The Bible as History

While Werner Keller has some interesting insights on the Bible in his book “The Bible as History” it is both dated and skewed in a way that the casual reader or someone who is religiously motivated might take his conclusions as more factual then they are.For instance, throughout he places many of his conclusions on what he thinks happened in certain Biblical accounts on the dating of ancient sites in the middle east by archaeologist. At the same time, he is willing to ignore Biblical time accounting in the archaeologist favor. The problem with this is that the book was published in 1955 and there has been much more digging, re-dating, and re-evaluating of the evidence since then. An example of this is his claim of camels being domesticated rather late in about the 12 century b.c.e. whereas while some archaeologist still cling to this date many more push back domestication to the 2nd millennium b.c.e., and yes evidence is in support of this much earlier domestication of camels.Along with the above paragraph on the dating of events by archaeologist one needs to remember the dating of these event by scientific methods is not as exact as is often presented by such scientist, there may be decades or even centuries of time as wiggle room in the dating. In dating many different strata of debris one wrong conclusion could easily throw of the dating results of all the strata besides many times different scientist come up with quite radically different results from the same starting point.Another item of note is the fact of his mentioning the “candor” of Bible writers but taking extra-biblical sources purely on face value. Whether it was known when he wrote this in the forties and fifties that the Egyptian, Babylonian and other such ancient rulers and kingdoms would gloss over their failures or outright remove them from official histories while bragging or even taking credit for past successes of previous rulers I don’t know but that is well established today. And along with this he is willing to ignore the context of biblical accounts and details in such accounts in favor of his viewpoints or archaeologist, even when the Bible may provide better more reasonable explanations of certain events.Over all it was a very interesting book but if this is where someone starts and stops on biblical history they would be doing themselves a disservice and may find that relying on this would put their facts out of joint with both modern archaeology and with the Bible.

This book has been out for many years, but is still very relevant. You will learn a lot by reading about the history related to the Bible. It's more fascinating than you can imagine. I'm not particularly religious and didn't purchase this to learn more about the Bible... I was interested in the historical value of the book. I was very surprised... It goes back to the first mention of God by mankind... and you might just change your mind if you're not religious. If not that... then you will be very educated very quickly. The book is easy to read and full of interesting historical information. It's not opinion or rambling.. it's just straight up all the information you should know already. I doubt that most Christians even know where Christianity began..this goes back to the very seed of religion. It tells how the Bible came to be and progressed and who did what and for what reasons. Over the years this has also made a great present for my Christian friends as a small birthday, Christmas, going-away gift... or just an "I care" gift. I've bought at least 10 as gifts. Even those who sort of grimaced when opening the package have come back to tell me how surprised they were and how much they learned from the book. No one is sorry about getting it or reading it. Even tho most heathen of my friends has been very interested in this book. I was glad to read it again. The. last time I read it was over ten years ago and I had forgotten a lot. I like to be able to hold my own in conversations about religion or any subject... this will make you more educated than 99% of the people in your crowd. It is fascinating and not a boring read.

The book I paid 68.00 dollars for the product is no where that price. The product was not worth the money it was sold for. Never again ordering off Amazon when people like that take advantage of the buyet

An old friend gave this book to me a long time ago, but it was lost in a move. So I was happy to find this even though a newer version was available. The reviews for the newer version weren't very good, so I'm pleasantly reunitec with this copy that was delivered in great condition. The yellowed pages just tell me that it was read before me and once again found its way to me. It's a great read about the greatest book every written in my humble opinion.

Was as described, arrived on time. Was in better shape than expected.

This is a great reference book. When trying to research biblical history, this book is a sign post to your next destination. Over the years, my original copy became worn out. I found it essential to replace it.Great service. Arrived as promised.

A good book that tries to link historical evidence to Biblical events and stories. Please understand that it was written in 1956 so all of the evidence is not based on the most recent scientific methods or archeological discoveries. It also is a "history" book so it stays clear of mystical and miraculous proof for events. It does not denigrate these events though

This is an excellent book, and felt like it came the day after I sent the order. A Good clean copy and well packed.I thought it was out of print, so was really pleased to receive it.

For a book that was meant to be sumptuously illustrated with photos - there are none! The written content looks amazing - well written and not academic, but as I have eyesight problems, I also find this editions print way too small. Ho Hum! Will have to try and find the one I actually want in a larger format. If you have no issues with reading small print, it will be a fascinating book for Bible background fill-in. isn't a single one in this edition!

In quick style, the author presents the historical backing of the old and new testament factually, known at the time of writing. This is a book more than 20 years old in 2020, and has to be read with that in mind.

This is a good old classic and worth reading. A great reference book a needs to be in the book case

Knowledge

A fascinating look at some the archaelogical finds which support the Biblical record.Written in a plain but interesting way, this would be of interest to believers and skeptics alike.