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Summary: The Battle For Ancient Israel Just Heated Up Again
Review: Israel Finkekstein and Neil Asher Silberman have truely thrown the gauntlet out to biblical scholars and to the general public with publishing of this outstanding piece of research and analysis. Essentially THE BIBLE UNEARTHED is a social scientific exploration of the Hebrew Bible pointing to its composition in the last decades of the 7th century B.C.E.. Why was it written? What we recognize as the Bible was written as an ideological manifesto to centralize power (political, economic, and religious) in the general environs of Jerusalem in the court of King Josiah (this announcement is a bit startling considering there is "no signature" present). Finkelstein and Silberman will undoubtably rankle literalists and even nationalists in terms of their assessment of archaeology and historical evidence; but to ignore this work and to dismiss it as "garbage" would be a serious scholarly mistake. The research is impeccable ... from the analysis of archaeological material (textual and nontextual) to consultation with other scholars. Yes certain "truths" have been challenged; but then Biblical research has moved beyond using the Bible in one hand and the spade (as was the case of the 19th century and much of 20th century) in another to prove theological and nationalistic agendas (see Silberman's DIGGING FOR GOD AND COUNTRY as a wonderful analysis of this phenomena). Is this another "minimalist" dimissal of the Bible? No, but there are caveats to the history of Israel and Judah that are highlighted; thus the reader is allowed to see the people in the Bible as products of their social environment and not an exceptionally unique group out of touch with the life and times of the Ancient Levant.
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Summary: Trashy, anti-bible sensationalism
Review: Israel Finkelstein just rehashes his hypotheses which he has been stumping across Israel and abroad, that the Bible is false, etc. etc. Basically, he tries to delegitimize the Bible in any way possible, even when his findings corroborate the Bible, i.e. Solomon's gates, he still attempts to find a solution to why it isn't correct. But his basic evidence is: lack of evidence. So, if archeologists haven't found evidence of, for instance, Abraham, Finkelstein concludes he didn't exist. But in the real world, and sadly for him, lack of evidence does not constitute evidence. Sorry, Mr. Finkelstein. Finkelstein and his cohorts are in the minority position in Israel (though vocal and media savvy in order to create controversy and to sell books), so it's best to temper his hypotheses with the majority opinion among Israeli archeologists.Up until the early 1990's, these archeologists said David didn't exist. Then someone found an inscription naming 'Bet David' which these guys couldn't deny (though they tried). Now, faced with real evidence, they try to diminish David. It's the same pattern over and over with archeologists like Finkelstein. Those who come with preconceived biased notions taint their own reputations and the veracity of their works. I simply do not trust Finkelstein anymore because of his twists and turns, and the majority of credible archeologists in Israel don't agree with him either. Instead of this book, I recommend 'Israel in Egypt' (1998) instead, which considers all evidence fairly, unlike this book which has an agenda to prove.
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Summary: Was expecting an education book
Review: I didn't find this book to be educational as it was lacking in true archeological definitions, actual digs, and certainly lacking substance in ever observation stated.
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Summary: Interesting
Review: This book focuses on investigating on what archeological findings and data tell us about the Hebrew Bible and its contents. The authors do a pretty thorough job and look at the issue from many angles. In general, the authors believe that: - The Hebrews/Israelites were not immigrants who went from Egypt to Canaan, and were in fact an obscure cultural group who always lived in Canaan - The Hebrews / Israelites gradually rose to dominance, and the conquests of Canaan desribed in books such as Joshua are not true - The Biblical descriptions of King David's and Solomon's empire, conquests, and palaces are all exagerations. - There was not really a united Jewish religion for most of history in the Judah/Israel region, and at times in various regions there were other gods worshipped along with YHWH - Most parts of the Jewish Bible were written much later than the Jewish tradition tells us Overall, I would say that this bok is worth reading, although it does have its boring parts.
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Summary: Excellent Scholarship
Review: I just finished The Bible Unearthed and I have one overall word to say about it: EXCELLENT! First of all, the authors provide a complete and easy to read explanation of ALL of the "hot" issues currently debated in the field of archaeology and biblical studies. Should the reader not find full agreement with the authors' final conclusions, he or she will have the data available to express this disagreement, especially since the authors place their arguments in the context of what is believed by both majority and minority scholarly opinions. They provide an excellent summary of the opposing arguments; summaries that are fair and complete. Too often people are quick to dismiss Finkelstein as a "biblical minimalist" because these readers are often misinformed or have misread Finkelstein's work. In "The Bible Unearthed," Finkelstein and Silberman are clear to disassociate themselves from the biblical "minimalists" while affiming the questions that they raise, questions that even the most "maximalist" scholar must honestly deal with in light of the paucity of archaeological evidence associated with the time of the ancestors through the rise of the Omride dynasty in 9th century Israel. One of the major questions plaguing the field of biblical studies is the one concerning David and Solomon. Do they really exist? Finkelstein and Silberman unequivocally state that both David and Solomon are historical beings. The magnitude of their kingdom, however, is the issue at hand. Based on the archaeological evidence, the authors suggest that the biblical account of these kings is a mixture of both fact and some embellishment by later authors, most likely writing during King Josiah's reign in 7th century Judah. Finkelstein and Silberman argue convincingly that Josiah, wanting to expand his kingdom to include the now fallen kingdom of Israel, found it useful to weave together the "histories" of the northern and southern kingdoms to create one unified and sacred text uniting the peoples of these two kingdoms. This understanding is not so far afield from earlier scholars who attribute the Deuteronomistic History (Joshua--2 Kings) to the time of Josiah and later. As a seminary professor and an ordained Christian minister, I am not willing to throw David and Solomon out and I struggle with those who argue that the Bible was constructed in the Persian and Hellenistic periods. Finkelstein and Silberman are not amond these minimalists and are well within what is argued by mainline scholars, especially those trying to come to terms with how the Bible and the archaeological data coincide and differ. Yes this book will rankle feathers yet it isn't far afield from what has been recently argued by biblical experts. This book will be assigned to my students because I want these people, who will be church leaders and scholars, to struggle with these issues. It is a well written and researched book and has a great deal to offer the reader. Besides, should questions threaten one's faith, one must question the veracity of the faith that was threatened.
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Summary: Scholarly and Accessible
Review: In "The Bible Unearthed," Israel Finkelstein and Neil Silberman display a rare talent among scholars--the ability to make specialized research accessible to a general audience. In this book the authors reveal how recent archaeological research forces us to reconsider the historical account woven into the Hebrew Bible. Among the conclusions they draw are: 1) The tales of patriarchs such as Abraham are largely legends composed long after the time in which they supposedly took place. This is seen in anachronisms such as the use of camels, not domesticated in the Near East until nearly 1000 years after Abraham's time, in many of the stories. 2) There is good reason to believe that the Exodus never happened. Had migrants to the number of even a small fraction of the 600,000 claimed in the Bible truly sojourned in the Sinai Peninsula for 40 years, archaeological evidence of their passage would be abundant. In fact, there are no traces of any signifant group living in the Sinai at the supposed time of the Exodus. 3) The Israelite "conquest" of Canaan, such as there was, was far from the military invasion of the books of Joshua and Judges. Many of the cities described as being conquered and destroyed did not even exist at the time, while those that did were small, unfortified villages, with no walls to be brought down, by blowing trumpets or otherwise. 4) While there is evidence that a historical David existed, and founded some sort of ruling dynasty known by his name, there is good reason to believe that he did not rule over the powerful united monarchy described in II Samuel. One reason for doubt: Jerusalem, portrayed as the great capital of a prosperous nation, was during the time of David little more than a village. 5) Neither Israel nor Judah emerged as organized kingdoms until significantly after the supposed period of the united monarchy. Israel does not appear as a recognizable kingdom until the time of the Omrides of the 9th century BCE, while Judah does not appear as such until the late 8th century BCE, at the time of kings Ahaz and Hezekiah. Along with their revision of the biblical account of history, Finkelstein and Silberman attempt to explain the origins of the Hebrew Bible, suggesting that the composition of much of the Bible can be tied to the religious agenda of King Josiah of Judah during the late 7th century BCE. While the origins of the Bible will never be known with certainty--there simply isn't enough evidence--Finkelstein and Silberman definitely provide a plausible interpretation. The authors, as I noted above, do a superb job of making their work understandable to non-specialists; since even college history majors often don't study the ancient Near East, they take care to include sufficient background information for the reader to understand the context of their account. Anyone with an interest in the subject will find "The Bible Unearthed" to be fascinating reading. And anyone who thinks the Bible is an accurate history book should definitely read it.
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Summary: Absence of Evidence is NOT Evidence
Review: The authors take the abscence of evidence as evidence that something did not happen, how ridiculous. On top of that there is indirect evidence that the exodus occured, the authors do not take this into consideration. Also ridiculous is their ignoring the fact that the bible teaches the clothes of the wandering israelites DID NOT WEAR OUT. Hmmm, could it also be that their utensils likewise didn't wear out? What in the world would archeologists be looking for? The buried poop? A stupid book that overlooks or doesn't take into account the obvious, save your money and check out books on the bible I have reviewed that are worth buying.
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Summary: Devastating insight into biblical "history"
Review: A fascinating and boldly reasoned book. Not for hide-bound literalists and those enamoured of superstition. And the tone is not one of cynical disdain but exhuberance and excitement. These authors love history, they love the bible, but, more importantly, they love the truth.
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Summary: Revisionism of the worst sort
Review: Most people educated in the West have come to understand that word for word the Bible is not exactly accurate. Most people will accept that the crossing of the red sea, the miracles and all, are a myth. Likewise most people can assume that to some extend the stories in the Bible, like Joshua's conquest of Israel, are mythologized.
But the claim in this book is not that these myths are reminiscent of some history but rather that no Israelites existed, no Hebrews ever existed and everything about the stories of the Bible is fake. So while we are told to accept that the Caananites are real, even though the source for them is also biblical, we are told that the idea of a single God is totally made up and that the entire history of ancient Israel never happened.
The evidence for this is simply the lack of evidence. It is sort of tantamount to saying since we don't have evidence as to when the Native Americans came to America then apparently they never came. Well then who are all those people? Its almost like saying that since we don't know how the pyramids were built, then apparently they were never built. But they got there somehow? If Josiah created the history of the Israelitenation, then where did Josiah come from? If King Solomon is fake then why is his presence confirmed in other traditions throughout the ancient world, throughout Africa and the middle east. If ancient Israel didn't exist and they never believed in one God then who built the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and who fought the Romans in 70 A.D and who was Jesus born to. The problem here is that archeological evidence does actually date all the digging in Israel to the time of David and Solomon. Evidence exists from Persia and from Egypt of diplomatic dealings with an Israelite and even a Canaanite state. Thus the Bible is accurate in many of its time line descriptions, it is simply inaccurate in its descriptions of Miracles. This book is revisionism and should not be read by anyone interested in the accuracy of the Bible.
Seth J. Frantzman
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Summary: I will never see the Bible the same again.
Review: Whoa! If you are a person who interprets the Bible from a modern, traditional perspective then be prepared to be troubled when you read this book. These authors suggest some brow-raising hypotheses and seem to show some support for them.
I read this book after I read Richard E. Friedman's book Who Wrote the Bible? That was a good way to do it. Friedman's gentle voice (he seems to still value the Bible as a spiritual guide of some sort and states he still holds a Christian perspective) tenderly lowered me into the cauldron while Finkelstein and Silberman's more stark and detailed punches knocked me around a bit.
I will say that this book took some discipline for me to get through. It was definitely worth the effort, but it is not quite as easy a read as Friedman's.
I do grieve and mourn that the Bible will never be the same for me again. On the other hand, I am beginning to be hopeful that one can embrace all these new perspectives of the Bible and still find spiritual food (Walter Brueggemann is a Christian author that seems to have embraced many of these new findings and yet seems to be unperturbed by them. In fact he seems to be finding a way to incorporate them into his spiritual journey.)
I must also admit that I am excited about what this new paradigm can do in liberating many of us from Biblioidolatry.
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