On the Reliability of the Old Testament [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

by K. A. Kitchen (Author) "Heat without light in biblical matters is less help than light without heat..." (more)
Key Phrases: full yrs, minimal chronology, iah son, Late Bronze, Near Eastern, New Kingdom (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
For more than two hundred years controversy has raged over the reliability of the Old Testament. Questions about the factuality of its colorful stories of heroes, villains, and kings, for example, have led many critics to see the entire Hebrew Bible as little more than pious fiction. In this fascinating new book, noted ancient historian K. A. Kitchen takes strong issue with today's "revisionist" critics and offers a firm foundation for the historicity of the biblical texts.

In a detailed, comprehensive, and entertaining manner, Kitchen draws on an unprecedented range of historical data from the ancient Near East — the Bible's own world — and uses it to soundly reassess both the biblical record and the critics who condemn it. Working back from the latest periods (for which hard evidence is readily available) to the remotest times, Kitchen systematically shows up the many failures of favored arguments against the Bible and marshals pertinent permanent evidence from antiquity's inscriptions and artifacts to demonstrate the basic honesty of the Old Testament writers.

Enhanced with numerous tables, figures, and maps, "On the Reliability of the Old Testament" is a must-read for anyone interested in the question of biblical truth.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 662 pages
• Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; illustrated edition edition (December 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802849601
• ISBN-13: 978-0802849601
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.3 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #376,510 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

121 of 129 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Towards a more literal view..., January 6, 2004

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

Kenneth Kitchen is an emeritus professor of Egyptology and Archaeology from the University of Liverpool; his interests and writings span many millennia of the ancient world across Egypt and the ancient Near East, including the area of biblical history. In this volume (which he amusingly describes as reducing to the acronym OROT, or O! ROT! as some of his critics may proclaim) Kitchen puts forth an interesting argument here against the dominant tide of biblical studies in Old Testament studies, eschewing modern or postmodern ideas of interpretation and preferring a more traditional approach. Having been inspired by his friend I. Howard Marshall and the text by F.F. Bruce 'Are the New Testament Documents Reliable?', he set out on the massive task of producing a similar volume for the Old Testament.

The job presents many difficulties, of course, not the least of which is the ever changing atmosphere, culture, literacy ability, and more of the people of the ancient lands over the millennia. Kitchen does have a care for facts - he doesn't engage in arguments of philosophical import (he doesn't care to address the nature of absolute truth, for instance, seeing that as an often-used diversionary sideline getting away from the basic understanding of reasonably certain objective facts in history). Kitchen supports his arguments with a wide-ranging knowledge of history and the languages of the areas and times. Kitchen makes it clear in the introduction there are three elements he means to address (history, literature and culture) and three he does not (theology, doctrine and dogma). Obviously the nature of the documents require discussion of the latter three, but these are not the focus points. Two primary questions Kitchen also addresses are these: Is there genuine information of the Israelite/Jewish culture from 2000-400 BCE contained in the biblical texts? Secondly, he asks did these documents originate entirely after this period, namely, the period 400-200 BCE?

Kitchen's approach is neither chronological nor canonical, but circles back through the text in a manner looking at culture and exile first primarily through kingdom and exile periods, going then back around to the patriarchs and the progress of history through to the prophets back to the exilic period again. Regardless of one's interpretative framework, much of this information is valuable and interesting, and makes one revisit some of the text from a new perspective.

Perhaps the most interesting chapter is the final chapter, where Kitchen does a survey of the history of the interpretation of biblical history and texts. As perhaps only someone who has spent a lifetime devoted to the subject can do (and no longer has to worry about academic promotions, etc.), Kitchen candidly presents his analysis of key ideas and figures in the development of our understanding of the biblical text over the past 200 years of study. His particular thrust here is against the minimalists, and his biases are very clear here. After discussing the problems with various scholars' approaches, he puts together brief answers to his initial questions, deciding that there is far more reliability than many think.

Kitchen stops far short of proclaiming a word-for-fact inerrant correlation between the text we have today and actual history, but does go to great links to minimise the minimalists, showing that there is far more respect for the reliability of the text due to the Old Testament. Biblical literalists may still find the text difficult to accept because of this, but it does include much information for them to consider in a manner probably less problematic than most mainstream biblical scholarship.

This is primarily a book for scholars, evidenced by the wide range of material gathered, the assumptions of knowledge of history, archaeology, language, culture and biblical studies, and the extensive notes made in the text (the endnotes comprise more than 100 of the 660 pages of the text). There is a generous supply of plates, tables, charts and maps, and reasonable indexes for subject and scripture references. However, it is generally accessible to those with at least an undergraduate or equivalent education.

For those who are looking for an answer to the question, 'Can we trust the reliability of the Bible?', this gives some interesting information. Worth reading by those from the liberal and the orthodox camps.

88 of 94 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Detailed, Comprehensive, Clear and Modern, August 1, 2004

By	TiZ - See all my reviews

Kitchen assesses the reliability of the Hebrew Bible in the light of archaeological evidence, and argues that the Hebrew Bible is very reliable.
Through eight chapters he explores the material on the patriarchs, Exodus, Joshua and judges, the united monarchy, the divided monarchy, the prophets and the exiles and their return. Finally, he concludes with an analysis of minimalist work of various periods on the Hebrew Bible.
Kitchen's method is to carefully outline the text as it stands (noting minimalist distortions of the text where necessary). He then turns to the relevant archaeological data. Kitchen's analysis here is extensive and detailed. The presentation of the material is very systematic, and Kitchen is often witty. Kitchen maintains his clarity throughout, and the book reads mellifluously.
I was astonished at the quantity of archaeological data available for this study. I expected that through the passage of time, especially in the region in which the Bible is set, a lot of relevant material would've been destroyed (naturally or otherwise), and Kitchen is very careful in explaining that absence of evidence doesn't always count as evidence of absence. Nevertheless, there is so much clear archaeological evidence - of many different forms - for the accuracy of the Biblical record! The relevant archaeological material stretches over a period of more than two-thousand years and over a vast region including many cultures, whose literature is in ten Near Eastern languages. This breadth is matched only by Kitchen's extensive knowledge.
Kitchen's book also has devastating relevance for the so-called "higher criticism" of the Hebrew Bible, its documentary hypothesis of a multiplicity of sources and late authorship of the Pentateuch. Kitchen's careful analysis and comparisons of the style of external literary sources and archaeological artefacts from various periods of the ancient Near East shows how the style and content of the Biblical books fit perfectly into the times at which they are set - and no other times.
A couple of times, however, I wasn't impressed with Kitchen's interpretation of Biblical verses. I wasn't impressed with his treatment of the numbers of the Exodus. I suspect that some won't like his naturalistic explanation of some miracles such as the ten plagues. Note that Kitchen isn't trying to prove the theology of the Hebrew Bible or establish the correctness of the religious interpretations of events. He is simply trying to establish whether the Biblical record of events is accurate insofar as the archaeological record goes, but religious Jews and Christians will, of course, be interested in this as well. I also would've preferred the relevant maps and sketches to have been included within the text rather than at the end of the book.
A previous reviewer comments that Kitchen's book ignores inconvenient evidence and is outdated. I strongly disagree. Throughout the book Kitchen contends with his opponents. Much of the final chapter is devoted to carefully responding to the most recent works of biblical minimalism.
In order to get a balanced view of the debate I also purchased Finkelstein and Silberman's "The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts". This is a recent (2001) rejection of the Biblical record in the light of archaeological evidence. It seems that Kitchen destroys this book; a response to virtually every significant claim made in "The Bible Unearthed" can be found in Kitchen's book.
Kitchen's book is monumental, stretching over five hundred pages with an additional hundred pages of endnotes, about forty pages of maps, charts and sketches, an extensive index of scriptural references and a subject index. Kitchen's book is essential for anyone interested in whether the Hebrew Bible is reliable. The book is also wonderful for less critical readers who are interested in the context of the Hebrew bible, the nations and places it mentions, the history of its times and its geography. For the critic this work is a stunning rebuttal of minimalist claims; for everyone it makes the Hebrew Bible come alive.

30 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic!!!, March 20, 2004

By	Troy L. Davis (American Fork, Utah United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The title speaks for the subject of the book. Dr. Kitchen has once again produced an incredible work. Regardless of whether you are a Biblical Maximalist, Minimalist, or something in between, this book sets the bar for future scholarship on the subject. Kitchen takes a conservative approach to the material using a vast array of primary texts and originial sources. He is a paragon in the fields of Egyptology and the Ancient Near East--the material shows it.
I'm slightly dissappointed with his section on 'Judges'. He believes in a later date for the exodus (which is fine) except for the fact that he contradicts his own methodoly in handling the data found in the text(1kings 6:1; Judges 11:26; Ex. 2:23, and 12:40) . . . all to fit the latter date for the exodus. He chides his opponents for doing the very same thing.
Despite this, the work is monumental. So well written, his opponets will probably meet the material with silence . . . unable to answer Kitchen's convincing arguments on equal terms. Well done!