The Natural History of the Bible: An Environmental Exploration of the Hebrew Scriptures

by Daniel J. Hillel

Traversing river valleys, steppes, deserts, rain-fed forests, farmlands, and seacoasts, the early Israelites experienced all the contrasting ecological domains of the ancient Near East. As they grew from a nomadic clan to become a nation-state in Canaan, they interacted with indigenous societies of the region, absorbed selective elements of their cultures, and integrated them into a radically new culture of their own. Daniel Hillel reveals the interplay between the culture of the Israelites and the environments within which it evolved. More than just affecting their material existence, the region's ecology influenced their views of creation and the creator, their conception of humanity's role on Earth, their own distinctive identity and destiny, and their ethics.

In The Natural History of the Bible, Hillel shows how the eclectic experiences of the Israelites shaped their perception of the overarching unity governing nature's varied manifestations. Where other societies idolized disparate and capricious forces of nature, the Israelites discerned essential harmony and higher moral purpose. Inspired by visionary prophets, they looked to a singular, omnipresent, omnipotent force of nature mandating justice and compassion in human affairs. Monotheism was promoted as state policy and centralized in the Temple of Jerusalem. After it was destroyed and the people were exiled, a collection of scrolls distilling the nation's memories and spiritual quest served as the focus of faith in its stead.

A prominent environmental scientist who surveyed Israel's land and water resources and has worked on agricultural development projects throughout the region, Daniel Hillel is a uniquely qualified expert on the natural history of the lands of the Bible. Combining his scientific work with a passionate, life-long study of the Bible, Hillel offers new perspectives on biblical views of the environment and the origin of ethical monotheism as an outgrowth of the Israelites' internalized experiences.

Genres: Old Testament, Religion, Nature, Ecology

376 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Daniel Hillel is professor emeritus of environmental studies, University of Massachusetts, and senior research scientist, Center for Climate Systems Research, Columbia University.

Reviews

[Alex McEwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really excited when one of my professors assigned this text. We were reading it specifically to track the intersection of religion and environmentalism. Hillel is an agronomist by trade but grew up in the Jewish tradition and wrote this as an examination of ecology, geography, and agronomy in a Jewish reading of the Pentateuch.

I genuinely learned a lot. I think the examination of the ecology and geography of the Levantine Bronze Age was incredibly insightful and genuinely has the potential of giving me a new lense to approach the scriptures with.

From an academic standpoint this was clearly well researched. Hillel was comfortable providing an examination and critical analysis of the Jewish Scriptures and talking about how they intersect with agronomy. The one critique I have of the academic method is that the author has a strange axe to grind in suggesting that while the ancient Hebrews were incredibly environmentally conscious, the author wants you to know he doesn’t believe in their God. The author goes out of his way to argue against the divine. This was distracting from an otherwise well written work. I think the author could have provided a well written critique of the Jewish faith if he wanted but by including it here it felt like an addendum and a vendetta.

Editing wise I liked the pacing and found the maps, charts, and images to add valuable information to an informative read. I didn’t appreciate that a third of the work was appendices (disclaimer I didn’t read any of the appendices). It felt like between the abundant appendices and the weird tangents on wether or not the Jewish faith is true or not, that the author just had too much going on.

This work gets a star for readability and accessibility. It gets another for the content and for providing information that I genuinely didn’t know before. And a third star for the charts, maps, and graphs. This work loses a star for editing and another for trying to do too much.

Overall, I am glad I read this and fully intend to reference this work in the future as I study the scriptures.

[Michael Lewyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The most useful part of this book (which comprises a little over half of its pages) focuses on several ecological "domains" where the Hebrews and their neighbors lived, and shows how various features of those domains affected the Bible's heroes and their neighbors.

Hillel devotes special attention to the "pastoral domain" the semiarid-but-not-quite-desert where the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) lived. These areas received just enough rain to be grazable by sheep and other livestock, but not enough for regular farming. Hillel explains that many otherwise inexplicable parts of the Torah make more sense if you know more about the pastoral domain. For example, one reason for Jacob's refusal to join Esau in Seir (Gen. 33:13-14) may have been that if the two brothers lived near each other, they might quickly discover that there was not enough grass or water for both brothers' flocks. Similarly, a couple of generations earlier, Abraham and Lot parted ways because their land was not fertile enough to support all of their livestock).

Hillel also explains the nomadic emphasis on hospitality (exemplified by Abraham's behavior in Gen. 18). He notes that in a not-very-fertile area, a family of shepherds may overgraze its temporary home within a few weeks, and will need to know where to go for subsistence. Thus, the family will need information more than anything else. And who can they get this information from? Travelers. Thus, a family of nomadic shepherds ha a strong incentive to get along well with travelers.

Hillel's next chapter is about the "riverine domain"- that is, Egypt, where most agriculture came from the Nile River. Hillel points out that the irrigation of the Nile often allowed Egyptians to have enough grain to store for hard times; even though Egypt did have famines, those famines were usually not at the same time as famines in rainfall-based societies to the east. As a result, when there was a famine in (for example) Canaan, it made sense for that region's pastoralists (such as the patriarchs) to come to Egypt for food.

After the Hebrews left Egypt, they moved through the wilderness- so Hillel has a chapter on the "desert domain" that this wilderness included. Hillel suggests that some of the "desert miracles" of the book of Exodus have a rational explanation. For example, Moses threw a piece of wood into the water and thus made it drinkable (Exodus 15). Hillel suggests that if a pool of water is covered with algae or other waste, throwing something into the water might stir it up enough to bring better water to the surface. Hillel also has chapters on the more fertile "rainfed domain" of Canaan and on life near the ocean.

The last few chapters of the book are a more general history of ancient Judaism, told from a secularist point of view. (That is, Hillel believes that the Torah was pieced together from a variety of traditions, rather than being the product of a Divine author).

But the latter chapters were less interesting to me; I don't get the sense that Hillel has as much expertise about history and religion as he does in environmental science. For example, one footnote describes the Talmud as "one of the pillars of Orthodox Judaism." This is misleading for two reasons. First, non-Orthodox Judaism is based on the Talmud to some extent as well, even if it is more willing to deviate from the Talmud to reflect modern views. Second, there was no such thing as "Orthodox Judaism" until Reform Judaism emerged in the 19th century. Before then, there was "rabbinic Judaism", which was the only form of Judaism that existed in many places between the creation of the Talmud and the birth of Reform.

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is not often that one comes across a book about the Bible written by an environmental scientist. The author clearly demonstrates how the varied natural environments of the Holy Land and places of exile, such as Assyria, Babylonia, and Egypt, interact with the text. In Hillel's own words:

"The formative ecological experiences of the ancient Israelites affected their outlook and behavior not only for a time, but indeed for all time. What began as serial adaptations to shifting circumstances and contrasting environments eventually became integrated, internalized characteristic, so deeply embedded in their lore as to acquire cultural permanence. Attitudes formed long before were infused into the character as a nation and etched into their collective psyche. Those early influences and lingering memories conditioned, consciously or otherwise, the amazingly persistent beliefs, habits of thought, and behavioral patterns of the Israelites -- and of their heirs, the Jews -- ever since." (p.222)

[Adam Cherson]

A fantastic merger of environmental and biblical history by an environmental scientist. Among many insights is the one that points to the creation story of Genesis 2, the other creation myth, the older creation myth, the one that depicts humanity in a caretaker rather than a dominator role (Genesis 1). The Genesis 1 creation myth should have been the lead off, being older, but for some reason the biblical redactors chose the exploitative version to lead off, and that first impression has stuck. This duality from the outset points to a duality within the entire scope of the Bible, exemplified by the fundamental notion of good and evil expressed by the tree of knowledge. It is almost as if the dual stories are the very first choice between good and evil presented to readers: you choose between the good creation myth and the evil one-- but be ready to accept responsibility for and face the consequences of your choice.

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, I'm disappointed with the book. Hillel attempts to do much more than "an environmental exploration of the Hebrew Scriptures." Had he stayed with ecology the book would have been much shorter and consequently valuable. I certainly gained some insight from reading; but, it was when he truly focused on ecology and not his understanding and exposition of biblical studies. One illustration of pages that contributed nothing to "an environmental exploration" was ten pages devoted to defending the view that Israel's monotheism was an evolution from a background in paganism rather than a sudden epiphany to Abraham (206-14).

[Abby]

I know, it's weird...but this was one of the most interesting things I've ever read. I might buy it. Hillel has a real flair for integrating history with ecology without overdoing the possible connections. He introduces an element of storytelling as he retells familiar stories in his own frame of reference: the ecological context. While many scholars advocate examining the scriptures in context, Hillel is to be applauded for combining work in many fields that are too often kept separate. He freely acknowledges the most troublesome issues of Bible scholarship—written Hebrew’s lack of vowels, the progression from oral tradition to written tradition and its many subsequent redactions—and demonstrates his knowledge of the scriptures as he searches them for clues to their setting.

It’s important to know, when looking at a title like The Natural History of the Bible, exactly whose Bible is being referenced. This author chooses the Hebrew Bible, and his unique background and interests fit him to adequately address many of the primary concerns in this daunting set of texts.

Hopefully, this is a precedent that will inspire the growing trend of interdisciplinary research. Biblical studies have already benefitted greatly from the work of archeologists, linguists, and historians, and there is no reason an environmental scientist should not be welcome in the bunch.

[KA · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author is an ecologist by training, and although he has made a good-faith effort to familiarize himself with a massive range of biblical scholarship, in the end he's not a biblical scholar, and it shows. Almost no one believes anymore that "qedeshah" should be translated as "temple prostitute," and yet he takes that translation for granted. I recommend the book with this caveat: read it for the ecology, but be skeptical of his presentation of biblical studies; he's out of date on a lot of things!

UPDATE: I took my own advice and upped the star rating.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard Hillel speak last year, and liked his talk so much that I wanted to read something he had written. The book is really incredible in what it covers, and even though I have almost no knowledge of the Bible I found the history fascinating. It makes the Bible a must more interesting book now knowing the context in which it was put together.
The writing is good, and you can see his passion in the work- but it is also very very detailed and was at times really hard to get through. But I'm glad I eventually finished it.

[Tuck · Rating 2 out of 5]

not bad, but pretty dry. has a real good index if you need to look something up, but not the most compelling reading, though i thought it could be.

[Rita]

Audrey recommends this book.