The Letter and the Scroll: What Archaeology Tells Us About the Bible

by Robin Currie, Stephen G. Hyslop

For 2,000 years and more, the Bible and its precepts have shaped world culture and civilization, whether Judeo-Christian or not. The Bible is a touchstone of religious belief, literary accomplishment, morality, and history unlike any other. Biblical interpretations have changed over the millennia, but the past 100 years have witnessed some of the most important transformations in our perspective, and no recent influence has been greater than archaeology.

In the mid-20th century, the unearthing of the Dead Sea Scrolls—to cite just one of many modern finds—deepened our understanding of the Biblical world, its peoples, and their beliefs. Since then, new evidence has appeared—the Tel Dan inscription, the Merneptah Stele, and the Gabriel Revelation—with each revelation providing richer insights into the scriptural narrative and the way these stories were written and handed down, confirming the details of historical events and personages, or clarifying the meaning and chronology of biblical ideas.

Meticulous, scholarly, yet always accessible, this is required reading for anyone interested in both Old and New Testaments and the creeds, cultures, and civilizations of ancient Hebrews and early Christians alike.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Religion, Archaeology

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Rick Ludwig · Rating 3 out of 5]

I looked forward to reading this book given my interest in the archaeological work going on in Israel, some of which I got to see first hand when I visited in 1998. The fact that the book was from National Geographic whetted my appetite even more. Unfortunately, the book let me down. Oh, there was some excellent newer information on more recent finds and the book tried diligently to make every connection that it could to both Old Testament and New Testament references. However, the maps were often hard to read and busy, making it hard to find the areas mentioned in the text, unforgivable for National Geographic. There were also some glaring errors of attribution. The caption on page 156 refers to the picture on the opposite page in the following way: "The Dome of the Rock (Opposite) built over the rubble of Solomon's and Herod's Temple, rises above the old City of David." Unfortunately the picture is of a portion of the the Al Aqsa Mosque that is quite far removed from the Dome of the Rock, a beautiful blue-tiled hexagonal structure with a golden dome. SImilarly, the caption on page 276 for the picture on the same page discusses the traditional home of the Apostle Peter, but the picture shows another section of the ruins of Capernaum, well away from St. Peter's House, which is covered by a circular Catholic Church. These kinds of errors make one wonder of the superficiality of the knowledge applied to other sections of the book, FOr those really interested in this fantastic region, I might recommend two books: "The Holy Land: Guide to the Archaeological Sites and Historical Monuments" by F. Bourbon and E. Lavagno; and "In the Footsteps of Jesus: 2000 Years Later" by W.E. Pax.

[Nia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The archeology juxtaposed with the commentary putting the Biblical texts in their historical context were interesting, although I did find the emphasis to be much more on the post Christian periods than on the more interesting and rich Persian and Babylonian time periods.

[Jen Seay Hodges · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW. Such great pictures, references, and knowledge gained. 11/10 recommend

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fascinating. I read it over a few months, because I got it from the library. And its large format does not make it conducive to reading in bed. However, you could spend many evenings on the couch wrapped up in the world of this book. It covers the era of biblical history, but it is so much more than that. With several detailed maps and excellent close-up photos of ancient documents (many in stone or clay), the reader can follow the history from 2000 and 1500 BCE to 150 CE, flipping back and forth to check maps. The book is divided into eight sections, roughly corresponding to specific kingdoms or faiths.
The content covers important events that are not mentioned in the Bible, or mentioned in a way that we may not recognize. It made many things much clearer to me, such as how the Jews lost their homeland of Judea/Israel or why some groups might blame Jews for the death of Jesus or how Alexander the Great figured in Christianity. For anyone interested in religion, the history of writing or the Bible, or history in any way, this is excellent.

[Patty · Rating 2 out of 5]

I mostly skimmed this and looked at the wonderful pictures. The text could not hold my interest.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bought this online and was expecting more scholarship and less coffee table book. Beautiful photography, very busy maps.

[Harley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outstanding photography

[JoNel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cool photos of archeological places and items.