The Oxford History of the Biblical World (Paperback)

by Michael D. Coogan (Editor) "By the time the nation of Israel emerged as a political entity in the late thirteenth century BCE, Near Eastern urban civilization had already grown..." (more)
Key Phrases: premonarchic era, bichrome pottery, three biblical books, Late Bronze Age, Iron Age, Sea Peoples (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Coogan (religious studies, Stonehill Coll.) has assembled a dozen scholars with impressive credentials in ancient Near Eastern studies to assist him in creating this work of immense scope. These contributors bring varied perspectives to their work as they draw from new primary and secondary sources based on recent archaeological excavations (often their own) and on translations of texts such as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Organized chronologically, the essays explore the many cultures of ancient Canaan, Israel, Judea, and Palestine from 10,000 B.C.E. to the rise of Islam in the seventh century C.E. Illustrations, maps, charts, chronologies, and bibliographies enhance the uniformly well-written essays. But the strengths of the work are its currency and breadth of coverage and perspective. Appropriate for all libraries with collections in religion or Near Eastern studies, and of particular interest to students of biblical history and archaeology. [For another book edited by Coogan, see The Illustrated Guide to World Religions, reviewed on p. 72.?Ed.]?Linda V. Carlisle, Southern Illinois Univ., Edwardsvill.
-?Linda V. Carlisle, Southern Illinois Univ., Edwardsville
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review
A comprehensive and meticulous survey of the socioeconomic, political, cultural, and ideological milieu in which the Bible was created and accepted as a foundational text of Judaism and Christianity....Highly readable, elegantly designed, lavishly illustrated with photographs, drawings, maps, schemes, and offering an annotated select bibliography at the end of each chapter, it may be recommended for students and general readership. -- Serge Frolov, Religious Studies Review, October 1999

Copiously-at times beautifully- illustrated and detailed with more than a score of descriptive maps, "The Oxford History of the Biblical World" rewards careful study and casual browsing. For those willing to open their minds to evidence and nuanced argument about the origins of faiths that have shaped our world, it is a worthy investment of time in the study of the timeless. -- David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, September 25, 1999

The volume is a valuable source of primary information on the Bible and its context. Highly readable, elegantly designed, lavishly illustrated with photographs, drawings, maps, schemes, and offering an annotated select bibliography at the end of each chapter, it may be recommended to students and general readership. -- Serge Frolov, Religious Studies Review, October 1999 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 508 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; Later Printing edition (June 7, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195139372
• ISBN-13: 978-0195139372
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #307,691 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The perfect textbook of Biblical history, January 14, 2000

By	Andrew K. Wong (Pasadena, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Oxford History of the Biblical World (Hardcover)

If I ever had to teach a course in Biblical history, this would be the required text. I would also assign Coogan's excellent "The Oxford Companion to the Bible" (B. Metzger & M. Coogan, eds.; Oxford UP: 1993) as supplemental reading. While "The Oxford Companion" is a one volume encyclopedia of general historical and theological Biblical topics, the "Oxford History" affords the most detailed and systematic (and illustrated) treatment of Biblical history and archaeology of the two. The two works complement each other very well.

"The Oxford History of the Biblical World" is a single volume work of outstanding scholarship and clarity. Thirteen chapters comprise the text (the prologue and epilogue are just as informative as the substantive chapters), each written by prominent experts in ancient Near-Eastern history. There is a consistent unity throughout the chapters despite their disparate authorships. Each chapter is thoroughly steeped in the history, geography, economics, culture and religion of the period. Lavish attention is given to the most current archaeological and etymological findings. There are also copious references to and excerpts of the most important secular texts of the period.

This solid foundation of scholarship gives the work a first-class objectivity. Both traditional and modern conclusions are explored in depth. While certain facts may give rise to multiple conclusions, the authors invariably make plain all available evidence for the reader.

The volume is richly illustrated. Most pictures are in black and white, but with excellent resolution. The 26 beautiful color plates are in the middle of the book. Among the illustrations are diagrams and photos of current archaeological excavations, excellent maps of varying themes and useful tables and charts. Font size is 11 point and 1.5 spaced.

The editors and contributors make Biblical history extremely accessible to the lay reader. This volume, however, does not have footnotes. It does have a select bibliography at the end of each chapter. The text flow is smooth and easy to follow.

No Bible historian should be without it!

48 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get the hardcover edition, not the paperback, November 7, 2003

By	Eric F. Mason (Algonquin, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This truly is an excellent resource, as discussed by other reviewers. Unfortunately, though, the paperback version is not just a reprint of the hardback in floppy covers. Instead, many of the visual features that contribute so much to the appeal of the hardback edition have been removed. Admittedly several remain, including a section of color plates in the middle of the book, but one who is familiar with the hardback likely will be disappointed by the paperback.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A world apart, yet part of us, July 15, 2003

By	FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Oxford History of the Biblical World (Hardcover)

Archaeology, for much of the past few centuries, has set out to 'prove' the Bible. More recently the pendulum has swung the other way, in which some scholars have attempted to 'disprove' the Bible. Much archaeology and historical research is still biased, but fortunately it has become scholarly practice to at least admit one's biases as a prelude to making assertions and posing theories. Also, a greater objectivity in many regards has been infused into historical research, so that those texts that seem to be predominantly slanted in one direction or the other tend to be given less credibility (particularly as, for instance, if someone sets out 'to prove' the Bible, what they are usually doing is attempting to do is to prove their interpretation or specific reading of the Bible, rather than the Bible itself).

All of this is preamble to my review of this latest work. Volumes can be (and have been) written in discussion of the effect of biased research on scholarship. This is discussed in the preface. `Within the last decade, some scholars have adopted what has come to be called a minimalist approach to ancient Israel. In its most extreme form, this approach discounts the Bible as a credible witness because of the ideological bias of its historical narratives and because they were written centuries after the times they purport to describe.'

Michael Coogan, editor of this volume, disapproves of the dominance of extreme minimalism, and strives with his contributors to take account carefully and critically the Biblical accounts along with all other data.

This is a well-researched book. The contributors include Wayne Pitard, Carol Redmount, Lawrence Stager, Jo Ann Hackett, Carol Meyers, Edward Campbell, Jr., Mordechai Cogan, Mary Joan Winn Leith, Leonard Greenspoon, Amy-Jill Levine, Daniel Schowalter, and Barbara Geller. As Coogan says in his introduction,

Coogan's analysis begins with the pre-history of the Syro-Palestinian region (something often neglected in such studies); from there, it expands to include Egypt and the fertile crescent. The historic timeline includes the pre-history, Bronze Age, Egyptian influences, the eras of Judges and early monarchy, the divided kingdoms, the conquest and exile, the Persian period, the Hellenistic period, the time of the Roman occupation, and finally the emergence of Christianity and the differing trajectories of Christianity and Judaism in the Roman Empire.

By academic standards, this text is generous with photographs, drawings, and maps (but it is by no means the high-gloss, coffee-table sort of book).
This is an important recent contribution to the important task of providing context for the Bible and the development of the three great Middle Eastern religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. `The Bible is one of the foundational texts of our culture of of the three major monotheistic traditions... It is a complex document--a set of anthologies, in fact. Thus, to fully understand the Bible requires a knowledge of the contexts in which it was produced, the many cultures of the ancient Near East and the ancient Mediterranean--the biblical world.'

The scope is vast and wide-ranging, covering thousands of years and a wide geographical area, incorporating several different cultures and languages. Each chapter in this volume can be read as a stand-alone article, but each is best served in relation to the others. Each also contains a selected bibliography for further reading and research. In addition to covering more traditional topics of historical and archaeological interest, articles address social concerns, the role of women, urban/rural tensions, and incorporate many of the latest discoveries.

Worthy of the Oxford Press.