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A History of Ancient Israel and Judah, Second Edition | 
 enlarge | Authors: James Maxwell Miller, John Haralson Hayes
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Category: Book
List Price: $39.95
Buy New: $26.37
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Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 83566
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2nd
Pages: 552
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 6 x 1.6
ISBN: 0664223583
Dewey Decimal Number: 933
EAN: 9780664223588
ASIN: 0664223583
Publication Date: October 1, 2006
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Product Description
This classic textbook, widely used for over two decades, constructs a history of ancient Israel and Judah through a thorough investigation of epigraphical, archaeological, and biblical sources. Approaching biblical history as history, Miller and Hayes examine the political and economic factors that give context to the Israelite monarchy s actions and the biblical writers accounts. Now updated with the latest research and critical discoveries, including the Tell Dan Inscription, and considering the lively debate surrounding the reliability of biblical accounts, Miller and Hayes s judicious and evenhanded portrayal gives detailed attention to the nature, strengths, and limitations of various forms of evidence for understanding Israel s origins and early history. The new edition also includes thirty-four new maps, helpful notes, and numerous charts and photographs.
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| Customer Reviews:
 A Nice Introduction to Ancient Israel June 26, 2000
deafguy (CT USA)
48 out of 51 found this review helpful
J. Maxwell Miller and John H. Hayes' A History of Ancient Israel and Judah provides a solid introduction to the methods and problems of studying the development of the kingdoms that came to be known as Israel and Judah. The book deals with events from the time of Israel's origins (the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages) to the work of Ezra and Nehemiah (the fifth and fourth centuries BCE). On the whole, A History is more cautious with the biblical texts than other histories of ancient Israel, such as John Bright's A History of Israel. Miller and Hayes spend less time offering guesses about the more speculative aspects of Israel's history, such as the patriarchs and exodus, and concentrate their efforts on the later period (tenth to fifth centuries BCE) for which conclusions are more certain. From its beginning, this study is very much set within the geographical, political, economic, and religious context of the ancient Near East and Egypt as a whole. Perhaps the most attractive feature of this work is the inclusion of both photographs and fairly complete translations of extra-biblical documents pertinent to various stages of Israel's history. A History is divided into chronological segments, and the authors proceed by summarizing the biblical texts germane to the time period, critically examining these accounts along with extra-biblical and archaeological evidence, and then drawing conclusions. If the book has a major weakness, it is the absence of either footnotes or endnotes, but the authors provide a sizable topical bibliography at the conclusion of the book, and overall, A History of Ancient Israel and Judah is sound, readable scholarship.
has little to add to the old testament October 20, 2002
14 out of 47 found this review helpful
This is a great book, very readable and scholarly. There exists one problem though: this book has practically nothing to add to what is written, just as clearly and just as easily accessible, in the old testament.I read this book seeking to find a modern perspective on the old testament narrative, which would include all the findings of modern archeology and other sciences. What I found is that modern scholarship has precious little to add to what is already set down in the bible because the OT remains, with very few and mostly modest exceptions, our only source for this period. This is not the fault of the authors, of course, who are very noteworthy scholars. A few bits of history are scattered throughout the book which are not obvious from a reading of the bible, but the vast majority is just summary and interpretation (not usually very revealing) of the OT. It goes without saying that if you are interested in the history of this period and have not read the bible, open the good book to Genesis 1 and start reading.
Very Good Standard Book December 19, 2006
George Eager (Lawrenceville, NJ USA)
11 out of 13 found this review helpful
It's true that the OT is often the only source for the early history of Israel and Judah, but Miller and Hayes tactfully duck the question of the historicity of the many legendary early events, and begin where they can start to tie the OT account to external and archaeological sources. I found this book to be a good introduction to the topic and a useful reference to have on the shelf.
 Horrid Logic April 26, 2007
Knight
5 out of 58 found this review helpful
Wow, this book is a nearly worthless except for that at least the authors acknowledge that the Bible probably contains historical events. It's amazing how seemingly wise men put out garbage like this. An example of the utter stupidity for example is that one of the authors claims that Samuel didn't really do all the things that were claimed of him because he was described as doing different things. Why does he think that? But he thinks Samuel couldn't have been both a prophet and "king-maker" he says. Uh... CUZ? Kinda stands to reason that if a person is a prophet then yeah, they are more likely to have the standing to king someone, not if there are just some ordinary guy. Instead he claims that Samuel was probably a cult leader. LOL.
No wait they are right, God doesn't have the ability to make someone a prophet plus allow them to have any other significant roles like kinging someone one time because it's just too hard for the creator and sustainer of the universe to get someone to be someone great and do something amazing. Not.
This is preschooler dribble hoping for lobster and wine elbow rubbing with other God-haters. Jesus is worth more than paper money, a few hundred lobsters, and a cellar full of wine you will never finish off.
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