• Summary
• Full Review
• Our Rating of this book

Summary

Highly Recommended

Book Description:
"In a detailed, comprehensive, and entertaining manner, Kitchen draws on an unprecedented range of historical data from the ancient Near East — the Bible's own world — and uses it to soundly reassess both the biblical record and the critics who condemn it."

I have put this one in the Apologetics Arsenal for good reason: It does for the OT was F. F. Bruce did for the NT, which is not surprising, since Bruce's work is what prompted Kitchen to write this book in the first place.

This work has two primary virtues. The first of course is that it is packed with information; 670 pages isn't a sneezer. The second virtue is that Kitchen's writing style will make you feel like you're only reading 210 pages (some Skeptics we know could stand to learn from that). His sense of humor is thoroughly British and will remind you of mine, even to the point of having an acid tongue for the idiots of his profession. (For example: Reporting Hiram's reaction to Solomon's gift of land is described: "Hiram took a good look at them and said something rude in Phoenician, for 'no way'!" [114])

It is of course impossible to do justice to such a large volume in terms of description, but here are some examples of things that stood out:

• The "mini-empire" of David and Solomon, far from being peculiar, would be typical of units that existed in the period from 1200-900 BC, such as "the mini-empire of Carchemish" that held portions of SE Asia Minor, northern Syria, and the west bend of the Euphrates [98ff].
• Critics who say a Pharaoh would never have married a daughter to Solomon are applying texts from outside Sol's period. Things changed by four centuries later, when the records show that some Pharaohs did give away their daughters in marriage [111]. Kitchen also replies to those who think it absurd that Sol was given the "smoking ruin" of Gezer as a dowry: In fact, this was prime property, a "(partially?) cleared fortress town-site open to be developed in any way he wished..." and on a major route in need of guarding. (Critics apparently need to think like the developers here in Florida a bit more!)
• Kitchen emphasizes something critics of Joshua tend to miss -- that Joshua did not immediately occupy towns he defeated; hence claims that archaeology shows no settlement at the right time are missing the boat [162f].
• Kitchen takes on the minimalists with gusto (particularly T. L. Thompson, whose book, The Messiah Myth, we reviewed this round), as well as the near-minimalist Finkelstein (The Bible Unearthed). He also has a few numbers to do on moderates like Dever, but not as much. There is also a brief treatment of the JEDP theory.

Make this one yours and be prepared to use it!