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Kingdom of Priests: A History of Old Testament Israel
From the origins and exodus to the restoration and new hope, Kingdom of Priests offers a comprehensive introduction to the history of Old Testament Israel. Merrill explores the history of ancient Israel not only from Old Testament texts but also from the literary and archeological sources of the ancient Near East. After selling more than 30,000 copies, the book has now been updated and revised. The second edition addresses and interacts with current debates in the history of ancient Israel, offering an up-to-date articulation of a conservative evangelical position on historical matters. The text is accented with nearly twenty maps and charts.
554 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 1987
80 people are currently reading
336 people want to read
About the author
Eugene H. Merrill
32 books10 followersEugene H. Merrill is a respected American Old Testament scholar known for his deep expertise in biblical studies and Semitic languages. He served for decades as Distinguished Professor of Old Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, where he taught from 1975 until his retirement in 2013. He also holds a distinguished faculty position at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Merrill earned advanced degrees from Bob Jones University, New York University, and Columbia University, and completed post-doctoral research at Tyndale House, Cambridge. A former president of the Evangelical Theological Society, he is widely recognized for his academic contributions and faithful scholarship.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
July 11, 2023
Wonderful! A rich, and thorough history of Israel within the Old Testament. I must say, with the quantity of detailed information, more then once I considered what a blessing it would be to have Spurgeon’s photographic memory! But alas…
April 15, 2021
This is a good history of Old Testament Israel.
December 29, 2020
This book was an absolute treasure trove of well-researched information. However, the writing style was rather stilted and failed to grab me at any point throughout the book. I will revisit it as a reference, but I cannot see myself picking it up cover-to-cover again.
April 29, 2025
Didn't read ch 2-3. The book grew on me as I kept reading it throughout the semester.
August 12, 2022
This book could be re-titled “historical theology of the Old Testament”. It walks the fine line between theological summary and historical, chronological defenses of the OT. While it is not always the most riveting read, it is important. It summarizes thoroughly the whole OT while providing chronological, archeological, and textual defenses for scriptural reliability. Good read! A bit academic but a page turner for the true history nerd.
December 8, 2025
Really good. Not a casual stroll, by any means, but full of insightful (yet controlled) commentary as well as a critical approach to weighing evidence. If you’re looking for an in depth look on Israel’s history in the OT, paired with ANE insights along the way, this is probably the way to go. Very helpful.
November 4, 2022
Read this alongside 1-2 Samuel - helpful in giving context and extraneous information that was interesting. However, quite a dry read, so be prepared for the trek it will take to get through it.
September 13, 2023
Not a light read and not perfect, but I've been looking for a book like this - that maps the events of Old Testament over what we know from the history of the ancient near east - for a long time. I read the updated edition and hope someone updates it again in another decade.
November 25, 2024
A helpful book to understand the context of Old Testament Israel during the period of Judges-2 Chronicles. Very helpful insights into the pagan nations. Definitely a drudge to get through
August 23, 2021
This book represents a survey of Old Testament history from the patriarchal era to the early second temple period that is informed by secular history and archaeology. Dr. Merrill starts the book with a discussion of historiography outlining his methodology, underlying assumptions and their implications. While this section was dry, I found it valuable. Theological interpretations, along with interpretations in every field of knowledge, are inherently subjective because the experts have their own worldviews, assumptions and blind spots that can lead them astray. I will have to give answer before my God for my every thought, word and deed, and I don’t believe God will let me pass the buck with the excuse, “Preacher X or theologian Y said such and such.” Because the buck stops with me, my attitude toward theologians is, “Show your work.” That helps me to assess the credibility of their doctrinal conclusions, etc. So, I truly appreciated Dr. Merrill’s willingness to put his reasoning on display for all to see and critique.
Furthermore, I was impressed by Dr. Merrilll’s acknowledgement of the occasional weakness and hole in his argumentation and in the available evidence. In other words, he knows where his case is strong and where it is weak and is sufficiently confident in his case that he is willing to publicly acknowledge those weaknesses while simultaneously giving an effort at explanation (e.g. names of Canaanite and Amorite kings in Joshua that differ from those in the Tel el-Amarna letters but may actually represent the next generation of kings). That is important to me because I lost confidence in the theology of the denomination I grew up in when I stumbled across something that called into question its interpretation of a passage. Its interpretation had featured some hair-splitting over a Greek word to support a certain conclusion, but another Greek word in the passage, conveniently ignored, upended all that hair-splitting. I didn’t particularly like the implication that the evidence was being cherry-picked to get the “right answer.” When I see Merrill calling out and acknowledging weaknesses in his case, I see someone who doesn't just sweep inconvenient issues under the rug, hoping that nobody will notice, but one who confronts them head-on. I respect that.
Because the book covers more than 1,500 years of history, my review cannot be comprehensive. That said, my observations include:
• There is no good way for archaeology to prove the existence of Abraham. However, Dr. Merrill uses secular history and archaeology to place Abraham within his historical context. As such, he places his foray into Egypt during the first intermediate period. Furthermore, he confronts the apparent anachronism of Abraham’s contemporary Abimelech, the Philistine, discussing various theories that might feature some early settlement from Cyprus, Crete or the Greek mainland, or even a complicated origins scenario in which the earliest progenitors had originated in the vicinity of Canaan, only to settle somewhere else and then return in the chaos at the end of the Bronze Age.
• Although some biblical scholars have tried to place the Joseph account in the time of Hyksos domination, Dr. Merrill notes that the biblical account is more consistent with a time of Egyptian self-rule such that Joseph was pre-Hyksos. Some examples of the biblical evidence include the fact that Joseph shaved before seeing the Pharaoh and his use of an interpreter when communicating with his brothers.
• Dr. Merrill holds to the traditional 15th century date for the exodus (1446 BC) based on 480 years from the exodus to the laying of the foundation of Solomon's temple (1 Kings 6:1). This would place Moses' birth not long after the expulsion of the Hyksos (As both the Israelites and the Hyksos were Semites, anti-Hyksos attitudes in Egypt could easily translate into oppression of the Israelites.). It would also place the conquest of Canaan at 1406 BC, a few years prior to the Tell el-Amarna letters, which included correspondence between the Pharaoh and various Canaanite and Amorite leaders in the vicinity of Canaan. I was particularly impressed by his observation that the predecessor of the Pharaoh of the exodus would have had to have a long reign consistent with Moses’ forty-year stay in Midian. In so doing, he mines the biblical evidence for ties to secular history.
• While a number of scholars and archaeologists argue against the 15th century exodus in favor of a 13th century date because of much more widespread destruction layers from that time period, Dr. Merrill notes that in the biblical account, only Jericho, Ai and Hazor are destroyed by fire, and that the Israelites had been promised vineyards they didn't plant and houses they didn't build. In other words, they killed the inhabitants and took up residence in their place. Such an event would not show up in the archaeological records in the form of widespread destruction layers, and any archaeologist looking for evidence of the conquest in destruction layers would not find it because he is looking for the wrong thing based on a flawed assumption. Furthermore, Dr. Merrill notes that the 13th century destruction layers are more consistent with the chaos described in Judges and would correspond to the times of Deborah and Gideon per his reconstruction of biblical chronology.
• I was fascinated by his reconstruction of the chronology of the Judges that treated Jephthah and Sampson as contemporaries, with Jephthah confronting the Ammonites to the east at the same time Sampson confronted the Philistines to the west.
• I haven’t studied the monarchical era in sufficient detail to hear about the issues with chronology. Dr. Merrill unravels these issues by positing that some of the years attributed to different kings represent a combination of coregency with their fathers and their years as king. I get the impression that he relies heavily on Edwin Thiele’s book The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings, a book I have since acquired and plan to read, although he occasionally diverges from him. Whenever he does this, he provides his reasoning.
• Following the secession of the northern tribes to form the kingdom of Israel, as opposed to the kingdom of Judah, several consecutive Davidic kings of Judah refused to accept the division of the kingdom and waged wars to reunite the two kingdoms. Jehoshaphat appears to be the first king of Judah to accept separation and actually allied himself with king Ahab of Israel. Of course, that alliance was sealed with a marriage, resulting in a pagan Trojan horse within Jehoshaphat's household and pagan influences on his successor and his advisors and contributing to a surge in pagan practices in Judah in defiance of the Mosaic covenant. In short, God-dishonoring fratricidal war was replaced with deals with the devil. As I read this portion of the book and corresponding parts of the books of the Kings and Chronicles, I couldn't help asking if there had been a third option available to King Jehoshaphat. Let's face it. His choice to ally with Ahab had a catastrophic impact on the future religious values of Judah, a point made unequivocally by Dr. Merrill.
Dr. Merrill’s history of Israel made so many connections to secular history, archaeology and biblical interpretation, all of which I have found absolutely fascinating. In fact, over the course of reading this book, this middle-aged engineer felt like an ADHD preschooler, his attention drawn in so many directions at once. Dr. Merrill had to have a comprehensive understanding of so many subjects to pull this survey together so coherently. I am impressed.
Furthermore, I was impressed by Dr. Merrilll’s acknowledgement of the occasional weakness and hole in his argumentation and in the available evidence. In other words, he knows where his case is strong and where it is weak and is sufficiently confident in his case that he is willing to publicly acknowledge those weaknesses while simultaneously giving an effort at explanation (e.g. names of Canaanite and Amorite kings in Joshua that differ from those in the Tel el-Amarna letters but may actually represent the next generation of kings). That is important to me because I lost confidence in the theology of the denomination I grew up in when I stumbled across something that called into question its interpretation of a passage. Its interpretation had featured some hair-splitting over a Greek word to support a certain conclusion, but another Greek word in the passage, conveniently ignored, upended all that hair-splitting. I didn’t particularly like the implication that the evidence was being cherry-picked to get the “right answer.” When I see Merrill calling out and acknowledging weaknesses in his case, I see someone who doesn't just sweep inconvenient issues under the rug, hoping that nobody will notice, but one who confronts them head-on. I respect that.
Because the book covers more than 1,500 years of history, my review cannot be comprehensive. That said, my observations include:
• There is no good way for archaeology to prove the existence of Abraham. However, Dr. Merrill uses secular history and archaeology to place Abraham within his historical context. As such, he places his foray into Egypt during the first intermediate period. Furthermore, he confronts the apparent anachronism of Abraham’s contemporary Abimelech, the Philistine, discussing various theories that might feature some early settlement from Cyprus, Crete or the Greek mainland, or even a complicated origins scenario in which the earliest progenitors had originated in the vicinity of Canaan, only to settle somewhere else and then return in the chaos at the end of the Bronze Age.
• Although some biblical scholars have tried to place the Joseph account in the time of Hyksos domination, Dr. Merrill notes that the biblical account is more consistent with a time of Egyptian self-rule such that Joseph was pre-Hyksos. Some examples of the biblical evidence include the fact that Joseph shaved before seeing the Pharaoh and his use of an interpreter when communicating with his brothers.
• Dr. Merrill holds to the traditional 15th century date for the exodus (1446 BC) based on 480 years from the exodus to the laying of the foundation of Solomon's temple (1 Kings 6:1). This would place Moses' birth not long after the expulsion of the Hyksos (As both the Israelites and the Hyksos were Semites, anti-Hyksos attitudes in Egypt could easily translate into oppression of the Israelites.). It would also place the conquest of Canaan at 1406 BC, a few years prior to the Tell el-Amarna letters, which included correspondence between the Pharaoh and various Canaanite and Amorite leaders in the vicinity of Canaan. I was particularly impressed by his observation that the predecessor of the Pharaoh of the exodus would have had to have a long reign consistent with Moses’ forty-year stay in Midian. In so doing, he mines the biblical evidence for ties to secular history.
• While a number of scholars and archaeologists argue against the 15th century exodus in favor of a 13th century date because of much more widespread destruction layers from that time period, Dr. Merrill notes that in the biblical account, only Jericho, Ai and Hazor are destroyed by fire, and that the Israelites had been promised vineyards they didn't plant and houses they didn't build. In other words, they killed the inhabitants and took up residence in their place. Such an event would not show up in the archaeological records in the form of widespread destruction layers, and any archaeologist looking for evidence of the conquest in destruction layers would not find it because he is looking for the wrong thing based on a flawed assumption. Furthermore, Dr. Merrill notes that the 13th century destruction layers are more consistent with the chaos described in Judges and would correspond to the times of Deborah and Gideon per his reconstruction of biblical chronology.
• I was fascinated by his reconstruction of the chronology of the Judges that treated Jephthah and Sampson as contemporaries, with Jephthah confronting the Ammonites to the east at the same time Sampson confronted the Philistines to the west.
• I haven’t studied the monarchical era in sufficient detail to hear about the issues with chronology. Dr. Merrill unravels these issues by positing that some of the years attributed to different kings represent a combination of coregency with their fathers and their years as king. I get the impression that he relies heavily on Edwin Thiele’s book The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings, a book I have since acquired and plan to read, although he occasionally diverges from him. Whenever he does this, he provides his reasoning.
• Following the secession of the northern tribes to form the kingdom of Israel, as opposed to the kingdom of Judah, several consecutive Davidic kings of Judah refused to accept the division of the kingdom and waged wars to reunite the two kingdoms. Jehoshaphat appears to be the first king of Judah to accept separation and actually allied himself with king Ahab of Israel. Of course, that alliance was sealed with a marriage, resulting in a pagan Trojan horse within Jehoshaphat's household and pagan influences on his successor and his advisors and contributing to a surge in pagan practices in Judah in defiance of the Mosaic covenant. In short, God-dishonoring fratricidal war was replaced with deals with the devil. As I read this portion of the book and corresponding parts of the books of the Kings and Chronicles, I couldn't help asking if there had been a third option available to King Jehoshaphat. Let's face it. His choice to ally with Ahab had a catastrophic impact on the future religious values of Judah, a point made unequivocally by Dr. Merrill.
Dr. Merrill’s history of Israel made so many connections to secular history, archaeology and biblical interpretation, all of which I have found absolutely fascinating. In fact, over the course of reading this book, this middle-aged engineer felt like an ADHD preschooler, his attention drawn in so many directions at once. Dr. Merrill had to have a comprehensive understanding of so many subjects to pull this survey together so coherently. I am impressed.
March 11, 2011
Dr. Merrill's study on the history of the nation of Israel is invaluable to the student of the Old Testament. The writer deals with a variety of liberal views of the history of the Old Testament and does an excellent job showing their flaws and weaknesses. He argues admirably for the conservative dating of the Exodus and the historicity of the historical books of the Old Testament. At times, the writer may give too much time in dealing with critical views, but the exercise is certainly necessary for the student of the Bible. Overall, this look at the history of the people of Israel is one of the best conservative works on the topic.
February 10, 2009
Overall, it was good, but kinda boring in places. Had to read it for Greyfriars, otherwise I probably never would've picked it up.
November 8, 2017
Dry at times, as some histories can be, but a great history of the OT nonetheless that deals with extra biblical sources. Eugene Merrill does a great job addressing critical issues with the text, in dating, and other contemporary problems one might run into that seem on the surface to be contradictory. Definitely a must read if one is to be familiar with the actual history of the OT; and also if one wants to be able to interact with the various views of Israel’s history, the author does a great job at giving different views among scholarship. Merrill takes a very balanced approach, acknowledging critical scholarship when it is warranted but always aiming to stay faithful to the biblical text, being careful not to assert his 21st century bias onto the text, as if he would know the truthfulness of the history better than the actual authors (unlike many historians today!).
June 28, 2023
This is simply an outstanding read for anyone interested in the Bible, OT History in particular, and how the various books of the OT are very interconnected. As a student of the Bible for 45 years or so, I was floored and the connections that Merrill points out (e.g., the connections between the book of Judges and Gibeah, Benjamites (etc.) and the kingships of both Saul and David.
Perhaps the best endorsement I can give is that I know that I will re-read this book multiple times. Very dense so don't expect to read through this one quickly. I found myself taking 30-45 minutes to read a few pages as I was consulting a Bible Atlas and my NIV and Hebrew wording/translations as I went along.
Highly recommend this for any Christian or anyone fascinated by the Bible. A must for seminary students!
Perhaps the best endorsement I can give is that I know that I will re-read this book multiple times. Very dense so don't expect to read through this one quickly. I found myself taking 30-45 minutes to read a few pages as I was consulting a Bible Atlas and my NIV and Hebrew wording/translations as I went along.
Highly recommend this for any Christian or anyone fascinated by the Bible. A must for seminary students!
October 24, 2023
This book does a good job of providing a relatively academic/technical dive into the biblical history of Israel from an evangelical perspective. Though the purpose of this book is not primarily to engage with critical readings of the Old Testament, I do think that he did a good job of responding (briefly) to many major objections often raised by critical scholars. I learned a lot from this book and it will be useful as a reference source in the future.
The writing is a bit dry and I feel that he could have done a better job laying out many of his chronological arguments for the dates of specific events. However, I recognize that any discussion of this era of history can easily become convoluted.
I did not necessarily enjoy the process of reading this book, but I am glad to have read it.
The writing is a bit dry and I feel that he could have done a better job laying out many of his chronological arguments for the dates of specific events. However, I recognize that any discussion of this era of history can easily become convoluted.
I did not necessarily enjoy the process of reading this book, but I am glad to have read it.
September 16, 2024
Dr. Merrill has produced an immenently readable academic work presupposing Scripture as a reliable historical document precisely because redemption is a historical event. It was a great reminder of the sorts of things I read about as a boy with an active imagination and love for ancient Egypt.
Evangelical apologetics have moved significantly away from defending the historicity of the OT as literary methods as modernism has run its course and critical theory renders old scientific methods unappealing if not any less formidable. Nonetheless, "decoding" the text as a historical document is still a most valuable exercise, and something Christian schools should continue to undertake so as to dominate a field for reasons beyond immediate apologetic value.
Evangelical apologetics have moved significantly away from defending the historicity of the OT as literary methods as modernism has run its course and critical theory renders old scientific methods unappealing if not any less formidable. Nonetheless, "decoding" the text as a historical document is still a most valuable exercise, and something Christian schools should continue to undertake so as to dominate a field for reasons beyond immediate apologetic value.
July 3, 2018
An introductory background to the history of the OT, Kingdom of Priests is a concise but dense read because of all the information given. There were times when I had to turn back the page to reread who was who because so many names are thrown out in a short space. I like how this book shares different theories on dates and why some are more credible than others. It also helped me to understand the motivations of various figures.
December 30, 2023
I read this cover-to-cover for my Old Testament History class at DTS. I can't say I have committed every detail to memory, but having an overview of the historical and cultural context surrounding the OT has brought so many more details to life for me. It approaches OT history with archaeological and textual defenses. Although I don't think a cover-to-cover read is necessary or worth the effort, it is a great accompanying reference for any Old Testament study.
February 1, 2019
If wanted to be snarky, I’d call this a chronological summary of the Old Testament, but I’m more words! On second thought, I am thankful that Merrill in unapologetically committed to the Scriptures to guide his history, supplementing with dates, archeology, and occasional interaction with critical interpreters.
February 6, 2024
Merrill writes with extensive knowledge and experience teaching OT history. He goes in depth on a number of topics, which was helpful in understanding historical/geographical/theological elements of the OT. I'll come back to this book for reference, but would not recommend sitting down and reading it in one pass as there is a lot to digest.
October 29, 2024
This is an academic book in the truest sense. This was difficult to read as a pastor and seminar student—but for that I'm grateful! In 500 pages, Merrill masterfully presents the history of Israel as well as always paying attention to the happens of other peoples in the ANE.
May 25, 2025
I read all but a couple chapters (because they were not assigned). This book is/will continue to be a helpful resource but not something I would just sit down to read just because or for fun. But I will probably use it in lesson planning for OT next year.
January 29, 2019
Merill gives you a robust history of the Old Testament as it relates also to the world at that time.
September 1, 2019
A valuable resource on the subject of ancient Israel and her surrounding nations.
March 17, 2021
Excellent. Thorough. Interesting.
December 1, 2021
It was great. It really helped with putting historical context around the Biblical narrative.
May 11, 2022
Great for its kind. Will return to it as a reference.
July 15, 2022
Probably as comprehensive as you can get in one book. A good resource on OT history.
May 9, 2024
Best book assigned in seminary, hands down! It helps bring the pages of Scripture into their historical context which only enriches the meaning and implications.
April 15, 2025
used for class, and I really enjoyed it
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews