David Noel Freedman (1922–2008)

If having a brilliant idea were truly the secret of success, there would be far fewer patent lawyers in the world.

The idea here is simple but excellent: Take each book of the Bible and see what archaeology can do to illuminate it. For example, the story of the Flood in Genesis is compared with the GIlgamesh tale found by archaeologists. Sarah's decision to let Abraham have children by a concubine is compared to the customs of Nuzi. Throw in a lot of excellent illustrations and you should show more have a great book.

I really, really wanted that to be true. And I still like the illustrations. But my experience is that the book simply has too many errors. My copy, at least, gives the impression of being a proof copy, not the final published edition. If someone would go and clean those up, we could have something brilliant on our hands. As it is, everything has to be checked against other sources.... show less

This book is exactly what I expected: a very brief overview of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Using an engaging interview format, Kuhlken quizzes Freedman on the various questions surrounding the Scrolls.

Most—but not all—of this book was review for me, but a helpful review. If you’re a little fuzzy on the basics of the Scrolls or are looking for an introduction, this is a great primer. Freedman has studied the scrolls since they were found in 1947, so he’s a reliable guide. He handles show more questions about treasure-hunts and LXX validation with even grace and wisdom.

Here’s my sole criticism: Kuhlken persists in asking irrelevant Christianity-related questions. Freedman accurately states that the Qumran community was not influenced by Jesus or Christianity—in fact, it’s the other way around. Still, Kuhlken asks a series of questions to relate the two faiths. I suppose that’s what the main audience for this book would expect. I just found it slightly irritating.

You can’t go wrong with this book. It’s not too deep, but it’s wide and reliable. show less

The Hebrew Bible in its totality is a quasi-legal brief for Israel's right to the land. The whole story is how it was promised by divine grant, how they occupied it, how they lost it and how they got it back.

Very exact reference work for biblical studies and background explanation for the Old and New Testaments. No work is comprehensive and exhaustive but this work is a very good place to start for biblical theology questions and informed historical opinions with bibliographical citations.