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Rating: 
Summary: The best book on biblical chronology on the market.
Review: Absolutely essential for straigtening out the chronology associated with Herod's death. Professor Finegan now makes it clear that Herod DID NOT die in 4 B.C. as all of us historians and theologians have thought, but in 1 B.C. This information is indispensible for the student of New Testament history and the chronology of Jesus' life and it illumines one of the darkest periods in the early imperial history of Rome. This volume changes all previous standard works for the past 100 years dealing with the Nativity of Jesus and the history dealing with it. There is much more too for the biblical student. A first class work that every library must have. Professor Finegan must be congratulated (in his 89th year of life) for producing such a splendid and profitable volume of research. Ernest L. Martin, Ph.D. Academy for Scriptual Knowledge Portland, OR 97825
Rating:
Summary: A necessary revision of a timeless book!
Review: Amazingly, at the age of 89, Jack Finegan has revised his 1964 classic and has done a wonderful job! The new book reads a lot like the first edition, but is substantially revised to include many references up to 1996. Sections on Jesus' birth and Herod's death now discuss both the standard dating (nativity before 4 BC), and that of Martin, Keresztes, etc (3/2 BC); Finegan favors the latter dating, as well as 33 AD for the crucifixion. The new section on John the Baptist mainly focuses on the chronology of the cycle of priestly courses, which Finegan seems to over-emphasize. Literature listings and scriptural & subject indexes are each about double the lengths in the first edition. Overall, I find it a very valuable tool with up-to-date information.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Reference
Review: This book is intended to help the sudent of the bible become familiar with the various issues and problems in biblical chronology. It is NOT intended to defend the biblical chronology from divergent chronologies derived from extrabiblical sources. My own area of interest being the Old Testament of patriarchal and Exodus times, I can say that the book does a fantastic job of both revealing difficulties in the biblical chronology as well as offering possibilities for solving those difficulties and preserving the reliability of the biblical record. References to extra-biblical sources are only used when explaining the intrabiblical discrepancies or apparent discrepancies. Finegan has no interest in the Egyptian and near-eastern chronologies in their own rights. He wants only to present the chronology that the bible presents. Finegan accepts the centuries long lifespans of the antedeluvians without a second thought. His aim here is not to convince or defend the validity of any statements in the bible. He only wants to help you see what the bible is telling you. While this makes the book useful to sceptics and the faithful alike, it can be frustrating to those who want to see where the bible measures up against the other ancient chronological sources. I had hoped that the bibliographic references in this book would point me to other works covering the obscure fields of Babylonian and Egyptian chronology, but they do not. If the book had discussed biblical chronology against the backdrop of other systems of chronology, I would have given it five stars. It does do its job of laying out the chronology of the bible perfectly, though, and is a fantastic reference for all students of the bible. Historians of the ancient Middle East might be a bit frustrated, though.
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