A Biblical History of Israel, Second Edition

This is a maximalist approach, and a good one at that. It considers the validity of testimony as a proper source of history. The first part of the book makes that argument. Stick with it even though it can be tedious since it forms the basis for the next half of the book which is the better read. Since it covers a large section of history, it can’t get into as much detail about certain segments as I would have liked, nevertheless, it is a good overview. This book would be a good introduction to biblical history for seminary students as well as hobbyists who want to hold a historical perspective while reading the Old Testament.

This is one of the best books on the topic out there. The first part is an in-depth explanation of the philosophy of historical research in general, and emphasises on the importance of weighing all ancient sources judiciously, to reduce the risk of bias. The second part is the history of Israel proper, which I found very illuminating. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of Ancient Israel.

Amazing and fascinating book. I have to read it, but I am enjoying it's detail and thoughtfulness!

Good resource.

I do not recommend this book. There is a lot of skepticism that it bases it’s beliefs on. The verbage in the book is not based on normal terms but on a historians knowledge and historical terms. There is a lot of information that the author tries to use skepticism to prove points. This challenges much of the Bible and what is written in the Bible as not believeable yet wants to prove that different historians skepticism should be used instead.

Have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

Great historical reference

Boring and Nonsense. Do not waste your money and time on this junk.

love it!