Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #610828 in Books
• Published on: 1995-09-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

Synopsis
It has long been believed that the great historical events described in the Old Testament were mythological; the accepted chronology of the region does not tally with archaeological discoveries. Through a revision of the master chronology of the ancient world, David Rohl attempts to prove that the events of the Bible really did happen as recorded in the Books of Genesis, Exodus, Judges, Samuel, Kings and Chronicles. Many of the conundrums of the past are explained, and legendary figures such as Joseph, Moses, David and Solomon find their true political setting and some of their archaeological remains are discovered.

Customer Reviews

In search of substance - Not found!
I'm sorry to disagree with the previous reviewers, but my impression after reading the first 100 pages of the book - I couldn't go beyond that - is that the author gets himself lost in the detail. The bottom line of this book might be interesting and could be used for a mazagine article, but not for a 600-hundred-page book!

a fascinating book that links biblical legends to history
A book that I have read several times, mainly because it is very convoluted and there is so much information in it that (as i am neither an Egyptologist nor an ancient linguist) it takes more than one read to absorb; but also because it is so interesting. It does not seek to make theological points but merely takes a very common sense viewpoint that a large portion of the old testament is an historical narrative of a people, laced with religion (which was of course much more important in explaining things when it was written than perhaps now). Casting aside the previously accepted chronology and shedding new light on events that happened, rather than any religious interpretation the author has, in my view, produced a compelling argument, soundly supported and cross-correlated that holds water. Although the book has a little too much detail for an easy read (and there may be an opportunity for a shorter book there or transferring further parts into appendices) I found the arguments well researched, coherent and easy to comprehend. I am convinced that by and large his interpretation is far more accurate than the hitherto accepted analysis. I am reminded of my father telling me that when he was a child scientists proved that it was impossible to fly faster than sound!!

Worth the effort in ploughing through and it even started me re-learning Latin and attempting to learn Greek and get to grips with hieroglyphs.

Thought Provoking
For anyone with an interest in Ancient Egypt or Isreal, this book is a must read. Rohl starts by discussing hard archeological evidence that supports his theory that we have been wrongly dating the Egyption civilization by about 300 years. He then shows how using his new dates the stories in the Old Testament Bible make much more sense. The one failing in the book, is that it does not contain counter arguments from other experts who support the conventional dating system.