The Art of Biblical History

The Art of Biblical History seeks to address basic questions that all Bible readers might ask: Is the Bible a history book? What do we mean by "history" anyway? In what sense, if at all, is biblical historicity important to faith? Are there guidelines for discovering what historical truth claims a particular passage may be making? The discussions take account of both current thinking among biblical scholars and the best insights of secular historians. The result is an attempt to describe biblical history writing as a kind of representational art and to commend a hermeneutical approach that does justice not merely to the historical or literary or theological character of the Bible, but to all three at once.

V. Philips Long (Ph.D., Cambridge) was formerly lecturer in biblical languages and exegesis at the Freie Theologische Akademie in Giessen, Germany, and is currently associate professor of Old Testament at Covenant Theological Seminary.

Editor's Preface	p. 9
Author's Preface	p. 11
Abbreviations	p. 16
Introduction	p. 17
History and the Genre(s) of the Bible: Is the Bible a History Book?	p. 27
The Bible's Macro-Genre and the Issue of Truth	p. 29
The Bible as a Foreign Book	p. 30
Genre Criticism and Biblical Interpretation	p. 38
Genre Criticism and the Rise of Biblical Poetics	p. 50
An Example: Judges 4 and 5	p. 53
Conclusion	p. 57
History and Fiction: What Is History?	p. 58
History-Writing as Representational Art	p. 63
History-Writing as a Creative Enterprise	p. 68
Characteristics of Successful Representation	p. 71
The Adequacy and Authority of Representation	p. 73
An Example: Samuel-Kings and Chronicles	p. 76
Conclusion	p. 86
History and Truth: Is Historicity Important?	p. 88
"What Is Truth?"	p. 91
The Importance of History for Christian Faith	p. 93
The (Post-) Enlightenment Challenge to the Importance of History for Faith	p. 99
D. F. Strauss and the Demolition of Biblical History	p. 101
An Example: "If Jericho Was Not Razed, Is Our Faith in Vain?"	p. 116
Conclusion	p. 118
History and Modern Scholarship: Why Do Scholars Disagree?	p. 120
Anti-Theological Tendencies in Some Historical-Critical Approaches	p. 123
Anti-Literary Tendencies in Some Social-Scientific Approaches	p. 135
Anti-Historical Tendencies in Some Literary Approaches	p. 149
An Example: The Emergence of Israel in Canaan Debate	p. 160
Conclusion	p. 167
History and Hermeneutics: How Then Should We Read the Bible "Historically"?	p. 169
Preparation: Contemplating Models	p. 171
Procedure: Coordinating Methods	p. 176
Presentation: Constructing Arguments	p. 194
Conclusion	p. 199
An Extended Example: The Rise of Saul	p. 201
Purported Obstacles to a Coherent Literary Reading of Saul's Rise	p. 205
Saul's First Charge as a Two-Stage Affair	p. 211
"Gapping" as Literary Device and the Gap Between 1 Samuel 10 and 13	p. 214
Making Sense of Saul's Rise	p. 216
Good Story, But Is It History?	p. 219
Conclusion	p. 222
Epilogue	p. 224
For Further Reading	p. 227
Index of Authors/Titles	p. 231
Index of Biblical Passages	p. 239
Index of Subjects	p. 243
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

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The Art of Biblical History

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials