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jakub_oliver's review
adventurous
challenging
informative
relaxing
medium-paced
4.75
I will start by clarifying what this book is not. It is not an epic, Richard Dawkins-style debunking of the scripture of the Abrahamic Religions. Nor does it have much in common with the works of spiritualism and religious philosophy that Storygraph is insistent on recommending to me having read this book.
What this book is, is an absolutely masterful piece of historical detective work. Elliott Friedman (I'm not sure whether the author's first name is Richard Elliott or his last name is Elliott Friedman, but I've decided to go with the latter because I think it sounds cooler) goes through the first five books of the Bible, and guides the reader through every step of his investigative process, carefully corroborating different sections of the Bible with each other and the archaeological record to unravel the mystery of how the history's bestselling book came to be. In doing so, he also suggests the origins for many religious traditions and festivals. As a Jew, this is utterly astonishing to read, like the origin story of a beloved superhero. And as Elliott Friedman regularly clarifies, to understand the Bible's origin story can only make you appreciate it even more, no matter whether you personally chose to appreciate it as a work of literature, history or holy scripture.
Something that is lost in the book's brisk pace is the genuine origins of many Biblical stories. Elliott Friedman will often simply describe many stories as having existed in the 'oral tradition' before being written down, and then go on to explain the manner of their writing. Where such oral traditions themselves came from is only very briefly and very occasionally elaborated on, which is a shame in my opinion, as there are so many fascinating parallels to be drawn between Biblical stories and those of other mythologies, and by extension so much interesting discussion to be had of where such stories as the Exodus or the Flood may come from. However, I ultimately appreciate that he needed to keep the book to a moderate length; he chose a specific angle from which to deconstruct the Bible's origins and he explained it well.
It must be said that there is a little dishonesty in the book's title. Elliott Friedman only really explains the origins of the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Numbers) and the Deuteronomist History (Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings). The Books of Prophets are briefly discussed and the rest of the Bible is barely mentioned. This book is more truthfully titled 'Who Wrote the First Third of the Old Testament'. But I do understand his decision; the miscellaneous set of books at the end of the Hebrew Bible have scattered narratives and scattered origins that don't fit cleanly into the concise and satisfying picture Elliott Friedman has drawn by the end of the book (or at least not without many, many more chapters), and the New Testament is of course a far later work with very different origins, subject matter and meaning, probably deserving of its own book (which as a Jew I would be far less interested in besides).
This is a brilliant book, easily one of the best works of historical writing I have ever read, and a must read for anyone interested in the Bible, religious history, or even simply how historians can connect disparate evidence to reconstruct the past.
What this book is, is an absolutely masterful piece of historical detective work. Elliott Friedman (I'm not sure whether the author's first name is Richard Elliott or his last name is Elliott Friedman, but I've decided to go with the latter because I think it sounds cooler) goes through the first five books of the Bible, and guides the reader through every step of his investigative process, carefully corroborating different sections of the Bible with each other and the archaeological record to unravel the mystery of how the history's bestselling book came to be. In doing so, he also suggests the origins for many religious traditions and festivals. As a Jew, this is utterly astonishing to read, like the origin story of a beloved superhero. And as Elliott Friedman regularly clarifies, to understand the Bible's origin story can only make you appreciate it even more, no matter whether you personally chose to appreciate it as a work of literature, history or holy scripture.
Something that is lost in the book's brisk pace is the genuine origins of many Biblical stories. Elliott Friedman will often simply describe many stories as having existed in the 'oral tradition' before being written down, and then go on to explain the manner of their writing. Where such oral traditions themselves came from is only very briefly and very occasionally elaborated on, which is a shame in my opinion, as there are so many fascinating parallels to be drawn between Biblical stories and those of other mythologies, and by extension so much interesting discussion to be had of where such stories as the Exodus or the Flood may come from. However, I ultimately appreciate that he needed to keep the book to a moderate length; he chose a specific angle from which to deconstruct the Bible's origins and he explained it well.
It must be said that there is a little dishonesty in the book's title. Elliott Friedman only really explains the origins of the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Numbers) and the Deuteronomist History (Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings). The Books of Prophets are briefly discussed and the rest of the Bible is barely mentioned. This book is more truthfully titled 'Who Wrote the First Third of the Old Testament'. But I do understand his decision; the miscellaneous set of books at the end of the Hebrew Bible have scattered narratives and scattered origins that don't fit cleanly into the concise and satisfying picture Elliott Friedman has drawn by the end of the book (or at least not without many, many more chapters), and the New Testament is of course a far later work with very different origins, subject matter and meaning, probably deserving of its own book (which as a Jew I would be far less interested in besides).
This is a brilliant book, easily one of the best works of historical writing I have ever read, and a must read for anyone interested in the Bible, religious history, or even simply how historians can connect disparate evidence to reconstruct the past.
lindseysparks's review
I've read thing that have referred to the writers if the Torah as J, E, P and D but hadn't read anything about that specifically. This book provides a good introduction to the topic. The part I found most interesting was about the Redactor, the person who stitched the four different writers' stories together. That person had a massive impact on the Bible that's been in use for centuries and on the world as a result.
austentranslation's review
3.0
It’s been widely accepted that Moses was the author of the first five books of the Old Testament, known as the Pentateuch or the Torah. Friedman questioned this, and built on the work of several researchers, most notably Julius Wellhausen, who suggested that the Pentateuch was written by four different sources (which he nicknamed “E,” “J,” “D,” and “P”) and possibly a fifth source who did compiling and editing. Delving further into textual analysis and historical data, Friedman sets out to identify each of the writers and to explain the relationship of the authors to each other.
What he concluded was that the way in which each of the four authors wrote or interpreted stories was indicative of, and formed by, their place and time. He grounds each writer in the history of Israel and Judah, and explains why they wrote some of things they did (ex: why sacrifice at a central temple was important during Judean law reform). He also puts forth evidence for more controversial arguments such as the assertion that the writer "D" was the prophet Jeremiah, and that the final editor of all four documents was the prophet Ezra.
While Friedman did provide logical evidence for his theories, because of the nature of textual analysis it’s hard to find any definitive proof. Given the history that we do know, however, his analysis gives great insight into the world that created the Bible.
What he concluded was that the way in which each of the four authors wrote or interpreted stories was indicative of, and formed by, their place and time. He grounds each writer in the history of Israel and Judah, and explains why they wrote some of things they did (ex: why sacrifice at a central temple was important during Judean law reform). He also puts forth evidence for more controversial arguments such as the assertion that the writer "D" was the prophet Jeremiah, and that the final editor of all four documents was the prophet Ezra.
While Friedman did provide logical evidence for his theories, because of the nature of textual analysis it’s hard to find any definitive proof. Given the history that we do know, however, his analysis gives great insight into the world that created the Bible.
glitterbomb47's review
4.0
Recommended to anyone who is interested in the origin of the Old Testament.
mad_hatter's review
informative
5.0
So readable! Packed with detail without being overwhelming or discursive. Not dense at all...an accessible, fascinating look into the work of one of the most influential biblical scholars of the past few decades. Loved the intersection of history, literary analysis, linguistics, and anthropology. Friedman presents his research in an objective way and allows readers to bring their own beliefs to the table and draw their own conclusions.