This article is a review of the Modern Scholar series course entitled a History of Ancient Israel by Eric Cline.  In this article, I will review the course by discussing the author and contents and by giving an overall evaluation.

The author: Eric Cline is the author or perhaps it would be better to say lecturer in a History of Ancient Israel.  He is Chair of the Dept. of Classical and Semitic Languages and Literatures at George Washington University.  Cline’s academic record, with degrees from Dartmouth, Yale, and the University of Pennsylvania make him a highly respected authority in the area of Ancient Israelite History.  He takes a moderate approach to issues related to the History of the Hebrew Bible, which simply means that he neither assumes the stories of the Old Testament as historical fact, nor completely dismisses them as myth.  This allows him to speak to students regardless of their theological commitments.

The Contents: A History of Ancient Israel covers the time period from the Biblical patriarchs down to the time of Roman rule.  This means that the course covers the time period from Genesis 12 to the intertestamental period, not extending back into the distant past of human origins.  The lectures give a good balance between general coverage of historical time periods while also presenting the learner with specific historical details or case studies.  For example, there are lectures devoted to the general time periods of the united and divided monarchies, yet there are also lectures or sections of lectures devoted to topics like the Ark of the Covenant and the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.  This is not to mention that the student get interesting tidbits of information like archaeologists have excavated the remains of toilets that date back to the time of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem.

Overall Appraisal: My overall appraisal of a History of Ancient Israel is  it is worthwhile for any student of the Hebrew Bible or  Ancient world.  The one drawback that I find inherent in the course is Professor Cline’s voice.  He seems genuinely interested in the material that he is covering; however, his voice can sometimes be monotone.  Therefore, I would suggest not listening to a number of lectures in a row.  Otherwise, the material comes from a well-respected authority in the field and gives the learner both a good general overview as well as a solid knowledge of some of the specifics of Israel’s history.

If you would like to get this course for free, go to my site for Old Testament audio

Jeremy Thompson is a Doctoral Student in Biblical Languages and Graduate level Instructor in Old Testament/Hebrew Bible.

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