Objectives
- Explains how modern historians think about history and historiography.
- Introduces you to the points of contention between scholars over Old Testament historiography.
- Exposes weaknesses and inconsistencies with criticisms of Old Testament historiography and modern historical methods.
- Illustrates how to frame the question of Old Testament historicity.
Additional Resources
- Books:
- Richard S. Hess, Introduction, from Ancient Israel’s History: An Introduction to the Issues and Sources
- Jens Bruun Kofoed, The Old Testament as Cultural Memory, from Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith?: A Critical Appraisal of Modern and Postmodern Approaches to Scripture
- Sandra Richter, Deuteronomistic History, from the Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books (full essay)
Discussion
The following statement was including in an email to Dr. Heiser:
We don’t know who wrote some of the biblical books. If we can’t be sure the Bible was written by a reliable author, how can we trust it?
What is / are the logical fallacy / fallacies in the following statement?