interaction helpful. In total, there is approximately 60 pages of additional material, as well as the inclusion of a number of maps and charts for the reader’s use.

A Biblical History of Israel has been a useful and respected resource since first being published in 2003. This second edition has been clearly built upon a solid foundation. As expected, much of the content and organization that made the first edition successful has remained, but with this second edition, the reader has been provided a thoroughly revised, updated, and refined engagement with issues related to the history of ancient Israel. Add the intentional effort of the authors to interact with the criticism of the first edition and you have a recipe for a must-have and up-to-date volume for biblical studies enthusiasts everywhere.

I received a review copy of these books in exchange for and honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

[Michael Boling · Rating 4 out of 5]

History is important. I know that many of us do not have fond memories of history class or for that matter the history teacher droning on for what seemed like an eternity about some minute point of days gone by. However unfortunate your experience with history class might have been, that does not negate the importance of understanding our past. This is especially true when it comes to engaging Scripture. Given the events recorded in the Bible are actual history, it goes without saying that if we are to be able to have a proper framework for the flow of biblical history, then we need to be students of history.

Of course it is always helpful when a quality book comes along that helps guide your efforts. One helpful book that focuses on biblical history is A Biblical History of Israel: Second Edition by Iain Provan, V. Philips Long, and Tremper Longman III.

Now this is admittedly a scholarly book through and through. The authors are noted experts in matters related to the Old Testament and it shows in the information provided in this book. The reader is walked through the entire spectrum of biblical history as it relates to Israel, starting with the period of the patriarchs and ending with the post-exilic period with a brief interaction with the intertestmental period.

There is a veritable plethora of information to read in this book. In fact, I would argue it is a text not really meant to be read cover to cover, but rather to be accessed as needed when the reader needs to obtain information about a particular time period of the biblical history of Israel. To sit and read this book cover to cover would take one a great deal of time and I believe would actually detract from its intended purpose, namely that of a reference tool. What a reference tool this is by the way as it is full of scholarly insight, helpful maps, tables, and footnotes. Please do not overlook the footnotes as they provide an even larger means by which to further your study of the biblical history of Israel.

The authors pose the question as the outset of this book as to whether biblical history is dead as a subject matter. The answer thankfully is a resounding no due in part to excellent resources such as this book. I highly recommend this book for those in Bible College and Seminary especially and quite frankly, I recommend it for anyone interested in deepening their understanding of history as it relates to the Old Testament. You will find yourself presented with a great deal of information to absorb, but it is quality, salient, and important information that will go a long way to helping you grow in your understanding of the events that take place in the Old Testament period.

I received this book for free from Westminster John Knox Press and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

[Eric Chappell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chapter 1: The Death of Biblical History?

K.W. Whitelam makes claims that biblical history is no longer viable, must move on to Palestinian history. The authors take to task this claim.

First chapter essentially sets stage for the rest of the book. Authors are trying to revive biblical history while also challenging the presuppositions, biases, and methods of contemporary historiography of biblical history.

I found this chapter kind of boring. Also seems to assume you are familiar with the field.

Chapter 2: Knowing & Believing--Faith in the Past

Authors take to task T.L. Thompson's idea that we can no longer hold as fact the idea of "ancient Israel"--it's merely a Jewish fiction.

This chapter stresses the important of testimony in our knowledge of the past. Testimony is "storytelling." Therefore, interpretation is unavoidable. It contains ideology, narrative structure, and rhetoric. What is commonly referred to as "knowledge of the past" is really "faith in testimony." Authors acknowledge that there is no neutrality in theory-making, i.e. "value-free academic endeavor does not exist" (39).

Survey of the philosophy of history of J.G. Droysen, Dilthey, and Windelband.

"Philosophy and tradition necessarily set the parameters for all thinking about the world with which human beings engage" (43). Probably more accurate to say that 'religion' sets the parameters. Three responses to this claim: (1) intellectual ostrich, stick head in sand, (2) postmodern--emphasize subjectivity and relativity of history, (3) embrace the implications and balance subjectivity and objectivity.

Thomas Reid quote on testimony.

"History, it turns out, is indeed, fundamentally, 'the believing of someone else when that person says that he remembers something'; or to put it more accurately, history is the openness to acceptance of accounts from the past that enshrine such people's memories" (46).

Historians should approach texts with 'epistemological openness' (48)

"Historiography is ideological narrative about the past that involves, among other things, the selection of material and its interpretation by authors who are intent on persuading themselves or their readership of certain truths about the past" (49).

Authors making awesome claims that there is no such thing as "pre-critical thinking." The claim to be a critical thinker is always haunted by blind faith in relation to one's own tradition and selective skepticism in relation to everything else.

Chapter 3: Knowing about the History of Israel

Why should we adopt a verification over a falsification principle? Why should the onus be on the texts to "prove" themselves valuable in respect of history? (55).

"Method that holds verification to be centrally..." (56)

[Tony Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Biblical History of Israel by Provan, Long & Longman III
This is a very good history of Israel from Biblical and scientific perspectives. The first part of the book deals with historiography and why the authors state that K. Whitelam’s contentions that “Biblical history is dead” and “…little evidence exists that this “Israel” is anything other than a literary fiction.” are quite wrong. While the authors do an excellent job supporting their premise that Biblical history is not dead and what was written in the Bible is accurate, unless a person has a bit of a scholarly interest in history it could be slow going. Once the actual history starts it is well written, well supported and very interesting. Much can be learned from this book. I do recommend not skipping the historiography. I received a free copy of A Biblical History of Israel by Provan, Long & Longman III from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Many thanks to NetGalley.

[Stacie Wyatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a biblical history of Israel, in exchange for review from Edelweiss. The book was written by Iain Provan, V. Phillips Long, and Tremper Longman III. The book was published by Westminster John Knox Press.

I chose this book because I read Israel at War for review and was confused. A lot of the information mentioned was new to me. I chose this book because it discusses the history of Israel versus the wars between Israel and other Arabian countries. The book is written from an academic, research perspective. You really have to read it carefully to understand the book--otherwise, you will miss something. This is not a quick, easy read. This book is meant to be studied.

[Pastor Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm of two minds. I liked their work with the theory of how to write history (pushing back against supposedly scientific methods.) But I was a bit disappointed with the actual history. I was hoping to really get a nice picture that put the puzzle pieces together for me. Instead, it was so engaged with the nature of history that the history itself didn't really come to life. For many, the book will be worth reading for the theory alone. But for those that just want the history to come alive this book probably isn't what you want.

[Collin Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this a lot. The first half of the book dealt with methodology and could get pretty boring. I felt these chapters could have been boiled down to fewer, although the content is important. The second half of the book was very informative about the evidence that is in line with the Biblical narrative, and why the Biblical narrative itself should not be so easily disregarded.

[Ian Hammond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Modern histories of Israel refuse to use the Bible. Provan rejects this modern notion and grounds the history of Israel in the Scriptures with a careful reading of the text along with a careful consideration of archeology and extra-biblical resources.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overwritten, repetitive, boring

[South Asia · Rating 3 out of 5]

An in-depth evangelical look at the historiography issues that many of today's scholars use to argue the fallibility and errancy of scripture.

[Jerome · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the most balanced history of Israel I've read yet. Sound, logical, fair, but most of all inspiring.