The Holy Land Revealed

by Jodi Magness

As the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity, the Holy Land (the area in and around modern-day Israel) is one of the most important regions in the world. With a rich history stretching back over 3,000 years, this area is a sacred land for three major faiths and the setting for defining events in religious history, including the life, ministry, and death of Jesus; the construction and destruction of the First and Second Jewish Temples; the composition of the Old and New Testaments, and parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls; the dramatic siege of Masada; and the journey of the prophet Muhammad to Jerusalem. The Holy Land Revealed is packed with detailed analyses of architectural wonders that provide a physical context for stories from this region. It's a three-dimensional impression that recreates this long-lost world, adding richer layers to stories and events you may be familiar with and providing powerful introductions to those that might be new to you.

Genres: History, Religion, Nonfiction, Judaism, Audiobook, Ancient History, Middle East

18 pages, Audio CD

Published January 1, 2010

About the author

Jodi Magness is the Kenan Distinguished Professor for Teaching Excellence in Early Judaism in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the author and editor of several books, including Stone and Dung, Oil and Spit: Jewish Daily Life in the Time of Jesus (2011); The Archaeology of the Early Islamic Settlement in Palestine (2003); and The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls (2002).

Reviews

[BJ Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of three Great Courses I uploaded in preparation for a summer volunteering in Palestine. I also got The World of Biblical Israel by Cynthia Chapman and The History and Archaeology of the Bible by Jean Pierre Isbouts. I haven't finished the latter, but HLR looks to be a better course than that one so far. It also was a much better course than tWoBI. Magness focuses a bit more on the locations and archaeology than the others and for me, this is a huge bonus while visiting. I have seen many of the places she talks about so although I am listening to the audio but not the video, it is still coming alive in my mind.

The biggest advantage this series has over tWoBI in my opinion is the humility Magness brings to the subject. She makes it very clear what archaeology and other historical studies can and cannot tell us about a specific location or topic. She also presents arguments on multiple sides of an argument where scholars disagree. She will present her opinion but also make it clear that it is her opinion and leave room for the listener to decide for themselves. For example, there is no way to prove or disprove Josephus' account of how the defenders at Masada committed suicide to avoid defeat at the Romans' hands. She gives a good accounting of what archaeology has shown at the site and the multiple ways it can be interpreted. She then presents various arguments for accepting his account and also reasons it might be embellished.

In contrast to this, Cynthia Chapman presents her opinion as fact and never presents alternative interpretations or viewpoints. When listening to her you would think her opinion is universally accepted as fact when, quite often, this is far from the truth.

So if you are looking for a "Great Course" that will deal intelligently with the history of the land of Israel/Palestine, then this is the one you should choose. If you simply want to be told what to think without serious regard for truth or academic integrity, then go ahead and grab The World of Biblical Israel instead.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was great, and Magness is a really good explainer. She seems to have detailed knowledge about so many different areas regarding ancient Palestine. Although I only listened to the audio version of this (not the videos), I've studied most of the sites mentioned, and I was able to follow along well and it added a lot to my understanding of the Holy Land. A few times I went chasing down something on YouTube.

My one criticism is that she's not a Bayesian, meaning that she often suggests that a thing is a certain way because that's the best evidence that we have. With Bayes Theorem, it's not necessary to make conclusions, we can talk about likelihood. A few times Magness made the 'drunk looking for keys under the street lamp because that's where the light is' fallacy. We don't have to uncritically accept the 'earliest' report of an event simply because it's the earliest. Homer is the earliest report that Achilles visited the underworld. So what.

But that didn't detract too much from this. I'd love to go digging with her one day...

[Matt DeVore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm reviewing the set of 36 lectures presented by Jodi Magness in The Holy Land Revealed by The Great Courses. I was able to access these lectures over the course of a few months on Kanopy.com. Jodi presents the material from her academic perspective as an archeologist, sometimes incorporating examples of her own field work. She does not seem to have a traditional faith in the biblical texts - seeming rather skeptical when she comments on them. But the value of these lectures isn't about Bible study or theology but rather in a presentation of the archaeological evidence which, of course, relates to the Bible. In this, she delivers a great deal of information of interest to people of faith. The lectures have a strong emphasis on Jerusalem but also cover other areas of the land of Israel. She takes a chronological approach from the conquest of Canaan to the spread of Islam in the mid 7th century. The last lecture is an overview of techniques and methods of archaeologists.

[Hank Pharis · Rating 2 out of 5]

(NOTE: I'm stingy with stars. For me 2 stars means a good book or a B. 3 stars means a very good book or a B+. 4 stars means an outstanding book or an A {only about 5% of the books I read merit 4 stars}. 5 stars means an all time favorite or an A+ {Only one of 400 or 500 books rates this!).

The great news is that I can listen to a book a day at work. The bad news is that I can’t keep up with decent reviews. So I’m going to give up for now and just rate them. I hope to come back to some of the most significant things I listen to and read them and then post a review.

Very uneven. Sometimes helpful and sometimes not.

[Joe Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I watched this on video.
Fine course about the archeology of the Holy Land from a field archeologist. At times there seem to be quite a few lectures about say burial techniques, but it pays off with more information about Biblical times which I appreciate as a Christian. Understanding the places and times of the Bible adds to my reading and writing and this course was very helpful to that understanding.
I would note that some Christians will be offended at this secular course. If you don't desire anyone questioning your beliefs don't take this course. If you can handle the academic view of the Bible, this will deepen your study of the life of Christ.

[Kiki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a truly excellent video course. If you want to understand the physical relations of places in the Bible to each other, and to be able to picture clearly in your mind the places and things that were a part of the lives of the people in the Bible, this is absolutely the course for you. If you’re planning a trip to Israel and want to prepare, watch this course! If you would like a trip to Israel but know you’ll never be able to take it, watch this course. If you have any interest in the Bible whatsoever, watch this course.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent review of the history and archeology of the Holy Land. Magness is an archeologist, and, as the lectures progressed, she drew almost entirely off archeology, ignoring historical sources and other disciplines. I could have done with the title being less ambiguous, something like "Archaeology of the Holy Land" rather than "Holy Land Revealed." Still, lots of great information and fairly well organized.

[Georgiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Repeats a lot of material from her other course (Jesus and his Jewish Influences), to the point of using the same phrases. Conflates the legalization and imposition of Christianity in the Roman empire, which may seem like a trivial complaint, but actually does matter when you're talking about what the transition looked like as a whole. Probably better on video (references to visuals don't mean much without them).

Notwithstanding all of my gripes, I did generally enjoy it.

[Berkley Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was wanting to learn about the history of the Middle East and this course helped me with that. It focused specifically on the land of Israel and I will probably look for another book that talks about more history/regions/religions as well. I mostly just listened and it probably would've been better watching the videos.

[Igor Mendonça · Rating 3 out of 5]

É um conteúdo muito interessante, mas que depende muito de visualização, chegando ao ponto da professora citar imagens que ela está descrevendo. Focado em história e arqueologia, escrituras sagradas e literatura servem apenas como a base para onde iniciar a maior parte das discussões.

[LemontreeLime · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well laid out series of lectures, with a philosophical discussion of archaeology itself in last section.

[Brad · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5