Archaeology and the Old Testament

by Alfred J. Hoerth

This richly illustrated books gives visual context to the study of the people, customs, and history of the Old Testament world. Over 250 illustrations.

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

448 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1998

About the author

Alfred Hoerth was director of Archaeology at Wheaton College in Chicago, Illinois. He also authored, coauthored, or coedited various resources, including Archaeology and the Old Testament, Bible Archeology, and Peoples of the Old Testament.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably THE best book on Old Testament Archaeology in print. It debunks a lot of the false or outdated information found in Halley's Bible Handbook, and presents a plethora of new information and discoveries. It also honestly deals with textual difficulties, scribal glosses, etc.; which many biblical scholars tend to ignore in order not to confuse people or erode their confidence in Scripture. Every explanation given by Dr. Hoerth adequately explains the textual difficulties presented and when he doesn't think the facts can form a conclusion just yet, he isn't afraid to say so. I loved this book and recommend it to anyone who would like to understand the cultural, sociological, and historical context of the Old Testament properly illuminated from Archaeology.

[Laura Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for seminary and I love it. It is very thorough without being above the lay person’s head. I wish the pictures were in color, but black/white is the industry standard. Especially when they are so many images.

The book is laid out well, making it very easy to use as a reference if you teach, preach, or write. There’s more evidence that could be added to the book, as more has been found since the publishing of the book. I would love to see an update!

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in biblical archaeology.

[Nate Bate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hoerth steps you through an historical account of the Old Testament providing helpful archaeological insights along the way. He also provides insights and cautions with how to interpret archaeological findings. I was slightly disappointed with this because it seems like much more history than archaeology. There is plenty of focus archaeology, I just expected a higher density of it.

[Matthew Rawlings · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read for class...let's leave it at that!

[Alex Shrugged · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book years ago, but never got around to reviewing it. Fabulous. It is a college textbook, but it reads easily and it is full of great information. It showed me how tenuous the foundations of archaeology are. That means that I should listen to what they have to say, but they do not have the last word. They are giving their best interpretation that fits the facts on hand. Often all the facts are NOT on hand. Yet, when the news media reads a scientific paper, they usually leave out the conditional statements and context. The news media sensationalizes it.

The book is a little weak when it comes to information about Kind David and afterward. The author explains why this is true and it is a good explanation. Archeological digs work because they are excavating a site that gets older the deeper they dig. A new village will build upon the old until a hill is formed. However, when a large city is built, they dig a foundation for the buildings usually destroying the more recent evidence below. Thus, there is more historical evidence about the time of Abraham (because it is deeper down) than there is about the time of King David. Makes sense.

I will read this book again.

[Update (2022-Jul-04): Corrected a typo and reformed a couple of sentences for clarity.]

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction to archeology. Some people are under a lot of false ideas about archeology and ancient history, such as:
- our knowledge of the ancient world is almost complete
- archeology shows us everything
- everything in the bible should be rejected out of hand while everything from anywhere else should be accepted out of hand.
- archeology/history has disproven the bible
- an ancient claim has to be proved by multiple sources before it can be credited as even remotely true
- hyper-skepticism that asks for more proof than is actually possible
Also, people are way too confident about what we know and even what we can know, as if we will find all answers if we just look hard enough.
In contrast, this book is a good REALISTIC look at archeology and history, not "to prove the bible", since this premise is foundationally flawed, but to clarify and expound on what the bible clearly and historically records.

[E.A. West · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gives a great overview of the Ancient Near East and ties the archaeology of the area into events of the Old Testament. I enjoyed the book a great deal and gained a lot of insight into the cultural climate of Old Testament times.

[Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great reference book...sometimes one-sided opinions, but read it for the facts and pictures and you'll be fine =).

[James Harmeling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great intro to the subject with good brief overviews of OT biblical books. I used it as a devotional and loved the numerous illustrations and photos.

[Kristen Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for beginner to intermediate biblical archaeology lovers!

[Randy Hulshizer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book

[Covenant Presbyterian Springfield Ohio]

Call Number: 220.9 HOE

A gift of Paul KIRKBRIDE.

Available.

[Wilson Ubi]

It very good