Zondervan Handbook of Biblical Archaeology

Bought as a gift but the receiver seems happy

Ottimo testo di riferimento.

Great Resource

Zero stars.This is a book that half cites archaeological findings, and half unabashedly promotes ideology in the face of those findings. The authors take extraordinary care to craft their words so that they dance just on this side of outright lies - it's just crafty enough to mislead their audience who they clearly believe are not bright enough to catch on.Here are some amazing, priceless quotes:1. Criticizing Hollywood's depictions of Moses: "Whether intentionally or not, the cinemagraphic portrait of an eighty-year-old man hefting huge stone slabs weighing hundreds of pounds down a rugged mountain makes the Bible seem more fantasy than reality."2. Immediately after stating that archaeological evidence for the Exodus is, so unfortunately for them, lacking: "Nevertheless, at the present time the best approach to this question is to examine the indirect evidence of historical consequence (the existence of the story as a central and defining history in the Bible and the history of Israel) and in the local Egyptian color given in the biblical account and supported by archaeological finds."So the Exodus story being told in the Bible is taken as "evidence" (albeit indirect). And, as an example of their number one most favorite of all time techniques, they contradict themselves oh so subtly (so that the unsuspecting reader is hopeless to detect) by capping off a section in which they've established all the reasons why the archaeological evidence for the Exodus is so scant and questionable, with: "...and supported by archaeological finds." The self-perception of these men is breathtaking.3. The Israelites, passing through the land of Moab where the king, threatened, sought to sabotage them sent them a number of prostitutes. The Israelites "welcomed" them wholeheartedly and were punished by God because of their actions. This is how these authors, utterly incapable of admitting wrongdoing by their home team, characterizes the debauchery: "Balaam developed an alternate means of attack on Israel through the use of cult prostitutes to bring some of the Israelites into a context of worship to Baal at Peor (Num 25)."Of course the reader has no idea what they mean by "context of worship," so mission accomplished.4. To their credit, in the Introduction the authors reveal their purpose in writing this book, namely: by any means necessary and by any archaeological record available, confirm the veracity of the Bible. "The incompleteness of the historical data available to us from archaeology should warn against the attempt to use it to critique the more oft complete information in the literary documents. For this reason it is improper to elevate the archaeological data above the biblical text in order to challenge the latter's integrity. Therefore, the Bible, as a literary document, should be given priority in the final determination of accuracy in the history it records."And, it continues, with the best part: "Moreover, it should be recognized that the Bible is both a literary and archaeological document, and so it represents the best surviving testimony we possess in the archaeological record of biblical times, places, and events."This is not a book about the Bible, it's certainly not a book about archaeology, not even a book about biblical archaeology. It's a carnival ride with lots of blinking lights and merry-go-rounds sounds, and it does go round and round and round...and round. Be sure to watch your step as you make your way to the exit.

The book isn’t as good as I had hoped. Zondervan products are normally the absolute best, and this tomb isn’t bad, but I found the organization and writing somewhat confusing and boring. I am used to reading, and writing, dry prose aimed at transmitting information and little else. Entertaining writing isn’t the first goal; however, such writing must avoid confusion and it should hold, as a secondary goal, to at least being interesting. For some hard to explain reasons, at least to me, it isn’t interesting. I was hoping for a complete discussion of the findings on very early civilizations and how they fit with Bibical reports on that era. The discussion was abbreviated at best. Same for the flood, and other sections of the Bible that are important for me.Is the book worth the price? Allowing for the normally high price for these products, usually worth it, I can’t say this book falls into that category.AD2