Resumo de The Bible In History

The Bible in History is a study of how the Bible
fits into history ? the way in which it deals with the past, the history of the
period it is traditionally supposed to describe, and the history of the period
in which it was written. Ranging from theological exegesis and textual
criticism to drought cycles and settlement studies, it is solid but rewarding.

Part one is an introduction to general historiographical issues: the
problems of confusing stories with historical evidence, the ways in which the
Bible talks about the past and the dangers of confusing that with modern
notions of history, and the use of myths of origin and recurring motifs. As
Thompson writes:

Traditions such as the Bible''s, which provided ancient
society with a common past, are very different from the critical histories that
play a central role in contemporary intellectual life.

The Bible''s language is not an historical language. It is a
language of high literature, of story, of sermon and of song. It is a tool of
philosophy and moral instruction.

Part two is a history of Palestine
and the surrounding region, from the earliest human settlement down to the
Hellenistic period, based on the latest archaeological and historical evidence.
Against the background of long-term climate change, the origin of the Semitic
languages, and broad patterns of cultural change and continuity, it covers
agriculture, settlement patterns, trade networks, and political structures,
from the relationship of towns with their hinterlands to the geopolitics of Egyptian
and Assyrian imperialism.

This of course touches on issues of biblical historicity ? and the findings
of archaeology and history are clearly incompatible with the traditional history
obtained by literalist reading of the Bible. Thompson (a Copenhagen school minimalist) puts this quite
bluntly, writing for example of the tenth century:

There is no evidence of a United Monarchy, no evidence of a
capital in Jerusalem or of any coherent, unified
political force that dominated western Palestine,
let alone an empire of the size the legends describe. We do not have evidence
for the existence of kings named Saul, David or Solomon; nor do we have
evidence for any temple at Jerusalem
in this early period. What we do know of Israel
and Judah
of the tenth century does not allow us to interpret this lack of evidence as a gap
in our knowledge and information about the past, a result merely of the
accidental nature of archaeology. There is neither room nor context, no
artifact or archive that points to such historical realities in Palestine''s tenth
century. One cannot speak historically of a state without a population. Nor can
one speak of a capital without a town. Stories are not enough.

The closing chapter in this part goes into more detail about
some of the more controversial topics: David and the Unified Monarchy and the
exile stories. (The latter have obvious roots in the systematic population
resettlement policies of the Assyrians, Babylonians and Persians, but are not
historical accounts.)

Correcting the damage biblical literalism has done to history is not,
however, Thompson''s primary goal. He is more concerned with the damage done to
theology and biblical studies by an insistence on reading the Bible as history,
and this is the subject of part three. Thompson begins by describing the social
and historical setting within which the bible stories were written and the
background of their authors. He also looks at notions of ethnicity, at what it
meant to be a Jew at the time, and at aspects of the literary context: the use
of tradition and variants, the fitting together of smaller units to form
stories, and the function of commentary.

Three chapters then address a broad range of theological themes. How God
began finds the Bible''s view of God constructed from pieces of earlier
traditions and world-views of exclusive and inclusivsm. It considers
the presentation of Yahweh in Genesis, patron-client relationships as a model,
and how Yahweh became God. Here is Thompson writing about justice, from a
section on Yahweh as godfather:

Nor does the torah ever pretend to be law. Such
legalism belongs to the language of critics, even to early Judaism''s
self-criticism expressed by a Paul. The metaphorical function implicit in the
biblical and ancient Near Eastern traditions of divine patronage marks the
entire concept of justice with religious piety. Not equity but submission is
its governing principle. The ideological basis for such language rests not on
an idealistic and rationalistic balance of justice and mercy, but rather on the
emotions of trust and faithfulness that govern commitments. It rests on
behaviour-governing concepts of honor and on the need for personal acceptance.
These are all aspects of patronage, arbitrary and wilful. They proceed from
decisions both of people and of gods.

The myths of the sons of God covers the birth of a son of
God as a traditional plot motif, stories about murder (notably the Cain stories
in Genesis and Jubilees), and sons of God as saviors, looking at Moses, Samul,
Samson, Jesus, and John the Baptist. And Israel as God''s son looks at the
connection between sons of God and divine presence, at Jesus, the role of
Immanuel, Hosea and Ezekiel, the parable of the wives of Yahweh, and Israel as
God''s beloved. (Some of this is a bit disconnected, with analysis of individual
texts and motifs not always well integrated into broader arguments, but it
might be clearer to those more familiar with the Bible.)

A final chapter steps back to take a broad historiographical view. It
describes the appropriation of the Bible by Europe
and the modern clash between bible studies and theology, then gives some
examples of how profoundly different ancient philosophy was and how the meaning
and interpretation of bible texts have changed over time.

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