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The Modern Scholar

The History of Ancient Israel: From the Patriarchs Through the Romans

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The Modern Scholar

By: Professor Eric H. Cline
Narrated by: Eric H. Cline
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About this listen

 Israel conjures up myriad associations for peoples of all cultures and religious backgrounds. Inextricably associated with the world's three most prominent religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), Israel is steeped in history and conflict, much of which is known through the tales of biblical figures such as Moses, David, Solomon, and, of course, Jesus Christ.But how much of the Bible can be relied upon as accurate history? And how much of the biblical record can be verified through archaeology? Esteemed professor, researcher, and author Eric H. Cline of The George Washington University addresses these and other questions in this fascinating series of lectures.©2006 Eric H. Cline (P)2006 Recorded Books World Judaism Middle East Ancient Israel
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This is great for anyone that has ever wondered how much evidence we have about some of the biblical characters and stories we are familiar with. I found it fascinating for example that we have zero archeological evidence that Moses and Abraham ever existed, while David and Jesus are more evident. As the author points out, the lack of evidence may be a sign that archaeologists just need to keep digging! I'd recommend this book, a long with Jerusalem: the contested city, by Frank Peters as a perfect accompaniment.

bringing ancient traditions to reality

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it would be wrong for me to give this lecture series any less than 5 stars simply because it makes me a little uneasy. the information was well presented, scholarly and interesting. I recommend it. It will make conservative Christians uneasy however as the lecturer assumes a rather liberal position in regards to Biblical history.

informative and entertaining.

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as a person who has a curiosity for the subject I found this book surprisingly easy to listen to and engaging - the accompanying booklet is very handy for picturing geographical accounts.

easy on the ear and interesting

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This is a very good overview of the subject. It is necessarily brief in places. For example, I would have liked to have known a bit more about the Jews left in Judah during the period of exile - what was their relationship with their returning co-coreligionists? This is a 'political' history so you won't get much about religion or everyday life. I think that is unfortunate, as the belief in one God went through various permutations during the history of Israel. However I appreciated the fact that the ongoing debates and disagreements regarding the history of Israel are presented here, including the minimalists who dismiss David and Solomon as semi legendary figures. I suspect this recording to have been made earlier than the archaeological discoveries of 2007 which challenge the minimalist viewpoint, so it is not completely up to date. But as I say it is an excellent introduction to the subject.

Excellent overview

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Lots of facts and thoughts, excellently researched and interestingly put across. Makes me want to delve further.

Fascinating

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