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Title: Persia and the Bible by Edwin M. Yamauchi, Donald J. Wiseman ISBN: 0-8010-2108-1 Publisher: Baker Book House Pub. Date: January, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $39.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.2 (5 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A Thorough Study: Very Scholarly
Comment: Edwin Yamaucht is true to his usual excellence in delivering to the lay reader an intelligent and thoroughly researched treatise of a highly academic topic. Those who would disapprove of this book seem to be incensed that it is not written with the slant or emphasis that they desire. The book's success lies in the fact that it is not another tendentious portrayal of some assumed relationship between Zoroastrianism and Judaism. Such a relationship will likely never be scientifically proven, and therefore does not deserve a place among critical scholastic works. Nor does Dr. Yamaucht's book seek to advance this or that theory on biblical authorship or some other such spurious conjecture.
The primary aim of the work is to describe the nation of Persia of the biblical era, focusing almost exclusively on the Archaemenid kings of the late biblical period with which the vast majority of Persia-focused biblical literature concerns itself. The method of description is basically historical, with most of the chapters of the book devoted to one particular Archaemenid king, or a particular Persian city described mainly as it existed in the Archaemenid period. There are final chapters on Zoroastrianism, the Magi, and Mithraism that are intended to give a basic introduction to these subjects that are often of interest to the biblical enthusiasts. Though these final chapters are extensive and thorough, anyone desiring more on these subjects would be best advised to buy books devoted exclusively to them.
As a historian, Dr. Yamaucht makes extensive use of biblical and Greek sources, though he refers consistently to the occasional Syriac source as well. Dr. Yamaucht's choice of sources is certainly the result of their higher quality as historical references. One of the most impressive qualities of his treatement is a near complete lack of bias concerning the bible. If one pays close attention, one might be able to discern a secular perspective, but Dr. Yamaucht treats the bible as the excellent source of history that it is, and the book should be entirely inoffensive to religious or secular readers, excepting perhaps those minimalist readers who dare not challenge their fabulous impression of the bible as a grand deception.
My hat is off to Edwin Yamaucht for his achievement. His writing is intelligent, yet clear and concise, and he has truly succeeded in informing the lay reader about what the sources have to say about the Persian empire that they have read about in the bible.
Rating: 2
Summary: Doesn't live up to the title
Comment: I got this book in hopes of learning more about the influence that ancient Persian culture (e.g., Zoroastrianism) may have had on postexilic Judaism -- unfortunately, I was quickly disappointed.
While the author does a decent job of covering ancient Persian history, a surprisingly small portion of the book is actually devoted to discussing what religious/philosophical views may have passed from Persian culture into Judaism, and therefore the Bible. I was especially surprised at how sparse the (-single-) chapter on Zoroastrianism was!
Since this book does not thoroughly address the subject that most people would be getting it for, based on its title, I wouldn't recommend spending money on it. It's a shame too. This is a very important topic and there is a real deficiency of serious books on the subject... I can only hope that someone will soon produce a book that does it justice.
Rating: 3
Summary: A Handsome, but Disappointing Volume
Comment: "Persia and the Bible" could more accurately be retitled, "Ancient Persia: Its Development and Relations With Its Neighbors," since it spends a lot of space on Egypt and Greece, and more particularly on the writings of Herodotus. You may find out more than you ever wanted to know about the battles between Persians and Greeks!
As far as the Bible is concerned, the authors seem primarily interested in the historicity of Ezra-Nehemiah, Esther, and Daniel. There is also a minimalist analysis of Zoroastrianism, which concentrates on scholarly disputes about when Zoroaster lived and the lateness of the texts we now have. All in all, the approach on this argument reminds me very much of the line taken on the Bible by recent minimalists/revisionists! A chapter on the Magi closes the book out, focusing on Matthew's Infancy narrative.
I was really hoping for more information on Persian cultural and literary traditions and how they interacted with the traditions of the exiled Judeans, but larger questions are not really dealt with.
All this being said, however, the book contains information you won't find elsewhere, the many photographs are fascinating, and the book as book is of excellent quality.
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Title: The Bible and the Ancient Near East by Cyrus H. Gordon, Gary A. Rendsburg ISBN: 0393316890 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: February, 1998 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: The Oxford History of the Biblical World by Michael David Coogan ISBN: 0195139372 Publisher: Oxford Press Pub. Date: April, 2001 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Mesopotamia and the Bible: Comparative Explorations by Mark W. Chavalas, K. Lawson Younger ISBN: 080102420X Publisher: Baker Book House Pub. Date: August, 2002 List Price(USD): $29.99 |
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Title: Ancient Egypt and the Old Testament by John D. Currid, Kenneth A. Kichen ISBN: 0801021375 Publisher: Baker Book House Pub. Date: October, 1997 List Price(USD): $24.99 |
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Title: Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic: Essays in the History of the Religion of Israel by Frank Moore Cross ISBN: 0674091760 Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr Pub. Date: September, 1997 List Price(USD): $22.50 |
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