Customer Reviews

The View from Nebo: How Archeology Is Rewriting the Bible and Reshaping the Middle East

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Because I have an MA in ancient history and my main area of interest is the Near East and Egypt, I expected to find The View from Nebo an interesting read. To some extent I did, but for the most part I found it somewhat confusing. I had expected the author's main thrust to be the newer archaeological data on the biblical period and a clarification of the life and cultures of that period. Instead what I found was an overview of some of that data, of the personalities involved in the research and of the on going problems in the modern Middle East. The author is a journalist rather than an archaeologist, and while her vita might not lend itself to "expert" views on the topic under discussion, it should have led to a less biased view of the overall work in the field. Instead the book seems to wander from topic to topic, starting off well in some parts but then going off the rails or at least onto side tracks all over the Middle East using biblical narrative as justification for the digressions.

I found particularly confusing the author's embarrassing confrontation with modern Egyptian archaeologists and museologists over the Exodus tradition. I wasn't quite sure what had she expected to accomplish other than to irritate her hosts. With an extensive native history of its own, with limited funds for excavation, preservation, presentation, and publication, and with a tumultuous relationship with modern Israel, why would Egypt feel compelled to study or present the history of the Exodus? Were they expected to be "good sports?" Were they expected to emulate the recent papal move, and as to Galileo, apologize? For what? I couldn't help but suspect the trip had functioned as a tax write-off for an exotic vacation.

I was also rather surprised to have the Exodus used to date the explosion on ancient Thera. The occurrence of the Exodus itself is difficult to document; certainly people of Levantine origin crossed and recrossed Egypt's borders in antiquity, and doubtless some of these people contributed genetic material to the creators of the Israelite nation state. That this occurred in the manner in which it was described in the Bible, which is hard put to it to remain consistent with its own narrative, would be--indeed has been--difficult to prove. The event on Santorini (ancient Thera), though it would conveniently explain a lot about the biblical plagues and the tsunami like behavior of the Sea of Reeds, can be dated by geophysical methods and core samples taken from the northern and southern ice sheets. A volcanic event is an indisputable fact of nature, and geologists would place this one at a much earlier date than 1500 BCE. If the author wants to use it to date the Exodus, then the Exodus occurred considerably earlier, the reverse dating is not doable!

What I felt the author did do extremely well in the book was to point out how "history" is reshaped by each new generation to meet it's own needs and philosophy and to point out that historical "truth" is something redefined with each rewriting of the narrative. It reminded me of Shaw's general in the Devil's Disciple. When asked by his aide what history would say when the British army surrendered to the Americans during the civil war, he responded that "History would lie as usual." And again of Napoleon's "History is lies agreed upon." As the author points out, each of the modern day states in the Middle East has chosen its particular brand of historical truth to achieve its own agenda.

When I found this book in the inventory of a local discount book liquidator, priced at less than six dollars, I felt gratified by what appeared to be an extraordinary bargain presenting itself to me. An acquaintance of mine had heard claims that its author, Amy Dockser Marcus, had uncovered a great deal of new information regarding the historicity of the Hebrew Bible, and ever since had persistently and enthusiastically asked me to read this book so that I could give her my "expert" (I am a doctoral student with a candidacy for a Ph.D. in Near Eastern History, specializing in the formation and development of ancient Israel) opinion of it. Having been led into a state of hopeful expectation by my friend's enthusiasm, I began to read this book as soon as I returned home from the bookstore, only to find myself immediately disappointed at the poor quality of Ms. Marcus' work.

This is an exasperating text to read. It is composed in a style that is confusing and seemingly without direction, and defies the reader's every attempt to determine what the point of the author's treatment might be. The book is filled with incomplete thoughts, non-sequitors, latent postulations, and sudden reversals of the tone and tenor of its argumentation. Archaeological discoveries of monumental importance are blithely noted and then passed by, leaving the reader in a state of unrequited expectation, waiting for the other foot to fall. Other discoveries of equal importance are completely omitted from discussion, possibly because they render the positions of Biblical apologists completely untenable. Ms. Marcus also contradicts herself on many important points developed in the text, and I got the sense at times that she was being unwittingly impelled to and fro across a landscape of contentious scholarship by a number of conflicting forces. It seems that her ignorance of the subject matter leaves her insensible to the true depth and nature of the conflicts in which she has become embroiled. Thus, the resulting composition contains a number of mischaracterizations of both scholars and the data they treat, and frequently launches into unprofitable tangents away from relevant analysis.

Further, Ms. Marcus commits some grotesque factual errors in her text. For example, she states that most modern scholars believe that the island of Thera erupted ca. 1500 BCE, and states that a portion of the "historical" basis for the Exodus narrative might be found in this event. However, the fact is that such low dating of the Thera eruption has always been in the minority opinion of scholarship, and has been refuted by recent radiometric, isotopic ratiometric, and other physical studies that allow us to conclude with strong certainty that Thera's eruption occurred in the seventeenth century BCE. Similarly, she claims that historians have never offered a satisfactory explanation of why a tradition of a past slavery in Egypt would emerge among the Israelites if it were not based on fact. However, an analysis of the works of Stiebing, Fields, and other prominent historians gives the lie to this claim, showing that there are a number of models that adequately explain the emergence of such a tradition as an historical fiction. These historical models exclude no pertinent data from their analyses, which, of course, cannot be accurately stated of the models produced by any Biblical apologist.

This book also suffers from Ms. Marcus' clear bias and partiality on the issues she discusses. The positions and factual underpinnings of the scholarship of the "Copenhagen School" are somewhat misrepresented and largely minimalized, while the positions of a vast cadre of Biblical apologists are substantially over-credited. She seems to be unduly influenced by some key personalities (such as William Dever), and I got the impression that at times the author was "duped" regarding the true motives and imperatives that motivate some of the scholars upon whom she relies (several of whom I know personally). At other times Ms. Marcus has her own philosophical ax to grind. Models developed from the impartial application of disciplined historical methodologies are termed "radical" or "highly controversial", whereas thoroughly disproven and discredited positions of Biblical apologists are given strong credence. She seems to want to maintain the relevance of the Biblical narrative, though in slightly non-traditional terms, and refuses to give proper countenance to the vast amount of data that completely undermines the Bible's veracity as an historical document.

However, with the foregoing detractions being noted, this book might prove to be of value to novices in the field of Near Eastern History. The author does provide an extensive bibliography and list of source references, and for this reason I give this book two stars in my rating instead of only one. But for those of us who possess more than a rudimentary knowledge of the subject, this book cannot fail but to disappoint. I would recommend that all serious students of the ancient Near East eschew this book in preference of more scholarly, objective, and reliable works.

The View From Nebo is not just about the Bible, or about archaeology, or about the Middle East. It's about all three, and that's what I found so interesting about it. Amy Dockser Marcus weaves together archaeological finds and how they might change well-known biblical accounts-such as the story of the Israelites' Exodus from Egypt and the image of King Solomon as the Bible's greatest builder-along with what's happening in the Middle East today. Each chapter gives you background about the traditional reading of the biblical text and also explains how archaeology might add or change that story. Marcus is a journalist, so the style of writing is very accessible and the book moves very quickly. It made me want to join a dig this summer!

I just returned from a trip to the Middle East and picked up this book. I wish I had been able to read it before I left. I traveled to many of the sites it mentions, such as Jerusalem, the pyramids in Egypt and Mount Nebo in Jordan, but there was so much information in the book that the tour guides don't tell you. The most interesting part to me was the chapter about Egypt and the Exodus story. I had visited the pyramids, but had no idea that just a short distance away from where I was standing, archaeologists had uncovered an entire cemetery of graves of workers who built the pyramids. The information that archaeologists are providing about what the workers' lives were really like is different from the image that I had of what it must have been like building the pyramids. The book provides an additional history of the region - all the information not found in the guidebooks and travelogues!

This is a lovely book, one that I really enjoyed reading. It made me look at the Bible in a new way, and at the Middle East. What I found most interesting were the connections made thoughout the book between the past and the present, and the way the Bible has stayed relevant throughout the ages even as scholars, historians, and now archaeologists change the way that we view the text. This isn't a dry or academic study -- it is filled with fascinating details about the people and the digs as well as the biblical history -- and the mixture of Bible stories, archaeology, and the modern debates made the book rich and accessible, particularly to someone like me who loves the Bible and history but is not in the professional field. I am going to recommend it to our book group.

Being a student of such matters, I had high expectations of this book. I have long been an avid follower of the Context Group, an association of anthropologists, theologins, and linguists who study the Biblical period. I have read dozens of works by Rorhbaugh, Neyrey, Malina, Moxnes, and others, all of which were both insightful and captivating. Hence, I was very excited about Miss Marcus' book and what light it might shed on recent discoveries in the field. Unfortunately Miss Marcus' book does not quite reach the level I had expected of it.

This is not to say it is a poorly written or researched book. As for the research, it has the most detailed appendicies I have ever seen in a book published for the general public. She has checked her facts and documented them to the satisfaction of even the most diligent scholar. When a theory is in dispute, she explains the dispute and its background.

The problem I found was the writing itself and the general organization of the book as a whole. Miss Marcus is a journalist. It is clear from her writing that she is more comfortable reporting on things she has seen and done than recounting the minutae of academic anthropology. The book has all the information, it just lacks the enthusiasm that would be expected in the recounting of such remarkable discoveries. For instance, the revision of the chronology of Unified Kingdoms is monumental as far as Biblical studies are concerned, yet it is presented as just another part of the story.

I do not know of Miss Marcus' background in Biblical archeology. I know she was a Middle East reporter for the Wall Street Journal. As such, she has a remarkable grasp of the present situation in the Middle East, of its politics and its geography. It might be suspected that thorough though she is, she lacks the visceral understanding of the theological importance of these discoveries. The understanding that leads to the "Oh my!" exclamation when confronted with a revolutionary idea. Perhaps she does have this understanding and simply fails to impart her enthusiasm. Perhaps the editing process extracted the excitement from the original text. However it may be, the book simply lacks the feeling necessary to impart the importance of the discoveries to the reader.

In the final analysis, I would recommend it. Its facts are correct and it is informative. However, only read it if you are already devoted to the study of Biblical archeology. If you are not, you might become bored. Should you find yourself in the latter category, get a copy of Richard Rohrbaugh's latest book on social and cultural anthropology in the Biblical period, read it first, then return to Miss Marcus' book. You will be rewarded for your trouble.

A major disappointment, but worth reading if you get it from the library. It is not in any sense a critique of the newly emerging archeological finds in the Middle East. It is a rambling collection of impressions from a somewhat informed, but certainly untrained (in archeology, history or anthropology), correspondent. It would have been more accurate on the book jacket to say that these are the personal reflections of the author, rather than to profess some objective or pragmatic approach. This is not in any way a "scientific" book, and probably belongs in the travel log or personal philosophy section of the book rack. (I fully concur with the other reviewer who suggested that the trip to Egypt was made as a vacation, with an obligatory bit of dialogue thrown into the book to keep the IRS happy - the entire section is drivel, demonstrating an almost total lack of preparation or background research on the author's part.)

The omissions, misunderstandings, and lack of depth show up in almost every section. But this may not be obvious to the casual reader, unless they have been following the developments made from recent excavations and new interpretations of old finds. Sadly, the author starts with too many preconceptions. The story of the exodus has no basis in archeology, and so the premise should be that it is a false claim, unless there is some evidence to support it. The list goes on. (I would suggest that the author read "Krakatoa", by Simon Winchester (a trained geologist turned correspondent) before offering any more theories on the Santorini eruption.)

BUT, if you set aside the lack of depth, and enjoy the book more as a personal journey of discovery (albeit an incomplete one), then it becomes enjoyable. Don't take what is in here as "fact" and you will be OK. Let it serve as a guide to some of the new emerging possibilities, and if you're interested, go learn more from authors who are noted historians, archeologists or anthropologists. There is a tremendous amount of new material on these subjects being published, and if this book gets you sufficiently interested to read the more erudite works, then it has served its purpose.

***
"The most important contributions of archaeology to biblical studies, are the various ways it illuminates the cultural and historical setting for the Bible, adds to our knowledge of the people, places, things, and events in the Bible, and its aid to translation and exegesis of biblical passages." Alfred J. Hoerth



Archaeology clarifies the Bible:
Do archaeological discoveries confirm Biblical traditions? Can an authentic history of Israel be factually written? The answers to these two questions have been pursued with new tools of research, and many books were written to harmonize Archaeology with Biblical book records. Archaeological discoveries could shed some light on information related to the Hebrew bible, and may offers illuminating clarifications to the biblical text. In his, "An Orientation to Biblical Archaeology," Professor William Dever introduces the reader to biblical archaeology, and how its terminology changed over the years, explains types of history, and methods archaeologists employ to learn about the ancient past. He demonstrates how archaeology can help us understand these Biblical figures in their historical contexts to locate nuggets of truth in their legendary tales. The author defended his position as a critic to the Copenhagen School on most issues, especially concerning David and Solomon reigns (pp. 122,3).

The View from mount Nebo:
Mount Nebo, from which Moses, according to Deuteronomy, was given a view of the promised land that Yahweh granted the Israelites, is a good starting point for the enthusiastic author, who was moved by history, religious fables, and encounters with mystery and faith. The view from the summit offers a panorama of the Holy Land. To arrive at her mission destination she had to make a tourist exploration that took the reader into very exciting wonderlands of discoveries from the Dead Sea scrolls to the Cairo Geniza, but her parallel trails of thousand years apart posed a hindrance rather than a help. Discussing the Patriarchs or Exodus is historiography far from a journalist reach, recently expressed by archaeology experts, Cline & Hallote as, "We ... have to address some very specific questions--from the whereabouts of Noah's Ark and the Garden of Eden to whether the Ark of the Covenant ever existed and if the parting of the Red Sea can be linked to the eruption of Thera in the Aegean." Writing on a more recent issue as the united monarchy, the author did not mention recent researches, like Coote's*, whom Neusner has praised as lucid and inviting. Her statement, that Israel and Judah were 'two of the twelve tribes...' is a blow to her historical qualification, and biblical knowledge; Israel was the alliance of ten tribes, excluding Benjamin and Judah.


Reviewing the View:
I do not agree with the qualified review by Amazed, that it is an exasperating text to read. I think the book engages the reader in a tour of past and present issues that helps in creating a view on sociopolitical and cultural inheritance of the Levant since the Jewish nation came out of the nursing bosom of Egypt. This is an exploratory attempt, and if the writer decides to update her initial impressions she may surprise even herself.

*Power, Politics, and the Making of the Bible: An Introduction
The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts

I purchased this book on the advice of a good friend, whose opinions I greatly respect. I have read this book and am disappointed. The author has taken a vast subject and attempted to condense it into a few pages, which does a disservice to the subject. I found the book confusing, rambling at times, and raising more questions than answers or providing me with the direction to find answers. I also laughed when she took the trouble to describe the appearance of experts or their physical appearance, at the expense of more substance. I have come away from my reading with a little more information, but desperately in need of another book or books with significantly more, on point, substance. Perhaps more information on Palestinian archaeological history together with Israeli history would have been a better, albeit longer, read.

As a person who once lived at the base of Mount Nebo (Arkansas that is), I suppose I am as qualified as anyone else writing a review for this book. I rather enjoyed this when I purchased it several years ago in my study of biblical archeology and then my re-reading recently when I became interested in the Nag Hammadi discoveries and 2nd century manuscripts in general.

It must be understood that the author - who by the way spent several years in the middle east as a journalist - wrote this book for the average Joe; not the scholar. And as an average Joe, I found it to be a pleasant tour guide through some of the less visited arenas in this part of the globe. We (or most of us) are all well aware that the Bible is not a history book nor it is a consistent geography map as the various writers and various memories strayed from the path on occasion. Bearing this in mind, the actual scratching of the soil leads to some conclusions that leave us scratching our heads.

Overall, it is a good read and will lead to deeper thought in a plethora of areas that a learned person will want to further explore.

Well done Amy Dockser Marcus.

You might also enjoy these books - Discovery!: Unearthing the New Treasures of Archaeology, Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why (Plus) and The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church's Conservative Icon

I hope you find this review helpful.

Michael L. Gooch, SPHR