Reviews for Testament: The Bible and History

The average rating for Testament: The Bible and History based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-10-27 00:00:00 Adam Davidson I can be a bit snobby about tie-in books, but the documentary series is so good – it wouldn’t be a stretch to say it’s the best I’ve seen – that I thought I’d give this a go. So glad I did. If you’ve seen the series (it’s knocking about on You Tube if you’re interested) you’ll know that a lot of it’s success is down to Romer’s whole manner, and his voice really comes through in the book – which it failed much to do in his earlier book Valley of the Kings. The book and series complement each other very well. The book, of course, has much more detail, but in the series you can see exactly what he’s talking about. That said, the book is very well illustrated, with seven colour plate sections and many many line illustrations. I see from another review on this site that not all editions reprint the illustrations. The first editions have them (both hardback and paperback) as do their 1989 reprints. The sheer weight of Romer’s knowledge of this subject impressed me, I liked his attitude, and he really is a poet. Here he is answering people who want to date Abraham exactly: “And if you try to pin these Patriarchs down more precisely in time the whole family will pack their tents and set off along the old trade routes, over horizons that stretch back thousands upon thousands of years.” I love that equation of time and space. There’s an artistry to the book. Look for dates in the opening chapters and you’ll find few, and those vague. He’s trying to imagine you into the mindset of the time when time was a continuum, not like today where we look at it like a progression. He’s also very good on the Dead Sea Scrolls. I’ve not read them so can’t make my own judgement, but he argues a fringe theory which makes much more sense than the scholars’ current consensus.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-03-05 00:00:00 Nacole Houston While an easy, sometimes interesting, read, this edition of Romer's chatty history of the bible is marred in several respects. First, the 'plates' referred to in the text don't exist. Second, very few factual claims are referenced. Third, the editors allowed inconsistant references to the final book of the bible, sometimes entitling it, correctly, as 'Revelation', sometimes incorrectly as 'Revelations'. Still, the author, an Egyptologist, clearly enjoys his subject and this warmth does come through occasionally. As an introduction, and with a complete edition including the plates, this book would serve.