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S. David Sperling
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The Original Torah: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers (Reappraisals in Jewish Social History) Paperback – February 1, 2003

by S. David Sperling (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 28 ratings
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Is the Torah true? Do the five books of Moses provide an accurate historical account of the people of ancient Israel’s origins?
In The Original Torah, S. David Sperling argues that, while there is no archeological evidence to support much of the activity chronicled in the Torah, a historical reality exists there if we know how to seek it.
By noting the use of foreign words or mentions of technological innovations scholars can often pinpoint the date and place in which a text was written. Sperling examines the stories of the Torah against their historical and geographic backgrounds and arrives at a new conclusion: the tales of the Torah were originally composed as allegories whose purpose was distinctly and intentionally political.
The book illustrates how the authors of the Pentateuch advanced their political and religious agenda by attributing deeds of historical figures like Jeroboam and David to ancient allegorical characters like Abraham and Jacob. If “Abraham“ had made peace with Philistines, for example, then David could rely on a precedent to do likewise. The Original Torah provides a new interpretive key to the foundational document of both Judaism and Christianity.

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  1. Print length
    185 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    February 1, 2003
  4. Dimensions
    6.13 x 0.5 x 9.25 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    0814798330
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0814798331
  7. See all details
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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
28 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

D. Greene
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book to read.
Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2019
Verified Purchase
Fantastic book, a must read, giving a detailed look at the biblical characters in the Torah; namely, the first five books of the Bible. The author makes a point in the introduction that there is “no direct evidence of the existence of” the biblical characters Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Esau, Moses, and others.
2 people found this helpful
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RRT
5.0 out of 5 stars Received on time. Well written.
Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2021
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Well written. Easy to read.
2 people found this helpful
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SunLion
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book wonderful information
Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2017
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S. David Sperling writes that every character in the bible never existed. That part is nothing new, him saying it being a so-called Jewish (never been a human Jew) writer is fascinating to me. Great book wonderful information.
2 people found this helpful
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Eric Maroney
4.0 out of 5 stars Circular but Good
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2023
The Original Torah: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers (Reappraisals Jewish Social History) by S. David Sperling is a very good, interesting book, but like all books like this, who knows if it is true? I have no doubt that the writers of the bible often had a political intent behind the stories they told. But what is our standard? Sperling uses allegory to read political intent into certain stories, but for others, he uses those stories as sources for the allegorical stories. This kind of reasoning is circular.

I really enjoy reading these types of books. They help me understand the Tanakh in new and interesting ways. But we won’t have any certainty about compositional issues of the bible until ancient versions of the documents, and the sources of the biblical text are discovered (an unlikely scenario), Until then, books like this will be theoretical.
One person found this helpful
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Noah El Jah
5.0 out of 5 stars "You Can't Handle the Truth"
Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2015
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A very knowledgeable and informative book. Well researched and thought provoking material. I highly recommend it to those who believe they understand religion and the origin of the bible. I think many truth seekers will be surprised. The masses of people can't handle the truth.
5 people found this helpful
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Prentice Coleman
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2017
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It is a great book buy it
One person found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2016
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It was ok.
2 people found this helpful
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M. Schwartz
5.0 out of 5 stars Faith based on facts Good research Good writing
Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2016
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Faith based on facts
Good research
Good writing,
3 people found this helpful
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