Biblical History of Israel

“A most welcome addition to the literature on Israelite history and historiography. The authors give fair and proper weight to diverse elements - biblical texts and ancient Near Eastern artifacts, both literary and material - in constructing their history, rejecting none out of hand and yet evaluating all of them judiciously. Their apologia for the endeavor is a masterpiece, and their conclusion that a thoughtful, informed history of Israel can indeed be written is sound. This is such a history.”

Long, Provan, and Longman are the most talented trio in the last fifty years to turn their attention to recounting the history of Israel. The result is a wonderfully readable, sophisticated, and synthetic treatment that will appeal to professional and lay audiences alike.”

“Although not everyone will agree with this 'maximalist' history of ancient Israel, I cannot imagine a more honest, more comprehensive, better documented effort from a conservative perspective. For more than a decade now radical revisionists have claimed that a history of ancient or biblical Israel can no longer be written and that historians can be either critical or confessional, but not both. A Biblical History proves the revisionists wrong on both counts.”

“A sober, disciplined, well-reasoned response to the so-called minimalists who have dominated recent discussion of the history of ancient Israel. A Biblical History correctly insists that the 'historical reliability' of ancient texts largely depends on which testimonies to trust. The consequence is that the skepticism that has long dominated Old Testament discussion can no longer claim a privileged position - either epistemologically or morally - but in fact is an ideological advocacy. This book will need to be taken seriously and will be welcomed by all those who engage such issues of the historicity of the biblical text.”