The Cities That Built the Bible: A Scholar's Archaeological Tour Revealing Church History, Theology, and Scripture's Origins

This book was written by a highly educated archaeologist who has a great interest in biblical history and archaeological findings pertaining to biblical history. I found the book to be quite highly informative, and its contents mainly solidified my worldview pertinent to the origins and the nature of the Bible. Cargill’s book does not offer any theological views held by the author, but does seek to lay bare the historical and archaeological facts that have been discovered concerning the origins of the Bible, who wrote it, when it was written, how much it comports with non-biblical histories, as well as related archaeological finds, etc. The historical and archaeological facts revealed in Cargill’s substantial book support quite strongly the conclusion that the Bible was composed by numerous authors over centuries, that it is the work of MEN (who some, like me, believe had significant Divine inspiration), and that it, like human projects, is fallible, contains errors and contradictions, and is far from a perfect, infallible “Word of God” presented to humanity. The latter view is simply incompatible with the historical and archaeological records that are available to modern honest and sincere seekers for TRUTH – not seeking to support deeply embedded religious/historical dogmas. With regard to the origins of the name Yahweh, the name of God, according to early biblical authors, Cargill wrote substantially on pages 48 and 49. On pages 48-49, Cargill writes: “The fact that ‘Asherah is said to be the consort of ‘El in thirteenth-century BCE Ugarit and later the consort of YHWH in eighth-century BCE Israel suggests that the deity known as ‘El in Phoenicia and Ugarit was incorporated into the deity YHWH, who became the God of the Hebrews and later the Israelites, Judeans, and Jews, Christians, and Muslims. “Now what about the fact that Judaism is a monotheistic religion? Although we often refer to Judaism as ‘monotheistic’, this term is somewhat misleading if understood as meaning belief in the existence of only one God. This is not the case with ancient Israel. Ancient Israel believed in multiple gods, and if we are to believe the Bible, apparently God did too! On any number of occasions the Bible warns Israel not to worship ‘other gods.’ It’s one of the earliest commands. Exodus 20:3 says, ‘You shall have no other gods before me,’ and 34:14 adds, ‘Because YHWH, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God’. YHWH didn’t want any of his followers worshipping any other gods, only him.” On page 80, Cargill states that Hammurabi’s law code (created around 1750 BCE) predates the Moses, exodus, and Mt. Sinai revelation, which cannot be dated earlier than 1450 BCE, and many conclude that Hammurabi’s code influenced many of the laws in the Bible. Cargill then quotes a few passages from Hammurabi and very similar passages from Exodus – providing evidence that Hammurabi’s code likely influenced the Jewish writers of the Old Testament. Some interesting information is presented on page 183 concerning Jews’ development of expectations that a heavenly messiah would come to their rescue. Cargill writes: “…but still, the memory of ancient kings—David, Solomon, Hezekiah, and Josiah—and the glory of Israel and Judah led by an anointed king, a true Jewish messiah, lingered in the minds of the Jews. And the continued absence of an anointed Davidic king caused Jews to begin looking to the heavens for a new kind of messiah, one who would restore the glory of Israel.” For Jews, a “messiah” was simply a king who was anointed by God – as they believed that David, Solomon, and other Jewish kings had been. In later centuries, under the oppression of foreign rulers, Jews began to hope for a heavenly messiah who would be able to finally conquer Israel’s enemies. During the time of Jesus, the Jews, under the oppression of the Romans, were pinning their hopes on a heavenly messiah – and some came to believe that Jesus was, finally, the messiah who would defeat the Romans and rescue Israel. Maybe that’s how Christianity was born. In this book’s concluding remarks, I find the following wise admonition from Dr. Cargill (page 266): “If the Bible is read with an insistence that its text is perfect, inerrant, and noncontradictory and that the ethical directives given over two thousand years ago are still irrefutable and unquestionable today, then each subsequent generation will continue to walk away from the Bible, discarding it (with disdain) as a product of a bygone era.” As a reader of the Bible, with the conviction that much of what is written therein had considerable inspiration from the Creator, I am convinced that it is incumbent upon intelligent, wise, and humble spiritual seekers, who are committed to full integrity, to treat our Judeo-Christian Bible with respect and dignity, while acknowledging that, in the light of numerous scientific and literary/historical/archaeological discoveries of the past three centuries, it is untenable to regard the Bible as infallible, inerrant, or non-contradictory. Yet, many of its scriptures can point us toward an infinite and glorious Divine Creator, who each moment reaches out patiently to His wayward creatures and finds some who are humble enough to become His faithful and obedient servants. The book under review does not guide us directly toward the Creator, but for readers with integrity and humility, it can encourage us to understand just how fallible and flawed are human understandings of the infinite Almighty.

Professor Cargill offers an engaging and innovative introduction to biblical archaeology based on the latest evidence and scholarship which, I imagine, will be rewarding to both those who are and are not deeply immersed in the sacred texts of Judaism and/or Christianity. I was raised Catholic but have since college called myself an atheist, so I found myself in the middle with this book. I gained new insights on the stories that I remembered, while the unfamiliar elements whetted my curiosity. The latter experience I see as one of the purposes of this book, as an enticement for further study and exploration of both the texts and the locations where they were created. Furthermore, the book itself seeks a middle ground in what it desires from the reader, both to bring the Bible down to the material level as a purely human creation like all other literature, yet at the same time to raise it up to the high level of appreciation that it deserves as an historical treasure worthy of study by believers and nonbelievers alike. The informal style of the book is part of its charm, and the art that conceals art. It is accessible yet not dumbed down. Personally, as an academic, I'm used to reading impersonal, often dry prose suffused with technical jargon, and so this book's casual style, while jarring at first, was a breath of fresh air. The frequent humorous asides contribute to an authorial persona so passionate about his subject that to adopt an artificial register would work against one of the goals of this book. Cargill injects a very human persona into the book, one that not only thinks but also touches, tastes, smells, and feels what he describes. The locations he discusses are meant to be experienced, and he models the reader's expectations of that experience should they ever travel there. I myself have traveled to Rome, and despite my fervent secularism, standing in the Roman Forum and St. Peter's Basilica was the closest I've come to a spiritual experience. This book's mission is one I hope succeeds. Societies that lose touch with their own history become lost and wander down dangerous paths, and the Bible is a fundamental building block of the civilization that we have today. If we fail to understand what built that foundation, what's built upon it is doomed to collapse.

Enjoyed the history and the photos. Interesting how the author tied in geography and archeological finds into this book and how it goes into the creation of the Bible.

Excellent record of often difficult historical marerial. Fascinating!! Would like to see more from this author!!

I've desperately wanted to see the bible through this lens before, and now I can. This book geographically places you in the important places related to the Bible, and he delves into who, what, where, why, and how. It's not just the places, but you get his personal expertise related, not from a "need to prove the bible is correct" perspective, but just honest archeology and history.

This was a very enjoyable read. Dr. Cargill is not only knowledgeable about archaeology and the Bible, he is very sensitive and engaging. In this book, he will take the reader on a journey detailing the evolution of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament. Some fundamentalists will probably be offended, but Cargill is grounded in the most up to date archaeological findings as well as mainstream critical scholarship. If you are new to this subject, then this is a book for you. If you are like me and have read several books on the subject, there is still much that Cargill can offer. Enjoy!

nil

The authors approach based on a number of cities leads to a very disjointed narrative of the region. He try to rectify this by adding some overarching comments here and there which lack depth and span - where scope is an issue for many ‘pothole diggers’. Despite these flaws the author had an engaging style. The author’s own view is hidden which is disappointing as every author works out of a particular view. Overall? Some interesting historical information about a considerable number of cities mentioned in the Bible OT. However not enough information on any given city and a disjointed overall narrative in the book.

Two cities fundamentally shaped the Bible. One was Yavneh where in the late 1st century the rabbis determined which scrolls would form the Hebrew Bible. The other was Alexandria where in 367 Archbishop Athanasius outlined the 27 books he considered authoritative as the New Testament. In time other bishops agreed. Yet neither Yavneh nor 4th century Alexandria appear in this book. Mostly the book has to do with some cities mentioned in the Bible. And not just cities are covered. Nazareth? Qumran? Bethlehem? Were these “cities” in the 1st century? Well, perhaps they were influential places. If so, and if this is the author’s interest, perhaps the title should be: Places that helped shape the Bible? On the positive side, the style is lively and discussion of historical detail is broken up with some anecdotes and levity. This helps. Also, the author quite rightly draws attention to the importance of the Septuagint in understanding the Christian Bible which includes the Apocrypha. Not sure why, but the author’s blog promotes the book by drawing attention to his discovery that the Palestinian people are human beings. What’s this got to do with this book? Why not position the book as an historical romp through places that had an influence upon the contents of various biblical writings?

ともかく、平易な言葉づかいで、ほとんど読みこなすのに辞書を必要としません。要領よく最近の知見も織り込んであり、便利な一冊です。日本語訳もありますので、どちらでも選択できます。