The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Sacred Texts

Israel Finkelstein · Neil Asher Silberman

Mar 2002 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

In this groundbreaking work that sets apart fact and legend, authors Finkelstein and Silberman use significant archeological discoveries to provide historical information about biblical Israel and its neighbors.

In this iconoclastic and provocative work, leading scholars Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman draw on recent archaeological research to present a dramatically revised portrait of ancient Israel and its neighbors. They argue that crucial evidence (or a telling lack of evidence) at digs in Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon suggests that many of the most famous stories in the Bible—the wanderings of the patriarchs, the Exodus from Egypt, Joshua’s conquest of Canaan, and David and Solomon’s vast empire—reflect the world of the later authors rather than actual historical facts.

Challenging the fundamentalist readings of the scriptures and marshaling the latest archaeological evidence to support its new vision of ancient Israel, The Bible Unearthed offers a fascinating and controversial perspective on when and why the Bible was written and why it possesses such great spiritual and emotional power today.

Ratings and reviews

Finkelstein would have you thinking the Bible is completely without merit. He takes issue with magnitudes, but the facts of history (the people, the prophecies, the places we wouldn't even know to look for were it not for biblical accounts) certainly are, or he wouldn't be digging himself. There are many of his peers, better scholars and archaeologists, who've properly dealt with his conclusions. See the Biblical Archeological Review.

It is a pleasure to have this very readable book available.....When the authors examine the Stones and the Foundations on the ground, these two form a thread of truth that enlarges our understanding of the Old Testament........As they bring parts of the Old Testament text to the fore, they remind us of the difficulty in interpreting the old Hebrew ---without vowels---, and the care with which we must look at the modern text. A similar unearthing is occurring in Persia where, under Cyrus the Great, interactions occurred between Zoroastrians and Hebrews. ...___... See ++ A HISTORY of ZOROASTRIANISM, Vol 2 ++ ISBN: 9004065067. ..._______... Also in ++ THE BOOK OF JOB ++, ISBN: 0060969598 the author Stephen Mitchell explicitly and beautifully shows the reader how difficult a translation of written text can be.

ever wonder about all the contradictions of the old testament? read this book then. it's refreshing to see a normal story of judah and israel, from facts that are set in stone. puts the bible in its correct dimension of politically motivated propaganda using the usual 'golden age' of the past and founders. nobody really believes that Romulus father was Mars the god or that Romulus existed, nobody should believe any longer that Moses existed. the religious value is not diminished, rather it is explained.

About the author

Israel Finkelstein is a professor of archaeology at Tel Aviv University. He is a leading figure in the archaeology of the Levant and the laureate of the 2005 Dan David Prize in the Past Dimension—Archaeology. Finkelstein served for many years as the Director of the Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University and is the co-Director of the Megiddo Expedition. He is the co-author, with Neil Silberman, of The Bible Unearthed and the author of many field reports and scholarly articles.

Neil Asher Silberman is director of historical interpretation for the Ename Center for Public Archaeology and Heritage Presentation in Belgium. He is a contributing editor to Archaeology magazine and the author of The Hidden Scrolls: Christianity, Judaism, and the War for the Dead Sea Scrolls; The Message and the Kingdom; and Digging for God and Country, among other books.