Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

On the Reliability of the Old Testament

4.22 of 5 stars 4.22 · rating details · 37 ratings · 5 reviews

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 wit...more

Paperback, 662 pages

Published June 1st 2006 by William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (first published November 26th 2003)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 128)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Aug 03, 2011 James Korsmo added it

If you have watched any Nova or National Geographic specials on pretty much any facet of the Old Testament over the past few years, it very quickly becomes obvious that a rather stark historical minimalism is dominant in the scholarly world, or at least the scholarly world they feature. And this could be dismissed as just media bias, but a similar minimalism is also quite prominent in the OT academic circles and is evidenced in many introductory OT textbook. So what in the OT is historical? The...more If you have watched any Nova or National Geographic specials on pretty much any facet of the Old Testament over the past few years, it very quickly becomes obvious that a rather stark historical minimalism is dominant in the scholarly world, or at least the scholarly world they feature. And this could be dismissed as just media bias, but a similar minimalism is also quite prominent in the OT academic circles and is evidenced in many introductory OT textbook. So what in the OT is historical? The Bible certainly treats the major characters and events in the OT as historical, and it builds its understanding of God and his character from God's acts in history (God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of the exodus). So if the OT was entirely made-up history, a fictional construct from after the exile to give a rag-tag band of people an identity, that would have pretty profound implications for how we understand God and how we understand the Bible.

K. A. Kitchen, an emeritus professor of Egyptology at Liverpool University, takes these questions head on, as he systematically looks at the historicity and plausibility of the OT writings in their historical contexts. The book is a detailed era-by-era investigation into the Biblical text (sometimes point out that what we assume the Bible says isn't actually what it reports), cultural settings, archaeological discoveries, and documentary and inscriptional evidence from the Levant and the surrounding world, in order to see whether the Bible's historical record fits with, and often intersects with, the history as it can be understood from outside the Bible.

The book is filled with detail. It is 500 pages of discussion of the evidence and the various approaches to its reconstruction along with careful evaluation of how the historical and archaeological data coheres with the Bible, along with another 150 pages of notes, diagrams, and indices. That's all to say, he deals with all of the major issues that arise out of this wide-ranging subject matter. This mountain of detail and discussion is made easily navigable by its good organization, helpful use of charts, and its concise summaries at the end of each chapter.

Kitchen's careful conclusion is that the minimalism so prevalent in the academy and in popular scholarship today is merely a relic of past assumptions now eclipsed by the evidence. He concludes his investigation of whether the Biblical writings were composed entirely within the postexilic period (400–200 B.C.) or whether they reflect their purported historical settings by asserting, with regard to the divided monarchy, exile, and return, that the Bible's accounts of these periods "show a very high level of direct correlation (where adequate data exists) and of reliability." And, concluding on what can be said of the historicity of the accounts before the united monarchy, when direct evidence is more difficult to find, that "the Hebrew founders bear the marks of reality and of a definite period." Thus, he concludes that the Bible's historical accounts make sense in the times that they purport to represent, and don't give evidence of a postexilic invention so popular in academic circles. I must also say that while Kitchen's study is indeed detailed, it is also entertaining, as he shows a warm and sometimes scathing humor as he looks at historical evidence or at rival historical reconstructions. The book was enjoyable to read, and is a very helpful push back against the minimalism that can begin to erode Biblical faith. It certainly isn't the last word on any of these matters, but it is an important and substantial tome that will need to be reckoned with. And if you're not ambitious enough to dig in to all of the data, selective reading of especially important topics and careful reading of all of the introductory and summary materials makes for a good overview of the relevant materials.(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Jul 24, 2011 Kirk Lowery added it

Shelves: bible, apologetics

This book is a polemic: it's proposition is that the documents of the Hebrew Bible properly reflect the times they purport to be writing about. The author proceeds to amass textual, archaeological and other evidence to support his thesis in detail. It is also a polemic because the author has specific opponents in mind and he curmudgeonly attacks their persons and not just their ideas. That is the least attractive part of the book, but it is testimony to the author's passion.

Whether or not you ag...more

like · see review

Aug 01, 2011 Timothy Bertolet added it

This is a helpful book diving into the reliability of the Old Testament. Not all will agree with all the details but Kitchen examines the OT in its Ancient Near East context. He discusses the nature of evidence for the reliability of the OT particularly from archeology and other cognate studies. While every detail of the OT cannot be verified by ancillary evidence as it is the nature of history to leave aspects of the past in the dust. Kitchen paints a picture that persuades and argues that what...more

like · see review

Jun 30, 2010 Aaron Carlberg added it

Controversy has raged about Old Testament reliability for a couple centuries now. Kitchens take on revisionist critics and provides a great foundation for the historicity of biblical texts.

like · see review

Aug 29, 2012 Robert rated it 5 of 5 stars

The book is long, but worth reading if you want a good overview of how archeology supports the Old Testament.

like · see review

May 16, 2013 Nick is currently reading it

May 06, 2013 Micah Cobb marked it as to-read

Shelves: my-books

Apr 20, 2013 Alwin added it

Apr 10, 2013 Joaquin Hernandez marked it as to-read

Apr 09, 2013 Samwbutler marked it as to-read

Shelves: to-buy

Apr 03, 2013 Matt Lemm marked it as to-read

Shelves: religion

Mar 29, 2013 Marc Spina marked it as to-read

Mar 29, 2013 Jason marked it as to-read

Mar 19, 2013 Jonathan Patterson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Mar 16, 2013 Caleb marked it as to-read

Mar 06, 2013 Clint marked it as to-read

Feb 28, 2013 Daniel marked it as to-read

Feb 11, 2013 Josh marked it as to-read

Apr 05, 2013 Timothy Bandi added it

Feb 05, 2013 Xox rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: trash-and-bullshit

Feb 05, 2013 Benjamin Thompson marked it as to-read

Shelves: biblical-studies, christian-apologetics

Jan 28, 2013 Greg rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: religion

Jan 21, 2013 Derpyhooves added it

Shelves: longman-2006

Mar 31, 2013 Michael Ward added it

Jan 09, 2013 Jonathan Cast marked it as to-read

Shelves: i-own

Dec 31, 2012 Michael Kenan Baldwin marked it as to-read

Dec 31, 2012 Wikimedia Italia added it · review of another edition

Shelves: it-wikipedia

May 16, 2013 Dawn marked it as to-read

Dec 19, 2012 Dillon Evans marked it as to-read

Dec 12, 2012 Jay rated it 4 of 5 stars

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 next »

History

2 users

See top shelves...

Books by K.A. Kitchen

Pharaoh Triumphant. the Life and Times of Ramesses II

The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt: 1100-650 B.C.

The Bible In Its World: The Bible And Archaeology Today

Notes and Comments - Ramesses II, Royal Inscriptions (Vol 2)

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About On the Reliabilit...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: On the Reliability of the Old Testament
avg rating	preview: On the Reliability of the Old Testament Goodreads rating: 4.22 (37 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/165002.On_the_Reliability_of_the_Old_Testament?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348082957l/165002.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/165002.On_the_Reliability_of_the_Old_Testament?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]On the Reliability of the Old Testament by K.A. Kitchen[/url]

On the Reliability of the Old Testament

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (1)

Genres

Books by K.A. Kitchen

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About On the Reliabilit...

On the Reliability of the Old Testament

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

combineOther Editions (1)

Genres

Books by K.A. Kitchen

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About On the Reliabilit...

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (1)