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ALPHABETICAL BRAIN™ VOCABULARY
HUMANIST GALAXY
OF SECULAR SCIENCE STARS
ERIC CLINE
September 6, 2021
FROM EDEN TO EXILE:
Unraveling Mysteries of the Bible.
by Eric H. Cline.
National Geographic, 2007
(i-xv, 239 pages, and maps)
Quote = "Cline combines the academic rigor that has won the respect of his peers with an accessible style that has made him a favorite with readers and students alike. He places Biblical stories, such as Noah's Ark, the Flood, and Joshua's storied victory at Jericho, in solid archaeological and historical context. These and other biblical stories are explained in historical context and a few lunatic-fringe fantasies are debunked." (From the publisher's blurb)
Quote = "The greatest challenge for anyone trying to 'solve' a Biblical mystery is that the Bible interweaves the historical and the theological, the mystical and the verifiable: often in one sentence." (By Molly Dewsnap Meinhardt, in the journal, Biblical Archaeology Society from the Introduction of the book, page ix)
BOOK OUTLINE
note = Numbers in parentheses refer to pages
MAP — LANDS OF THE HEBREW BIBLE (vi-vii)
INTRODUCTION (ix-xv)
Quote = "The greatest challenge for anyone trying to ‘solve' a Biblical mystery is that the Bible interweaves the historical and the theological, the mystical and the verifiable: often in one sentence." (By Molly Dewsnap Meinhardt, in the journal, Biblical Archaeology Society (ix)
1) THE GARDEN OF EDEN (1-15)
2) NOAH'S ARK (17-37)
3) SODOM AND GOMORRAH (39-60)
4) MOSES AND THE EXODUS (61-92)
5) JOSHUA AND THE BATTLE OF JERICHO (93-120)
6) THE ARK OF THE COVENANT (121-152)
7) THE TEN LOST TRIBES OF ISRAEL (153-181)
EPILOGUE (183-188)
FURTHER READING (189-192)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (193)
ILLUSTRATION CREDITS (194)
NOTES (195-232)
INDEX (233-237)
INDEX TOPICS HIGHLIGHTED
Abraham: birthplace (40-41, 56-57)
Ark of the Covenant
Assyria: attacks on Israel
Babel, Tower of
Babylon, Iraq: creation story (5, 7)
Babylonian Chronicles
Babylonian Exile
Bible: maximalists and minimalists (xi, 223-224)
Bible: sources (5-7, 19-20, 71, 197, 199-200)
Canaan: Abraham's migration (41-42, 54-55);
Egyptian control (75-76); Israelites in
(xii, 77, 90, 91, 93-94, 106-109, 114-119)
Canaanites: as ancestors of the Palestinians
(xii); creation story, etc (7)
Cyrus the Great, King [Persia]
Egypt: etc
Euphrates River, Asia
Exodus: archaeological evidence (83-87); etc
Garden of Eden: archaeological rvidence
Hammurabi [Babylonian ruler]
Israel
Mesopotamia: agriculture's origins (7-8, 13; etc)
Moses
Nebuchadnezzar, King [Babylon] (126-127, 130-131)
Nineveh, Assyria (20-21, 23, 27, 161, 166)
Noah's Ark: archaeological evidence (27-29, etc)
"Revolting Peasants model" (115, 117)
Ramses, Egypt
Ramses II, Pharaoh [Egypt]
Ramses III, Pharaoh [Egypt]
Pharaoh [Egypt]
Red Sea (64, 65, 74, 78, 85-86, 206)
Samaritans
Santorini [island], Cyclades Islands,
Greece (85-86, 210)
Sargon II, King [Assyria]
Sea Peoples (113, 114, 117, 118-119, 216)
Sodom and Gomorrah: archaeological evidence
Solomon, King [Israel]
Summerian civilization: flood account
Talmud (131-133, 137, 149, 151, 152, 173)
Ten Commandments: Ten Lost Tribes:
archaeological evidence ( 168-172; ect)
Turkey: proposed Eden site (12-13, 14)
Turkey: proposed Noah's arc site (18, 29-31)
Tutankhamun, Pharaoh [Egypt] (136, 145-146, 221)
BIBLE INDEX (238-239)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR (unpaged at end)
AUTHOR NOTES, SUMMARY,
AND BOOK DESCRIPTION
AUTHOR NOTES = Eric H. Cline holds degrees in classical archaeology, Near Eastern archaeology, and ancient history, and currently serves as chair of the Department of Classical and Semitic Languages and Literatures at George Washington University. A prolific researcher and the prize-winning author of seven books, including The Battles of Armageddon: Megiddo and the Jezreel Valley from the Bronze Age to the Nuclear Age, which won a Biblical Archaeology Society Publication Award for "Best Popular Book on Archaeology" and was a Main Selection of the Natural Science Book Club. He lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
SUMMARY = Eric Cline uses the tools of his trade to examine some of the most puzzling mysteries from the Hebrew Bible and, in the process, to narrate the history of ancient Israel. He lays out each mystery, evaluates all available evidence — from established fact to arguable assumption to far-fetched leap of faith — and proposes an explanation that reconciles Scripture, science, and history.
BOOK DESCRIPTION = Cline combines the academic rigor that has won the respect of his peers with an accessible style that has made him a favorite with readers and students alike. He places Biblical stories, such as Noah's Ark, the Flood, and Joshua's storied victory at Jericho, in solid archaeological and historical context. These and other biblical stories are explained in historical context and a few lunatic-fringe fantasies are debunked.
Along the fact-finding journey, our most informed understanding of ancient Israel comes alive. The accurate detail in this groundbreaking, engrossing, entertaining book by a respected archaeologist and professor are dramatic. On ideas that cannot be confirmed or denied yet, Cline reserves judgment.
EDITORIAL BOOK REVIEW
BOOK LIST REVIEW = Cline, a professor at George Washington University who has written several popular books on biblical studies and archaeology, here turns his attention to some of the most enduring biblical mysteries: Was there really a Garden of Eden, and if so, where was it? What happened to Noah's ark? Did the Israelites really trek through the desert for 40 years? What happened to the 10 lost tribes of Israel? These are topics that can and have filled up numerous books of their own, but what Cline intends here is a quick overview, a brisk trip through some of the great mysteries of biblical history, advancing his own theories about what happened and mentioning alternative opinions.In the final chapter, on the lost tribes, for example, after offering persuasive arguments for his opinion that most of the Jews of the time fled to Judah or intermarried with the Assyrians, who occupied the land, he then says, definitively, "These people were never lost." An accessibly written introduction that will likely prompt readers to dig deeper. -- Ilene Cooper.
PROFESSIONAL ENDORSEMENTS
[1] In a world that turns more and more to irrational views of history, Eric Cline demythologizes the "mysteries of the Bible." He does so with the force of reason, using clear language and a perfect command of the ancient records and the finds from the field. -- Israel Finkelstein, Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University, author of The Bible Unearthed.
[2] Eric Cline explores some of the most challenging mysteries of the Bible, from the location of the mythic Garden of Eden to the historical question of how the Ten Lost Tribes were lost. A stimulating and fluent read throughout, and always instructive. -- Baruch Halpern, Pennsylvania State University, author of David's Secret Demons.
[3] Cline is a serious scholar in full command of the subject matter and the available material evidence for recovering and reconstructing the history of Israel in its ancient Near Eastern context. -- David Noel Freedman, University of California at San Diego, author of The Nine Commandments.
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