The Tenth Generation: The Origins of the Biblical Tradition

by George E. Mendenhall

"...an exceptionally important book. Anyone stimulated by Mendenhall's earlier treatment of the origins of Israel and her settlement in Palestine and conversant with his views in the years since has eagerly awaited this fuller presentation... Everyone who struggles to grasp the Old Testament must come to terms with the suggestions in this remarkable book. Rarely has the vision of God's experimental, intentional community been so convincingly and tellingly presented."— Interpretation "Mendenhall's analysis of the convenant form in Israel and the ancient Near East has made him one of the best-known contemporary Old Testament scholars. His writing is characterized by its quality rather than its quantity, and this volume—the result of years of reflection and refinement—is an extraordinarily fine attempt at a synthesis of our knowledge of Israelite origins... Reflecting the highest standards of scholarship, the book is well written and should be useful (although challenging) for undergraduates as well as being a continuing resource for teachers and scholars."— Choice

Genres: History, Biblical Studies

266 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1973

Reviews

[Michael Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mendenhall's erudite book is aimed at his fellow scholars and upper-level (Master's/doctoral candidates) students. His thesis for this interesting work: "...that early Israel can be conceived of as a functioning social organism only as the actual dominion of Yahweh." (pg. 72). Very dense reading, and (lamentably) too reliant on Source Hypothesis as a basis for his conclusions, a weakness that permeates nearly all serious scholarly works of the past century, and thankfully can be overlooked to the student's profit.