A History of Ancient Israel: From the Patriarchs Through the Romans

by Eric H. Cline

Israel conjures up myriad associations for peoples of all cultures and religious backgrounds. Inextricably associated with the world's three most prominent religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), Israel is steeped in history and conflict, much of which is known through the tales of biblical figures such as Moses, David, Solomon, and, of course, Jesus Christ.But how much of the Bible can be relied upon as accurate history? And how much of the biblical record can be verified through archaeology? Esteemed professor, researcher, and author Eric H. Cline of The George Washington University addresses these and other questions in this fascinating series of lectures.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ancient History, Religion, Archaeology, Audiobook, Judaism

Audible Audio

First published March 28, 2011

About the author

DR. ERIC H. CLINE is the former Chair of the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and current Director of the Capitol Archaeological Institute at The George Washington University. A National Geographic Explorer, NEH Public Scholar, and Fulbright scholar with degrees from Dartmouth, Yale, and the University of Pennsylvania, he is an active field archaeologist with 30 seasons of excavation and survey experience in Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Cyprus, Greece, Crete, and the United States, including ten seasons at the site of Megiddo (biblical Armageddon) in Israel from 1994-2014, and seven seasons at Tel Kabri, where he currently serves as Co-Director. A three-time winner of the Biblical Archaeology Society's "Best Popular Book on Archaeology" Award (2001, 2009, and 2011) and two-time winner of the American School of Archaeology's "Nancy Lapp Award for Best Popular Archaeology Book" (2014 and 2018), he is a popular lecturer who has appeared frequently on television documentaries and has also won national and local awards for both his research and his teaching. He is the author or editor of 20 books, almost 100 articles, and three recorded 14-lecture courses. His previous books written specifically for the general public include "The Battles of Armageddon: Megiddo and the Jezreel Valley from the Bronze Age to the Nuclear Age" (2000), "Jerusalem Besieged: From Ancient Canaan to Modern Israel" (2004), "From Eden to Exile: Unraveling Mysteries of the Bible" (2007), "Biblical Archaeology: A Very Short Introduction" (2009), "The Trojan War: A Very Short Introduction" (2013), "1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed" (2014), “Three Stones Make a Wall: The Story of Archaeology" (2017), and “Digging Up Armageddon” (2020). He has also co-authored a children's book on Troy, entitled "Digging for Troy" (2011). For a video of his "Last Lecture" talk, go to http://vimeo.com/7091059.

Reviews

[Beauregard Bottomley · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I could find a Great Course lecture on Mormon Archeology, I would listen to it. I have no problem starting with believing the premises inherent within the subject matter under consideration. All readers do well to suspend disbelief and let the author guide the subject matter. As an example, does anyone really believe that the world is only will, the ultimate force of nature as Schopenhauer believes? Schopenhauer is well worth reading for his completely coherent philosophy not for his ontological assertion of will as being, and overall his Will and Representation would be the first book I would recommend for those who want to learn philosophy from primary sources.

I feel similar regarding this lecture on the Patriarchs of Israel and the history of the Jews. Prof. Cline leans more towards believing the Bible leads the way in regards to understanding history and Bible Archeology, more power to him. What’s more important is that many people believe the same thing and embrace that as their truth and lectures like this one helps me in understanding others with different starting premises.

I did not realize that the standard told story on Masada is most likely a myth. Prof. Cline gives the myth and tells why it’s most certainly wrong. I’m concurrently reading History of the Jews, Volume II by Heinrich Graetz written in about 1860, and I noticed that Graetz doesn’t mention the myth at all and just tells the story straightforward as it most likely happened, and by the way, the original creator of the myth, Josephus Flavius, was vilified by Graetz within his book.

Overall, a well worth while introduction to an interesting topic by an incredibly knowledgeable person who had a seamless ability to mesh Bible Archeology with the Bible and history making for a fun story for those who are able to accept another’s starting premise. For those who can’t accept another’s starting premises, save yourself the trouble and never read philosophy, or religion, or almost anything to do with ideas. For those who love learning about those with different starting premises, and interested in the topic, this is a fairly straightforward telling of an interesting topic.

[Wesley Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting this to be much more interesting. Most of the audiobook was him re-telling the Old Testament and comparing it to archaeological research. I like that he reminds us "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence." But even he thinks that many Biblical stories are hyperbole. I didn't feel like I gained anything from those discussions.

The only parts that were interesting were the last two chapters where he discussed the Roman Empire and the Dead Sea Scrolls (which have an incredible origin). He actually told stories and had enough evidence to where he wasn't qualifying every statement and questioning the source's validity. Glad I stuck it out so I could hear the cool stories at the end, but I wanted to quit many times.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This lecture series is for people who like puzzles. Eric Cline is an archeologist. His interest is the historical accuracy of the Bible. For each period he compares biblical accounts with archeological evidence and other outside sources. The results, while still under ongoing investigation, are quite interesting.

[Rick Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I purchased this series because I had listened to a lecture Eric Cline gave at the Oriental Institute of Chicago in 2015 on the Sea Peoples Movement and his book "1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed". In that lecture he was dynamic, interesting, and funny. Perhaps that was because he was speaking to his colleagues. As someone who has done a lot of reading and study in the area of Ancient Near Eastern history and so I think I fit the audience Cline was aiming for in that talk. I was hoping that in this series on Ancient Israel, he would be pitching the lecture with a similar tone and at a similar level. However, this course just barely begins to scratch the surface of a history of ancient Israel and the issues involved.

I realize that this is more a problem with my expectations than with the lecturer's material. However, there are a few other weak points in this series that made it less interesting to me. First of all, Cline, somewhat understandably, skims through large periods of history at a breakneck pace. I suppose the things he chose to emphasize along the way are not the same things I would want to emphasize in the same course. For example, he never has a discussion of the religion of ancient Israel, giving the impression that many of the upheavals in Israel's history should be chalked up to political and economic causes. However, the history of Israel cannot be properly separated from a history of the religion. In the scholarly world, there is great controversy in this topic and in a course intending to present some of the main debates that are currently occurring, it's odd that he left this out.

Secondly, he paints with a very broad brush. I'm not generally opposed to generalizations in general, but when the speaker suggests that a reading of the Biblical text shows King David presented as a perfect man who makes all the right decisions and can do no wrong makes me doubt the speaker's biblical knowledge. Likewise when it is said that the pro-Judahite bias is seen in the Old Testament by the fact the books of 1 and 2 Kings primarily contrast the evil kings of Israel with the good kings of Judah, I have to wonder what Bible the speaker is reading. The Bible presents both Northern and Southern kings as mostly wicked and evil. The issue is ever North vs South, but acceptance of the monotheistic worship of Yahweh solely at the temple in Jerusalem vs all other forms of worship. Thus both kingdoms are found extremely wanting in the views of the biblical writers.

Finally, the spark of wittiness and humor that I heard in Cline's lecture to the Oriental Institute is almost completely missing here. It's as if he's going through the motions, but his heart isn't in it.

Overall, is this a satisfactory introduction to the history of Israel? Yes. Is it one I would readily recommend? Sadly, no.

Despite my disappointing experience with this lecture series though, I still have high hopes for his books which I want to pick up and read at some point.

[Manuel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read this on audio, as Modern Scholar series book. I won't call it a waste of time, the flow is quick and information is constant. However it never goes into much detail and at times it sounds as if its trying to justify the bible story, instead of explaining Israel history.
I don't mind having a religious book as a starting point, but having it as a guideline and applying the rule of "if we didn't find it yet it doesn't mean that it doesn't exist" sounds too much for my taste.

[Markus · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of it is a bit vague (owing to a lack of archeological evidence) but I really enjoyed the bit about secret religions and their role in the formation of Christianity

[Behrooz Parhami · Rating 4 out of 5]

The relatively small piece of land constituting today’s Israel gets more than its share of news coverage and heated discussion. This is in part due to the long-running conflict between Israelis on one side and Palestinians & their Arab/Iranian backers on the other, and partly due to the region’s significance to followers of Abrahamic religions forming slightly more than half of the world’s population.

This history course covers a tad over two millennia, from ~2000 BCE (the time of Abraham) to early days of Christianity. It is based on stories in the Hebrew Bible, which are corroborated, or at least not contradicted, by archaeological evidence. Where there is no direct historical evidence, consistency with existing records of movements, life-styles, and conflicts were sought.

An example of the rigor with which history is presented in this course is Cline’s presentation of Exodus. According to the Hebrew Bible, Exodus occurred around 1450 BCE. Some scholars cite dates as late as 1250 BCE, given better match to written records and archaeological evidence. A compromise view is that Exodus wasn’t a single mass-migration event, but a gradual flight that took place over the course of two centuries.

Similarly, the number “600,000 military-age males” cited in the Hebrew Bible for the size of Exodus (that is, around 3 million people in all) is deemed vastly off-base, perhaps by a factor of 100. Such a large group of people, marching 10-across would form a line of 200-300 km, which means crossing the red sea on foot would have taken weeks!

Historians generally discount the Hebrew Bible as a book describing actual people and events, but rather view it as a record of myths based on some facts and real people. Cline demonstrates that there is a good match between the Hebrew Bible and historical artifacts and writings, beginning with ~700 BCE. This history is still unfolding, as new evidence and counter-evidence is discovered on a regular basis. For example, the first extra-Biblical mentions of the House of David, within inscriptions uncovered in northern Israel in the 1990s, led to revisions to the history of Kings David and Solomon.

The land we now call Israel has seen many occupiers over its long history, including the Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Fatimids, Seljuk Turks, Crusaders, Egyptians, Mamelukes, Islamists and others. Details about where the Lost Tribes ended up, how the two major rebellions of Israelites unfolded, and many other gaps in the region’s history are subjects of heated disputes. This course provides a solid foundation upon which to build further knowledge and to follow various historical debates.

[Coyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent survey of modern scholarship on the Bible and Israelite history from the Patriarchs through the Romans. And, I think it's important to put it that way, because that's how Cline presents the course, not so much as a strict historical survey, but as an exploration of the ideas and problems surrounding the study of Ancient Israel, especially those generated by the Biblical and 1st Century AD texts.
Though a bit staid in his lecture style, the information is interesting, if only to those who already have some background in the field. The Teaching Company's Ancient Near Eastern Mythology is probably the best place to start, and then follow up with this course.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author explores Ancient Israel history from a purely secular point of view. Which is good since the history portrayed in the Bible is put in hard contrast with current Archeological knowledge. Gives a good account of the current state of affairs regarding the hard facts. I think the Bible passes the test, not entirely unscated, but that won't diminish my faith in the Bible, since the author himself concedes that the purpose of the Bible itself is not the history account, but uses historical facts as an accessory. The one thing I did not like is that at some point he suggests that Jesus' predictions about the destruction of the second temple were devised and written after the fact in a purely speculative way. But, what else can you expect from the limitations a secular point of view?

[Honza Prchal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is really interesting, and was well worth a re-read years later, especially now that I'm more familiar with Genesis.
The author's/lecturer's "middle ground" approach to using the Bible as a source is intriguing, and, to my mind, conditioned as he concludes that the point of the Bible is rarely the historicity rather than the moral point (see also the Iliad and the Odyssey, which were also deeply religious documents whose historical claims have been remarkably accurate based on subsequent archaeology). Where possible, he cites extra-Biblical sources, least conclusively supportive in nailing down WHEN Moses was in Aegypt, far more conclusive in the narrative of the two Judaic kingdoms and really on point in the late Greek and early Roman era, though those were viewed through a veil darkly at best just a century ago, to the point that people really contended that certain clearly plausible and widely corroborated events were made up.
It's a shame Professor Cline created this before paleo-genetic research confirmed Judaic origins in what is now Afghanistan and Pakistan, which adds a lot of weight to Abrahamic origins from a father only recently semi-settled in Mesopotamia from that region before re-nomadizing, as the Bible clearly states, into the lands that three of the World's major religions and many offshoots call "the Holy Land".

[Kade · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. I have already listened to a few "Great Courses" and read a few books related specifically to Israel and I've consumed a significant amount of "educational content" related to the history of religion, particularly in the Middle East so I didn't learn a TON of earth shattering facts. But, as is probably obviously by the fact that I keep engaging in this subject, I enjoy it. I will say that I personally just am a huge fan of Bart D. Ehrman and he covers a lot of similar content in his various courses. I appreciate the descriptions he gives about how historians are supposed to use available resources. But this course did cover a little bit more of the archeological evidence. I'm not mad I listened to it. It was nice.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of the Modern Scholars series, ”A History of Ancient Israel” is actually a connected series of lectures that reviews traditional and revisionist history, archaeology, and cultural studies in order to present a narrative history of the region. Designed as an introductory overview, the book is staunchly middle-of -the-road and offers nothing new or controversial, but does provide a lucid and cogent foundation upon which to base further research and investigation. Professor Cline is an excellent lecturer, so the Audible version is AA entertaining as it is informative.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eric Cline does what he can with a long history in a complex region with little archaeological evidence to confirm or reject biblical sources. The high points include the story of Abraham and the Patriarchs, the Exodus, the Exile, two Jewish rebellions, and the beginnings of Christianity. When there are non-biblical sources, Cline uses them, but when the Bible is all there is, Cline usually gives it the benefit of the doubt.

[Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

My podcast Battle Buddies is covering the Battle of Meggiddo soon, so I have been getting through most of my boy Eric Cline's work. If you're interested in ancient Israel and Archeology, Eric Cline will eventually be a name you run into. I've embraced his information with open arms and am very grateful to site him as a source for our upcoming episode.

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quick survey course covering over a thousand years of history and prehistory, using archeological evidence, extrabiblical texts, non-biblical accounts, and biblical supposition to piece together what definitely happened, what probably happened, what might have happened, and where the present evidence runs up short, various prevailing theories as to what may have happened.

[عبد الله القصير · Rating 3 out of 5]

الكتاب عبارة عن مجموعة من المحاضرات التي جمعت على شكل كتاب صوتي. جيدة لمن يملك معلومات تاريخية مبعثرة ويريد ترتيب معلوماته من مصدر أكاديمي موثوق.

[Kyle Potter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compares current archeological research with the historical accounts of the Hebrew Bible.

[Rana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book which is also relevant to present current events.

[Valerie J K]

This is a lecture series by Eric H. Cline, a professor at George Washington University in both Classics/Semitics and Anthropology. It gives a broad overview of the Bible, focusing on the history of Israel. I liked the way he pulled from a variety of sources, and always gave the Bible the benefit of the doubt, stating "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence" in cases where there is no archeological evidence (the Ark of the Covenant or Solomon's Temple, for example). Cline does a good job of placing the stories and characters of the Bible into a historical context, increasing my understanding of Bibilical times.

[Natalie Lynner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this lecture series was incredibly interesting. Cline had a balanced approach and although he argued that not much in the Bible can be archeologically supported and is most likely exaggerated at best, he pointed to several examples of biblical information that was corroborated with other ancient writings. It was extremely helpful to put the Caananites, the Phoenicians, the Philistines, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Egyptians, the Persians, and at last the Romans in context with the Hebrews. I love the audacity of academia in expecting to verify biblical miracles that happened thousands of years ago. Very amusing.

[Melinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting info in this lecture series although it's strange that nearly all the source material comes from the bible...not much archeological evidence available which makes things difficult to corroborate. The narrator was obviously knowledgeable but his delivery could have done with an injection of pizazz!!

[Tony · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too uncritically dependent on religious sources, partly the reality of the field, but partly a failure by the lecturer.