Ancient Israel: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It? (T&t Clark) [Paperback]

Lester L. Grabbe (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 056703254X | ISBN-13: 978-0567032546 | Publication Date: February 25, 2008 | Edition: Revised

A number of 'histories of Israel' have been written over the past few decades yet the basic methodological questions are not always addressed: how do we write such a history and how can we know anything about the history of Israel?

In Ancient Israel Lester L. Grabbe sets out to summarize what we know through a survey of sources and how we know it by a discussion of methodology and by evaluating the evidence. Grabbe's aim is not to offer a history as such but rather to collect together and analyze the materials necessary for writing such a history. His approach therefore allows the reader the freedom, and equips them with the essential methodological tools, to use the valuable and wide-ranging evidence presented in this volume to draw their own conclusions.

The most basic question about the history of ancient Israel, how do we know what we know, leads to the fundamental questions of the study: What are the sources for the history of Israel and how do we evaluate them? How do we make them 'speak' to us through the fog of centuries?

Grabbe focuses on original sources, including inscriptions, papyri, and archaeology. He examines the problems involved in historical methodology and deals with the major issues surrounding the use of the biblical text when writing a history of this period. Ancient Israel makes an original contribution to the field but also provides an enlightening overview and critique of current scholarly debate. It can therefore serve as a 'handbook' or reference-point for those wanting a catalog of original sources, scholarship, and secondary studies.

Its user-friendly structure and Grabbe's clarity of style make this book eminently accessible not only to students of biblical studies and ancient history but also to the interested lay reader.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Equally well oriented in the historical and archaeological basis for Hebrew and ancient Near Eastern studies and in current theoretical and methodological debates, not many are as qualified as Professor Grabbe to write a volume like this.

Combining a multitude of insights, Professor Grabbe is able to show that robust history is not "just another story". Rather, it must contain positivistic truth in some form. This important new book points out the way for future historians of ancient Israel as situated somewhere in the middle between "postmodernism" and "naïve empiricism""—Hans M. Barstad, University of Edinburgh

(Hans M. Barstad, University of Edinburgh )

'The study of the history of ancient Israel has become in recent years a difficult and confusing arena, full of loud and discordant voices and yet crying out for a serious and substantial guide to all the noise. Lester Grabbe, one of the most prolific scholars in the field, offers in Ancient Israel a clear and tightly packed review of all the essential issues in reconstructing Israelite history. Particularly striking is his detailed appreciation of the archaeological data, without which, as he demonstrates, a history of ancient Israel would suffer gross distortion and incompleteness. At the same time, Grabbe remains acutely aware of the Hebrew Bible and the challenge of using it as a source on ancient Israel. His summary lists of what, in the light of critical analysis and comparison of the non-Biblical evidence, may be historically accurate, or probable, or inaccurate in the Biblical accounts is only one of the many pluses in this valuable book.'
Peter Machinist, Hancock Professor of Hebrew and Other Oriental Languages, Harvard University, USA

"There can be no better guide to the subject than Professor Grabbe, both for the thoroughness of his discussions and for the convincing nature of his conclusions."

Reviewed in Church Times, 2008

"Professor Grabbe has once again admirably served the community of scholars in ancient Israelite history with his newest volume, Ancient Israel...Ancient Israel is a tremendously informed and useful book that readers will find very helpful in a variety of contexts, whether for general pedagogical purposes or as a reader in the seminar context or as a reference tool in the research environment. It is a welcome change of course, given that progress in the field otherwise had all but become stagnant in the rather polarized, late twentieth-century world of minimalism versus maximalism (although one might aver that such a polarizing stage constitutes a predictable [and necessary?] one in the process of intellectual advancement). Readers will be immensely indebted to Professor Grabbe for Ancient Israel. It invited extensive and detailed engagement." - Brian B. Schmidt, Review of Biblical Literature, August 2008 (Brian B. Schmidt )

"Grabbe's methodology is firmly emphasized: all potential sources should be considered; preference should be given to original sources; the longue durée must always be kept in mind; each episode or event has to be judged on its own merits; all reconstructions are provisional; all reconstructions must be argued for. Grabbe notes that writing a history of ancient Israel and Judah is no different than writing any other history and "the most fruitful method is the multiple-source approach." An excellent current 55-page bibliography is a significant strength. Summing up: Recommended. Upper-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers." - H. M. Szpek, CHOICE, August 2008 (H. M. Szpek Choice )

'Few areas of recent scholarly investigation have been conductedas vigorously, vehmently, and at times even viciously, as the history of ancient Israel. This volume provides a clear and balanced introduction to the issues at the forefront of this debate and Grabbe is well place to offer such an advanced introduction'.

Charlotte Hempel, University of Birmingham

Journal of Jewish Studies, LIX No 2, Autumn 2008

(Charlotte Hempel )

"A most valuable addition to all existing handbooks on the history of ancient Israel."

International Review of Biblical Studies, vol. 54:2007/08

"The book contains much that the evangelical reader will appreciate ... I am happy to have Grabbe's Ancient Israel on my bookshelf."

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, December 2008

"The amount of material amassed by Grabbe will prove useful studying Israelite history, and his comments on it are always intelligent and interesting, even where opinions may differ."

(J.A. Emerton Journal For The Study Of The Old Testament )

"Grabbe's method of presentation ensures that readers have enough information to form their own conclusions about ancient Israel, or at least to locate and evaluate the relevant sources themselves....the book is a valuable addition to the shelf of the biblical scholar. Pastors and lay readers will likely find it surprising in many ways, including the information it provides about what ancient historical sources recorded about 'ancient Israel,' how this information cannot help confirm or refute many biblical stories, and how little written evidence (outside the Bible) ancient Israel left of itself." - Interpretation (Interpretation )

"This book is not a history as such but an attempt to discuss the issues relating to writing a history of Israel. Grabbe guides the reader through this thickest of questions, giving the pros and cons on each question, but tending toward the so-called minimalist position although he avoids the ad hominen arguments that are common in this field today... The bibliography is first rate, with forty items by the author himself." — Currents in Theology and Mission (Currents In Theology and Mission )

"This book admirably fills a gap in the scholarly discussion of the history of Ancient Israel. Lester Grabbe brings forward all of the relevant evidence—structures, epigraphy, inscriptions, material remains, literary records—and walks the reader carefully through all the aspects of them. The vast bibliography—running 54 pages!—identifies the in situ origins of the material and the subsequent scholarly discussions. The book, then, serves as a vademecum for historical analysis, and it can serve as a model for illustrating how historical inquiry of any subject should be conducted."
-Leo Madden, Catholic Books Review

"Equally well oriented in the historical and archaeological basis for Hebrew and ancient Near Eastern studies and in current theoretical and methodological debates, not many are as qualified as Professor Grabbe to write a volume like this.

Combining a multitude of insights, Professor Grabbe is able to show that robust history is not "just another story". Rather, it must contain positivistic truth in some form. This important new book points out the way for future historians of ancient Israel as situated somewhere in the middle between "postmodernism" and "naïve empiricism""—Hans M. Barstad, University of Edinburgh

(, )

'The study of the history of ancient Israel has become in recent years a difficult and confusing arena, full of loud and discordant voices and yet crying out for a serious and substantial guide to all the noise. Lester Grabbe, one of the most prolific scholars in the field, offers in Ancient Israel a clear and tightly packed review of all the essential issues in reconstructing Israelite history. Particularly striking is his detailed appreciation of the archaeological data, without which, as he demonstrates, a history of ancient Israel would suffer gross distortion and incompleteness. At the same time, Grabbe remains acutely aware of the Hebrew Bible and the challenge of using it as a source on ancient Israel. His summary lists of what, in the light of critical analysis and comparison of the non-Biblical evidence, may be historically accurate, or probable, or inaccurate in the Biblical accounts is only one of the many pluses in this valuable book.’
Peter Machinist, Hancock Professor of Hebrew and Other Oriental Languages, Harvard University, USA

“Professor Grabbe has once again admirably served the community of scholars in ancient Israelite history with his newest volume, Ancient Israel…Ancient Israel is a tremendously informed and useful book that readers will find very helpful in a variety of contexts, whether for general pedagogical purposes or as a reader in the seminar context or as a reference tool in the research environment. It is a welcome change of course, given that progress in the field otherwise had all but become stagnant in the rather polarized, late twentieth-century world of minimalism versus maximalism (although one might aver that such a polarizing stage constitutes a predictable [and necessary?] one in the process of intellectual advancement). Readers will be immensely indebted to Professor Grabbe for Ancient Israel. It invited extensive and detailed engagement.” - Brian B. Schmidt, Review of Biblical Literature, August 2008 (, )

“Grabbe’s methodology is firmly emphasized: all potential sources should be considered; preference should be given to original sources; the longue durée must always be kept in mind; each episode or event has to be judged on its own merits; all reconstructions are provisional; all reconstructions must be argued for. Grabbe notes that writing a history of ancient Israel and Judah is no different than writing any other history and “the most fruitful method is the multiple-source approach.” An excellent current 55-page bibliography is a significant strength. Summing up: Recommended. Upper-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers.” - H. M. Szpek, CHOICE, August 2008 (, Choice )

'Few areas of recent scholarly investigation have been conductedas vigorously, vehmently, and at times even viciously, as the history of ancient Israel. This volume provides a clear and balanced introduction to the issues at the forefront of this debate and Grabbe is well place to offer such an advanced introduction'.

Charlotte Hempel, University of Birmingham

Journal of Jewish Studies, LIX No 2, Autumn 2008

(, )

"The amount of material amassed by Grabbe will prove useful studying Israelite history, and his comments on it are always intelligent and interesting, even where opinions may differ."

(, Journal For The Study Of The Old Testament )

"Grabbe's method of presentation ensures that readers have enough information to form their own conclusions about ancient Israel, or at least to locate and evaluate the relevant sources themselves….the book is a valuable addition to the shelf of the biblical scholar. Pastors and lay readers will likely find it surprising in many ways, including the information it provides about what ancient historical sources recorded about 'ancient Israel,' how this information cannot help confirm or refute many biblical stories, and how little written evidence (outside the Bible) ancient Israel left of itself." - Interpretation (Interpretation )

About the Author

Lester L. Grabbe is Professor of Hebrew Bible and Early Judaism at the University of Hull. He is founder and convenor of the European Seminar in Historical Methodology. A recent book is Ancient Israel: What Do We Know and How Do We Know it?

Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: T&T Clark Int'l; Revised edition (February 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 056703254X
• ISBN-13: 978-0567032546
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #112,263 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Comprehensive Explication of All We Know about Ancient Isreal as of 2007, July 25, 2008

By 

David E. Blair (Columbia, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ancient Israel: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It? (T&t Clark) (Paperback)

Lester Grabbe is not a household name in the Western hemisphere. However, in Europe, he is a highly respected scholar of Ancient Israel and Second Temple Judaism. He is a brilliant and disciplined historian and a noted textual critic. In the mid-nineteen nineties, he founded the European Seminar on Methodology in an attempt to foster academic consensus in this contentious area of scholarship. Under Grabbe's leadership, this Seminar has been very productive, and its work well received. And, by his own admission, it has failed to bring about the consensus that he sought. Members of the Seminar represent a variety of scholarly opinions from conservative to minimalist. Biblical literalists have chosen not to join this group, however, over time they have become less and less a factor in the academy. Commendably, Grabbe in this work considers all positions from those of William Albright in archaeology and John Bright in history to those of Niels P. Lemche and Thomas L. Thompson.

The book is arranged in three sections, an introduction to methodology, historical investigations, and a conclusion. Also, included is a massive bibliography heavily weighted to archaeological studies as well as three indexes which cover ancient sources, modern authors, and subjects. It should be noted that the author's working title for this project was "Prolegomena to a History of ancient Israel..." Therefore, this is but a prelude to the writing of a history of ancient Israel. This is a reference and analytical work covering all the currently known sources of information on the topic. Primary sources contemporary with the actual events are considered paramount followed in importance by secondary sources, such as the Bible, from antiquity, and then lastly modern scholarly works. However, any future scholar who might wish to disregard this work would do so at his own peril. The author's exposition of what we know at present coupled with his analysis of this material acts as a massive delimiter on any future history of ancient Israel barring new discoveries of primary and/or secondary sources.

Chapter one is a prolonged discussion of "Principles and Methods." This is primer on how history is done. It also discusses some of the particular problems facing the historian of ancient Israel including high versus low chronologies, forged artifacts, and ideology. On one hand, Grabbe finds very little common ground with the American schools of Biblical archaeology and Biblical history epitomized by Albright and Bright and their successors. But on the other hand, he is critical of the minimalists. And, he loathes the general lack of methodological rigor displayed in far too much of what passes for scholarly production coming out of religious studies programs and schools of theology. Furthermore, Grabbe especially decries the shallow imposition of social science methodologies and models on ancient history which is so prevalent in much of modern liberal scholarship.

The historical investigation section is divided by chronology into chapters and displays an evenhanded approach towards both the sources and previous scholarship. In short, Grabbe finds no verification of the patriarchal narratives, and that there may be some basis for the exodus story which is currently unknowable. The traditions of Saul, David, and Solomon have historical value but not in the form presented in the Old Testament, and there is no support in the sources for the unified monarchy or the Solomonic empire. It is only with the advent of the Omri dynasty in Israel around 850 BCE that our knowledge of some events becomes verifiable. Our knowledge of Judah based on the primary sources is even later and dates to the mid-eighth century BCE at the earliest. However, as one approaches 586 BCE the terminus of the history of ancient Israel, we know more and more about Judah. And, much of this can be cross referenced into the Biblical accounts with confidence. The synthesis section at the end of each chapter compliments the facts and the analysis preceding them. The conclusion is but a short synopsis of the synthesis materials. If you are anything but a most advanced scholar of the history of ancient Israel, I commend this book to your attention. There is much to learn here regardless of your theological predilections.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fair review of some basic evidence about the history of ancient Israel, December 14, 2007

By 

Jill Malter ([e-mail]) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ancient Israel: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It? (T&t Clark) (Paperback)

I found this to be an interesting book. Given that histories of ancient Israel have often been highly political works, it is good to see someone attempt to simply discuss what sort of evidence we have as a starting point. The result is a cautious book in which the author hesitates to speculate on the answers to some fundamental questions about the history of the region, but that's okay. After all, this book is not supposed to be a history of ancient Israel but a guide to the relevant evidence that one ought to consider were one to try to write such a history.

Only when we get to the reigns of Omri and Ahab are we on relatively solid ground about the names of the rulers and the rough timing of their rules. And Grabbe discusses at some length some of the major historical events described in the Old Testament and the extent to which they have been confirmed or refuted by other sources.

What about the existence of earlier kings, such as Saul, David, or Solomon? Did they exist at all? Did Israel exist back then? Even according to the cautious Grabbe, the best guess is that they did. We have the Merneptah Stele which appears to date from a little before 1200 BCE which refers to Israel. And while the Biblical accounts of the reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon may be very untrustworthy, it is reasonable to surmise that these rulers existed. I think it is certainly a more rational approach to make such a guess than reject it solely because one does or does not like monotheists, Jews, or the Israel of the twentieth century!

What happens when we go further back? After all, there is a question: where do the Ten Commandments and the tradition of celebrating Passover come from? Were they simply made up out of whole cloth on the spur of the moment by a single individual on the first day that we can prove they were written about? Here, Grabbe simply gives up and only explains that some of the wilder aspects of the Exodus story are not true! A really huge slave revolt did not happen when and where the story says. Nor did the miracles happen! But that is not the question, and Grabbe seems to miss this point. One question ought to be whether the Ten Commandments actually came from someone who had been in the Pharaoh's court in Egypt, and was said to never in fact have been in the land of Israel. Another might be whether the story of people having been slaves in Egypt had anything to do with the actual Hebrews of the Levant. No matter how skeptical one may be, one can not safely assume that Moses never existed, nor that the story of the Exodus had no connection whatsoever with reality. Grabbe does try to discuss evidence that the origin of the word Yahweh may date to the time of Moses, but this isn't the main question.

As a matter of fact, the stories about the Patriarchs suggest that there may have been an Abrahamic tradition among the Hebrew people followed by some sort of Mosaic tradition. Once again, being a total skeptic does not completely work: you can't be sure of getting the answer right just by saying that nothing about this has a connection to truth. Needless to say, the Patriarchs are far enough back so that Grabbe can't make much out of the stories about them. The best he can do is say that there's no serious evidence to show what time period these stories refer to. I can't blame him for that, but once again, he not only fails to answer the main question but also fails to seriously discuss it.

I'm a very skeptical person. But this book made me imagine having a discussion with someone whose study of Christian texts was limited to everything written since the very first Gutenberg Bible. What if that person said that Christianity was invented by Gutenberg, who wrote the whole Bible, invented the entire history of Israel as well as Jesus, and invented the existence of Jews and Christians as well? Grabbe does warn us that we can't just toss out evidence and that we need to consider all sources on their merits. But I would want to be very careful about coming up with hypotheses which are so cautious that they might look as preposterous as the one about Gutenberg inventing the entire story of Jews and Christians.

I think this book is pretty good, and I like the fact that the author is cautious rather than prone to wild speculation. As such, it puts some of the history of ancient Israel in a valuable perspective.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book is Very New and Shipped Very Quickly, April 15, 2010

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Loopy Laine (Columbus, Ohio, US) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Ancient Israel: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It? (T&t Clark) (Paperback)

I needed this book for a class and the school bookstore was all out and I found it on Amazon for a much better price and it got to me in only 3 days and I got a confirmation hours after I ordered it. The book itself looks brand new and has no markings or scratches or anything in or on it. I haven't read the whole thing yet, but so far, it's very informative about the ways of historically analyzing archaeology in ancient Israel. It's a little hard to understand at first and has a lot of dates and events that are very specific, but it's a really great book to work from with my class on ancient Israel.