Prelude to Israel's Past: Background and Beginnings of Israelite History and Identity

Rating:
Summary: Objective scholarly analysis of a Biblical world
Review: A clean, refreshing and unbaised look at the Biblical world and its relation to genuine history. Establishing that there is no possible credible relationship between the Bilical world and genuine ancient world the author approaches the logical and only remaining question of what then is the Bible and provides a well discussed thesis on the Biblical texts. Matters are analysed in a thourough, clear and concise way which is accessible to any reader. The book can be recommended on at least the basis that the author sets out neither trying to prove or disprove the historicity of the Bible but arrives at his outcomes on the basis of pure objective scholarship. A most valuable introduction and example to budding historians of how to approach the study ancient documents in an objective way.

Rating:
Summary: Beating up a straw man argument
Review: The interesting parts of this work dealing with questions of whether archeology presents evidence of an Exodus, has been dealt with before by better scholars, Finkelstein in particular. No scholars believe these stories to be historic nor is anyone arguing about them. What the authors have done is create a fictitious argument and then come forward with 'answers.'

The rest of the arguments about when stories in the bible were written down, why, and by whom are presented with little supporting data and ignoring the mountain of evidence that contradicts the authors thesis. I suggest if you are interested in this topic reading "what did the bible writers know" by william dever (awful title, but good book).

Lemche is one of the leading proponents of 'biblical revisionism' an effort argue that the bible and ancient Israel are literary figments. They make this argument in the face of reams of independent data to the contrary. I leave it to the reader to figure out the reason why.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding introduction to the biblical world
Review: This is a thorough introduction to the historical, social, literary, and especially historiographical issues of reading the Bible as a collection of ancient texts. The main emphasis is on the early biblical period, but many of the book's insights are applicable for the whole of the biblical period and the discussion often extends into later parts of the Bible. It is precisely what is needed by those who want to understand the nature of the Bible and its subjects in their ancient Near Eastern contexts. The writer is well informed on the relevant information and bibliography (it is easy to follow Lemche's views to their roots in reputable contemporary scholarship, and on every topic he offers an expertly selected list of suggested supplementary readings), yet most readers will find his style not only accessible but interesting. The biblical world is different from our world, and the Bible was not produced the way we might expect looking back from our own cultural and historical context. Reading the Bible is a cross-cultural experience, and most readers need a reliable guide to its foreign culture. The author has indeed played a role in the dispute over the so-called minimalists in biblical history. This work however is scarcely susceptible to the charges usually levied. The historiographical issues the author addresses are ones that all historians of the ancient world, as well as general readers interested in that world, must come to terms with, and he addresses them with a welcome fairmindedness, circumspection, courtesy, and pointedness. A highly recommended resource.