Mythic Past: Bibical Archaeology and the Myth of Israel

"A generation later, a whole new approach is visible. No one speaks of Genesis as representing history any more, certainly not the minimalists and not even the maximalists. Instead, the focus is on how these stories operate as literature." Dr. Gary A. Rendsburg State of Biblical Studies: Gary A. Rendsburg, professor of Jewish Studies, Rutgers University, summarized the 'Current State of Biblical Studies' as, "In a word, biblical studies has gone from consensus to crisis. ...The consensus was formed around three general issues: a) the history of ancient Israel, b) the sources of the Torah, and c) the biblical text. First, and most importantly, the history. The consensus believed that the Bible is a reliable guide to the history of ancient Israel. Everything from the Patriarchs to Ezra was real. So real in fact, that if something in the archaeological record did not quite mesh with the biblical record, then the former was accommodated to fit the latter. ..." An Exquisite Summary: Under the 'The Bible in History: How Writers Create a Past, Yee wrote a most compelling book review, giving a state of the art summary: Part one is an introduction to general historiographical issues: the problems of confusing stories with historical evidence, the ways in which the Bible talks about the past and the dangers of confusing that with modern notions of history, and the use of myths of origin and recurring motifs. Part two is a history of Palestine and the surrounding region, from the earliest human settlement down to the Hellenistic period, based on the latest archaeological and historical evidence. Against the background of long-term climate change, the origin of the Semitic languages, and broad patterns of cultural change and continuity, it covers agriculture, settlement patterns, trade networks, and political structures, from the relationship of towns with their hinterlands to the geopolitics of Egyptian and Assyrian imperialism. Three chapters then address a broad range of theological themes. "How God began" finds the Bible's view of God constructed from pieces of earlier traditions and world-views of exclusive and inclusive monotheism. It considers the presentation of Yahweh in Genesis, patron-client relationships as a model, and how Yahweh became God. A final chapter steps back to take a broad historiographical view. It describes the appropriation of the Bible by Europe and the modern clash between bible studies and theology, then gives some examples of how profoundly different ancient philosophy was and how the meaning and interpretation of bible texts have changed over time. Thompson claims: "The claims by Professor Thompson, ... says the inevitable conclusion is that the Israelite exile in Egypt, the Exodus and Israelite conquest of the Promised Land never took place." One might also be aware of tradition history which became popular among Scandinavian scholars. In this view, the writings were later in Israelite history, but the oral traditions

The emphasis is on what the author knows, Biblical scholarship. The "Old Testament" is examined meticulously, and the author points to the issues that archaeologists have with it. If anything strikes you as dubious, or interesting, you have the pointer to what to research.Those savaging this book because the author is not an archaeologist need to face squarely the fact that the Judaeo-Christian history they believe in comes not at all from a consensus of archaeologists, but entirely from Biblical scholars like this author.All three of the great faiths of the MidEast seem to have become openly hostile to science, history, and archaeology if it impinges on their chauvinism. Quite the irony, considering how Catholics (Roman and Orthodox), Jews and Moslems preserved the humanistic heritage that works like this are in the tradition of, through the Dark Ages.

The Old Testament is best understood as a complex composite literary creation. The Bible is best understood as literature, and not as a history of the ancient world. This is the major premise of The Mythic Past.One of the major temptations in reading the Bible is to think that the ancient writers thought and wrote about events like modern historians, carefully checking their facts and qualifying their interpretations. It has been a slow process, but Biblical scholars and archaeologists have begun to realize that trying to dig to establish specific Biblical events is a futile enterprise.It is important to understand what Thomson is saying and what he is not saying. Thomson is not saying that there was no historical Israel. He is not even saying that there was no David - only that there is no conclusive evidence for King David. In his words he is drawing a contrast between Israel and the Biblical Israel to emphasize a specific point.It matters little whether the Bible was composed in part during pre-exilic or post-exilic times or earlier. When you read the Bible, you are reading stories and interpretations of stories. The main concern of the writers was the way these stories were told, modified and interpreted. Whether the stories had a kernel of accuracy was a secondary concern to them. The Biblical writers collected these stories (including poems, songs, etc.) and shaped them into specific books and added chronological anachronisms to place them into a historical framework of the past. But the purpose of this was not to create an accurate history, but to debate and illustrate specific theological points.It is not that the Biblical writers didn't believe in their God or that these events didn't occur; it is that their major concern was storytelling to illustrate best the different shades of meaning the story aimed to evoke. They weren't modern fundamentalists or literalists, concerned primarily with the literal details of miraculous events. They were conscious molders and shapers of inherited traditions, arguing with one another within the boundaries of those traditions.I think of the Bible, like Shakespeare or Homer, a great epic whose stories can inspire and evoke shock, surprise and outrage depending on the particular narrative. Evoking a crass literalism to stories seems to me to destroy the meaning and looses the point. I predict that Mr. Thomson's approach will become ever more widespread over time, not only because of the inherent sensibility of it, but through archaeology and the ever increasing awareness that Biblical writers, lived composed in the same Hellenistic thought world of the Ancient Near East.

"The Mythic Past" is one of the best books on how to read the Bible I have yet encountered. The style is dense, but consistently insightful. I realized the Bible made no literal or historical sense back when I was 14. Since then, I have struggled to understand its continued cultural importance and its potential personal usefulness. Thompson addresses both of these in a startling way, by dismissing the Bible as history, and examining it as literature in the context of archeology and the broader, more verifiable history of the Middle East from non-Biblical sources. He places the Bible's composition at a much later date than most scholars, to the post-exilic, Persian and, perhaps most importantly, Hellenistic periods, and he relates it to the intellectual world of the time. I found the book to be a thought-provoking, door-opening and stimulating intellectual experience. His view might be considered minimalist, but for me, it contains more possibilty and usefulness than literal interpretations of Biblical history.

The Mythic Past by Thomas L. Thompson is absolutely wonderful.I cannot say enough about this terrific book. I have been studying the Bible since I was eight years old (I am now 43). The Mythic Past was worth every penny and every hour I spent on it. Although I agree with the reviewer who says that many scholars already view the Bible as literature and not as factual reporting, this idea has not been easily accessible to the general public. Very few folks will go slogging through a book or journal on academic Biblical scholarship or archaeology! (On the other hand, The Mythic Past is definitely not a quick read. I found myself lingering over every section and having to think)Unlike some others who critically analyze the Bible, Mr. Thompson does not become cynical, leaving the reader with a desire to "trash" the whole Bible - after all, one might be tempted to ask, if the Bible isn't "true," what good is it? On the contrary, he finds enormous spiritual and philosophical value in these stories, reminding us that the Biblical storytellers were passing on to us the wisdom of the ages. Moreover, I very much admire Mr. Thompson for standing by his discoveries and convictions all these years. As someone who has studied the Bible nearly all her life and attempted to discuss it rationally with others, I can imagine the guts this author had to have had on his life's journey. The Bible may be the most influential book in world history. In contemporary global society where often the only Jewish, Christian, and Islamic religious people who get attention are fundamentalists, The Mythic Past is a volume for the religious rest of us. For those of us who have read the Bible - perhaps even the whole Bible - and found its passages understandably perplexing, Thompson's book helps us to fit the pieces into the puzzle by illustrating how the ancients were so culturally different from ourselves - and yet so mentally similar. For those of us who want to gain a greater insight into the Bible's beauty, this book will give the reader even greater appreciation for its narrative and poetry and, also, for those brilliant and outspoken ancients who struggled with the enormous questions of existence.Although this book was rich, I would like to see more of Mr. Thompson's expository on the Bible. Certainly, I will be one of the first to buy his next book.