The View from Nebo: How Archaelogy Is Rewriting the Bible and Reshaping the Middle East - Hardcover

Marcus, Amy Dockser

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316561673 ISBN 13: 9780316561679

Publisher: Little Brown & Co, 2000

Synopsis

Blending science, history, and politics, the author examines new evidence about the biblical world to challenge existing notions about the Bible and its texts. 20,000 first printing.

About this title

About the Author

"Amy Dockser Marcus joined the Wall Street Journal in 1988 and from 1991 to 1998 was based in Tel Aviv as the newspaper's Middle East correspondent. She is currently a senior special writer in the Journal's Boston bureau."

Reviews

Were the ancient Jews unique in forbidding the eating of pork or was the prohibition more widespread in the region? Did King David really exist, or is he a mythical figure, a composite of several actual ancient leaders? Marcus, a Wall Street Journal contributor formerly reporting from the Middle East, describes the cutting-edge archeological research that is posing such questions. Yet, despite its intriguing subtitle, this book never convincingly demonstrates that archeology is, in fact, "reshaping the Middle East" or rewriting the Bible. Instead, Marcus provides something more modest: an engaging overview of the theories circulating in alternative contemporary biblical scholarship, on subjects such as Abraham, the Ammonites, the Exodus. Disappointingly, she fails to provide an adequate amount of political, historical or historiographical context in which to evaluate these new theories, and she never explains exactly how the new ideas fit into the overall state of contemporary biblical scholarship. Still, drawing from an extensive set of interviews she conducted with archeologists and others on the forefront of biblical scholarship, Marcus provides readers with a lovely window onto a little-known set of ideas. Some of this work may come to contradict, or even counteract, some of the basic political ideas of the modern state of Israel, but it seems clear that politicians, particularly in the Israeli context, will only utilize biblical scholarship if it fits their agenda--so it is unlikely that archeology alone will ever be able to "reshape the Middle East."
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Wall Street Journal Foreign correspondent Marcus offers a dry but ultimately fascinating look at how modern archaeologists and their recent discoveries at key biblical sites are reshaping traditional views of the Bible, as well as the entire map of the Middle East. Over the years archaeologists have studied biblical texts, historical finds, and ancient records recovered at sites throughout the Middle East, and on this basis they have created an accepted structure of Israels history. But recently, exciting new discoveries at sites such as Meggido, Jerusalem, and Hazor have led scholars to question the very foundations of these long-held beliefs. Scientific advances in the past 50 years have re-focused archaeological surveys away from biblical historicity to a more general investigation of the culture of the entire Middle East, and have brought astonishing new theories to light. For example, the origin of food prohibitions through the study of pig remains has now led to the belief that the Jewish dietary laws were not unique within the cultures of the Middle East: in fact, virtually no one in the region was eating pork during the biblical period. Another theory currently contested is that Israelite slaves built the pyramidsrather than skilled craftsmen and seasonal laborers, as many archaeologists now believe. Marcuss careful research and extensive interviews provide an excellent base for the exploration of these theories, but she often assumes the readers familiarity with biblical narrative and history. And, although a historical timeline is provided at the beginning of the book, those who may have forgotten who begat whom will find moments when the text becomes confusing, dense, and lifeless. Still, though Marcus may not always bring history to life, she offers a compelling glimpse into an undeniably fascinating topic. (Map of ancient Israel and its environs, not seen) (Readers Subscription Book Club/Natural Science Book Club alternate selection) -- Copyright ©2000, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Nebo, the mountain from which Moses gazed at the Promised Land, is the starting point for a cogent review of recent archaeology that illuminates biblical scholarship. Marcus, a journalist who covered the Middle East for the Wall Street Journal from 1991 to 1998, presents the latest research and thinking with clarity, synthesizing what is often published in news bites with little follow-up. Marcus argues that the Bible tells an incomplete and one-sided story of the region, which archaeology can substantiate or supplement. She documents how the discipline is used for political gain as well as for understanding history or exploring the veracity of the Bible. On the other hand, she finds that some archaeologists pay no heed to the Bible in pursuing their research. To support her conclusions, Marcus visited many of the sites and interviewed archaeologists and other scholars. Recommended to readers of archaeology and of Biblical history.DJoyce L. Ogburn, Univ. of Washington, Seattle
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Little Brown & Co
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0316561673
• ISBN 13: 9780316561679
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 284