Customer Reviews

Asimov's Guide to the Bible: The New Testament

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I bought this book on a lark: Isaac Asimov the science fiction writer? A secular history of the bible? Riiight...

Actually, Asimov was a very accomplished scientist, philosopher, and writer of both fiction and non-fiction. His 2 volume book set on the Bible is, as he makes it clear from the start, NOT a criticism of the Bible nor is it new work. It is a scholarly exploration, chapter by chapter of the most up to date (at the time) understanding of the history of the Ancient Middle East and how that relates to the English language version(s) of the Bible.
Exquisite detail is used to identify, explain, and cross-reverence the empires, nations, battles, names, etc, necessary to make sense of these complex histories/stories. He swiftly sums up, without judging, several confusing differences in spelling and dynasty orders that clog up part of the OT. Dozens of maps help to make locations and relationships between nations much more clear. Even when he points out that a story cannot be historical, he does so with straightforward explanations and direct references to previous parts of the volume itself where they were discussed. Where appropriate he also compares different translations, book/chapter titles, and canon versions.

Personally, I found his exploration of the "apocrypha" most enlightening. He does not waste time on why something was included or not included by goes directly to whether it has anything to teach us about history or the societies that wrote it an criticized it.

This book is over 40 years old and Professor Asimov is long since dead, but this book is as relevant today as it was in 1969. I've read it straight through to get an insight into _The New Testament_ and I am certain that I will be using it frequently as a reference book.