Old Testament History

This book provides a detailed look at the history of the ancient world as it directly relates to events in the Old Testament and the Jewish people. The geographic, political, cultural, and religious aspects of those times and places provide a necessary context to better understand the OT writers, their writings, and their audience. The author of this book is admittedly sympathetic to a traditional, Biblical view of history. However, many, if not most, world events after the Divided Kingdom seem to be thoroughly documented with extra-Biblical sources. While the book is filled with information, the writing style is not overly academic and would be easy for the casual reader to follow. The edition I read was published in the early 1970s. Perhaps more discoveries since that time have provided additional information either supporting or contradicting the conclusions in this book. For this reason, I might recommend a more current version or a newer work entirely. In addition, this book could use more tables, charts, timelines, and better photos. All said, this book has given me a better understanding of the cultural context surrounding the Biblical OT narrative.

I really am enjoying the book. I use the present tense as I have not yet completed my journey (I use this word strategically.) through it. It contains too much material to soak up in one study I am afraid, but makes for an incredible look at the lives around many of our Old Testament friends. I would encourage anyone who is looking to take a look at the Old Testament from a fresh, new perspective to pick up this book. Dr. Pfeiffer does an incredible job of consistently bringing the study back to the Word of God as not to make the study overly academic.