Hebrew Bible and History: Critical Readings

Lester L. Grabbe is Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies and Early Judaism at the University of Hull, UK, and the author of numerous books on the history of Ancient Israel.

• ContentsOriginal PublicationIntroductionPrinciples for Writing HistoryContents of the VolumePart I: Studies in MethodologyIntroduction1. Herbert Niehr: ‘Some Aspects of Working with the Textual Sources’2. Hans M. Barstad: ‘The Strange Fear of the Bible: Some Reflections on the “Bibliophobia” in Recent Ancient Israelite Historiography’3. J. Maxwell Miller: ‘Is it Possible to Write a History of Israel without Relying on the Hebrew Bible?’4. Max Miller: ‘Reading the Bible Historically: The Historian's Approach’5. Nadav Na’aman: ‘Does Archaeology Really Deserve the Status of a “High Court” in Biblical Historical Research?’ 6. Ehud Ben Zvi: ‘Malleability and its Limits: Sennacherib’s Campaign against Judah as a Case-Study’7. Niels Peter Lemche: ‘On the Problems of Reconstructing Pre-Hellenistic Israelite (Palestinian) History’8. Thomas L. Thompson: ‘Text, Context, and Referent in Israelite Historiography’9. Lester L. Grabbe: ‘The Big Max: Review of A Biblical History of Israel by Iain Provan, V. Philips Long, and Tremper Longman III’10. Iain Provan, V. Philips Long, and Tremper Longman III: ‘“Who Is the Prophet Talking about, Himself or Someone Else?” (Acts 8.34): A Response to Lester Grabbe’s Review of A Biblical History of Israel’Further ReadingsPart II: The Beginnings of Israel and the Rise of the MonarchyIntroduction11. John Van Seters: ‘The Geography of the Exodus’12. Ernst Axel Knauf: ‘History in Joshua’13. Ernst Axel Knauf: ‘History in Judges’14. Diana Edelman: ‘Saul ben Kish in History and Tradition’15. Lester L. Grabbe: ‘The Mighty Men of Israel: 1-2 Samuel and History’16. Nadav Na’aman: ‘Sources and Composition in the History of David’17. Walter Dietrich: ‘David and the Philistines: Literature and History’18. Ernst Axel Knauf, ‘King Solomon’s Copper Supply’19. Hermann Michael Niemann: ‘The Socio-Political Shadow Cast by the Biblical Solomon’20. Ann E. Killebrew: ‘Biblical Jerusalem: An Archaeological Assessment’21. Rainer Albertz: ‘Secondary Sources also Deserve to Be Historically Evaluated: The Case of the United Monarchy’Further ReadingsPart III: Case Study: The Question of the Reform under JosiahIntroduction22. Philip R. Davies: ‘Josiah and the Law Book’23. Rainer Albertz: ‘Why a Reform like Josiah’s Must Have Happened’24. Christoph Uehlinger: ‘Was There a Cult Reform under King Josiah? The Case for a Well-Grounded Minimum’Further ReadingsPart IV: Case Study: The Problem of Nehemiah’s WallIntroduction25. Israel Finkelstein: ‘Geographical Lists in Ezra and Nehemiah in the Light of Archaeology: Persian or Hellenistic?’26. Oded Lipschits: ‘Jerusalem between Two Periods of Greatness: The Size and Status of the City in the Babylonian, Persian and Early Hellenistic Periods’Further ReadingsPart V: Conclusions27. Lester L. Grabbe: ‘Seventeen Years of the European Seminar in Historical Methodology: The Results’Further ReadingsIndex

It is well known that for the last several decades the study of ancient Israelite history has been a hotbed of scholarly dispute. Lester Grabbe’s new book addresses this dispute directly. The essays, from a variety of scholars, range from general reflections on historical method to studies of particular episodes in the history of ancient Israel and the sources for them, especially the Hebrew Bible. To help the reader sort these essays out, Grabbe provides summaries of them, along with remarks on the common issues they treat and the context of contemporary scholarship to which they belong. The essays themselves are detailed and provocative, and while a number of them take a seriously critical stance toward the Hebrew Bible as a reliable historical source, Grabbe has sought in places to balance these out with others that offer an opposing or moderating voice. In all, a substantial volume that repays close scrutiny.