E. A. Speiser (1902–1965)

I read this simultaneously with Hamilton as I worked my way through the Masoretic text, and while Hamilton's work impressed me more (despite his conclusions and the alleged sea-worthiness and general plausibility of Noah's Ark (Where, I ask, did the dinosaurs stay?)) Speiser proved to be more than good enough for my purposes and provided a counter-point (sometimes an unintentionally comical counter-point) to Hamilton.

Speiser's an advocate for the source critical approach, and was writing at a time when JEPD & often R ruled the academic circles with an iron first and complete authority, and this particular book completely embraces the approach. Most critical commentaries, if not all, come with translations by the author of the commentary, and Spieser's is good. However, he goes the extra step and breaks down the text assigning each and every line a source. Sometimes this is compelling, other times less so, but a common reaction for me was exasperation; spending so much time and energy rushing to identify sources without adequate acknowledgement that, in the final wash, the whole thing together as a unit made sense to at least one redactor, seems to miss an opportunity and at least for me raises more questions than it answers. Too, assigning each and every line a source sans a compelling, well-supported argument is a lost cause with our current resources, and frankly, provided a bit of laughter on this end.

Why you should read this: first off, it's a great introduction to source criticism, even though sometimes it gets taken too far. Also, Speiser's no slouch: his Hebrew is more than solid, his scholarship (aside from snipe hunting sources) is obvious and respectable, and there are excellent and valuable insights to be had. The lay out is a little wonky, and the transliteration takes some getting used to, but in the end it's manageable.

Worth the effort in the final wash, snipe hunts be damned.… (more)

This book took me awhile to get through, but I think it was worth it. The major highlights are an overview of four major civilizations: Mesopotamia featuring primarily the Babylonians and Assyrians, Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

The book is published by National Geographic, reprinting articles from 1941, 1944, 1946, and 1951. However, due to the subject matter, I didn't find that it read in a 'dated' manner.

The book is laid out with a section of text for each civilization, and then several paintings depicting various subjects, often common life. I think that the subject tended towards royalty or the well to do, but this is probably because the best record of these lifestyles were recorded. Often the painting would be a conglomeration of different topics into one picture to illustrate a point.… (more)