The Bible Unearthed

Archaeology’s New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts

By: Neil Asher Silberman, Israel Finkelstein

Narrated by: Bob Souer

In this groundbreaking work that sets apart fact and legend, authors Finkelstein and Silberman use significant archeological discoveries to provide historical information about biblical Israel and its neighbors.

In this iconoclastic and provocative work, leading scholars Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman draw on recent archaeological research to present a dramatically revised portrait of ancient Israel and its neighbors. They argue that crucial evidence (or a telling lack of evidence) at digs in Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon suggests that many of the most famous stories in the Bible - the wanderings of the patriarchs, the Exodus from Egypt, Joshua’s conquest of Canaan, and David and Solomon’s vast empire - reflect the world of the later authors rather than actual historical facts.

Challenging the fundamentalist readings of the scriptures and marshaling the latest archaeological evidence to support its new vision of ancient Israel, The Bible Unearthed offers a fascinating and controversial perspective on when and why the Bible was written and why it possesses such great spiritual and emotional power today.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2001 Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman (P)2022 Blackstone Publishing

Quite Eye Opening

The authors provide a reasonably detailed reconstruction of the history of the ancient Hebrews, comparing the Biblical text with evidence drawn from archeology, including inscriptions and documents from other ancient kingdoms in the region. I found this evidence, and the conclusions inferred from it, to be somewhat startling. I had already been generally dubious of a literal interpretation of the Bible’s miraculous stories. But beyond this, Finkelstein and Silberman convincingly argue that many details of its prima facie plausible historical accounts also depart from what really happened, and present instead a crafted picture of what the redactors wanted its readers to believe. For example, both the “conquest of Canaan” and the stature of Israel at the time of David and Solomon turn out to have been different in reality than as depicted in the Bible.

Overall, The Bible Unearthed, is well written and not excessively pedantic. I did not find it to be “ideologically driven” as one scholar has alleged, though theirs is obviously not the last word on this topic.

As for the narrator, he did a great job, inspiring me to finish this audiobook before some others I had already begun. I also like the fact that he read through each of the appendices, which are all interesting and informative.

Objectively Presented

The author did well to cover a deep history objectively with archeological evidence for and against that history. I am quite familiar with ancient history of various parts of the world as well as the Old Testament, and I learned a lot from the material presented.

EYE OPENING

Telling the truth - in these times - requires courage. The authors of this book have that courage in abundance.

I have been studying history for over 30 years. The *evidence* I've uncovered simply has not matched the *faith* narratives regarding the geography covered by this book.

indeed this book comports with and validates numerous archeological finds in Egypt, Sumer and surrounding Mesopotamia.

If you are interested in historical fact as supported by archeological *evidence* this book is for you.

Great work of scholarship with mediocre reading

The scholarship in the book is amazing and speak for itself. Listen to get the modern view of Biblical scholarship.

The reading is nothing to write home about. The tone is dry and boring. More importantly, every foreign word is mispronounced. Well, I should say every Hebrew personal and place name. The one French name I heard is not only pronounced correctly, but also with French accent. Pronunciation is so monstrous as to be racist: the reader clearly put zero effort into learning how to pronounce a handful of personal names related to the main subject. The negligence is so glaring as almost to seem intentional. This book should be re-recorded with a more deligent and possibly less racist voice actor.

Wonderful Guide to the Real Historical record!

This recent scholarly tome by one of the foremost researchers in the field of Biblical Archeology is one of the best I’ve come across. Full of high quality information while still being digestible for a lay audience. High recommend!