Customer Reviews

Harper's Encyclopedia of Bible Life

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Madeleine and J Lane Miller have written a valuable resource for the study of everyday life in Bible times. The blurb inside the dust jacket says that there are 74 subjects in 14 sections with 150 illustrations. There are sections on geography, homes, food, clothing, medicine, family events, the life of a nomad, the life of a professional, etc.

Let's say one is reading the story of David and Bathsheba. One might turn to the section on military life and read Soldering under David. There one might read that Saul was the first to establish a professional army in Israel rather than depend upon a militia. David added mercenaries to his army. In Israel mercenaries worked for wages but had no rights as a member of an Israelite tribe. A mercenary so totally belonged to the king that when a king died, like a concubine, a mercenary passed on to the king's heir. This raises the question to mind as to whether Uriah the Hittite was a mercenary along with other members of "the Thirty." One then might decide to read the section on Prostitutes. Prostitution did exist in Israel and there may have been temple prostitutes at Shiloh in the pre-monarchial period. Deuteronmic Law prohibited both male and female prostitution, but prostitution was a fact of life throughout the Ancient Near East.

Though the Millers have included a section on the Industrial Life, their book is lacking in discussing the economics of Bible life. There are no chapters on money or taxation. Even so I found this to be a valuable resource. When a favorite sister-in-law admired the book, I gave her my first copy. And then I missed the book so I went out and bought a second copy.

This book is very informative and worth the buy. It was in excellent condition when I received it, and I am very thankful. I will recommend this book and this site for purchasing more material.

This is a very well written book on the life of of the people who we read about in the Bible. It can be a little dry at times reading about very detailed life in ancient times and how they struggled but overall a very good reference for your library. The photos are in black and white.

This book really has an excellent cover!