Israel: Ancient Kingdom or Late Invention? Review

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(More customer reviews)Let me say at the outset that this is a book for the academically inclined, seminary students, scholarly pastors, and members of academic teaching departments. It is a collection of speeches presented at an evangelical semianr on archaeology and the nation of Israel.
The best essay in my opinion was the last one, by John Walton. He shows how an understanding of Ancient Near Eastern studies helps us toward a more nuanced and vibrant reading of the first four commandments from Exodus 20.
Alan Millard's opening essay reminds us of the need to be careful that we don't overinterpret or misinterpret the archaeological data. Some people do this with Daniel 2:46, supposing that King Nebuchadnezzar is following the practice of an ancient Hellenistic cult by offering incense to Daniel, and some even say that he was worshipping Daniel.
But Millard shows how prostrating yourself before someone and offering up incense was an ancient Babylonian practice that conveyed great respect toward royalty or prophetic personages (like Daniel) that wasn't always construed as the worship of a deity.
James Hoffmeier has an interesting essay about the geographical issues found in the Exodus narrative, particularly with regard to Rameses and Pithom. Hoffmeier shows that there is nothing in archaeology that would dispute what the text says about these cities. But I must confess that I wish Hoffmeier would have dealt in greater detail with the wilderness wanderings prior to crossing the Red Sea. He acknowledges that it is a major challenge, but that there is nothing that clearly contradicts what we find in his limited discussion of Exodus 14.
Edwin Yamauchi goes on to say in his essay that there is not enough hard evidence to show a Zoroastrian influence on the theology of the Hebrew Bible, though he does not rule it out.
In one of the more important essays, Simon Sherwin concludes that it is unlikely that the Israelites learned their monotheism in Babylonian captivity, and that the available evidence suggests that some in Israel were returning to their roots by devoting themselves exclusively to Yahweh.
Generally speaking, the writers are cautious about approaches that value archaeological evidence over textual evidence. They are also wary of arguments from silence, or people who cite the lack of archaeological evidence as absolute proof that the Hebrew texts cannot be trusted.
A previous reviewer felt that the book was too biased and slanted toward the evangelical viewpoint. I would say "Of course! The book is a collection of essays from an evangelical conference! It says so right on page 1!
I would also want to add that having theological predilections doesn't automatically make a person's work invalid, otherwise, no one would read the work of liberals, either. Variety makes life interesting.
I appreciate the evenhanded approach to the issues. In my judgment, it would be a mistake to assume that this book is a naive and close-minded approach. The scholars in this book have made a good case for Israel as an ancient kingdom without ignoring the voices who say otherwise.


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