As part of my long-running tradition of acquiring more books than I am likely to ever actually read, this post is about a new one called “Archeology & Science Delve 4,000 Years into the Past To Document: The Bible as History,” sometimes referenced simply as “The Bible as History.”
It was published in German originally in 1955. This edition comes from a 1981 English version. One of the reviews on the back cover says it is “a lively blend of drama and reporting that reads like a detective story grafted on a history book.”
Two memories come to mind about this initially. One is that the ABC newsman Peter Jennings did a lot of work on the factually historic background of “The Bible” that I found interesting. Jennings died slightly young at 67. From what I heard, there was a lot of envy/spite toward him from colleagues because he was a sort of golden-boy. I think people envied for their good looks, productivity, and intelligence often turn to smoking for relaxation.
The other is that in literary theory there is a sort of binary between the Semitic, which one tends to relate with “The Bible” or Judaic texts, and the Hellenic associated with ancient Greece. I need to think/research about this more before having anything more to write about it.