David Noel FreedmanCritiques

comprehensive SS reference

Very exact reference work for biblical studies and background explanation for the Old and New Testaments. No work is comprehensive and exhaustive but this work is a very good place to start for biblical theology questions and informed historical opinions with bibliographical citations.

Photo facsimile of the best manuscript of the Hebrew Bible, the one that lies behind all our printed editions. I use it daily.

If having a brilliant idea were truly the secret of success, there would be far fewer patent lawyers in the world.

The idea here is simple but excellent: Take each book of the Bible and see what archaeology can do to illuminate it. For example, the story of the Flood in Genesis is compared with the GIlgamesh tale found by archaeologists. Sarah's decision to let Abraham have children by a concubine is compared to the customs of Nuzi. Throw in a lot of excellent illustrations and you should have a great book.

I really, really wanted that to be true. And I still like the illustrations. But my experience is that the book simply has too many errors. My copy, at least, gives the impression of being a proof copy, not the final published edition. If someone would go and clean those up, we could have something brilliant on our hands. As it is, everything has to be checked against other sources....

The Hebrew Bible in its totality is a quasi-legal brief for Israel's right to the land. The whole story is how it was promised by divine grant, how they occupied it, how they lost it and how they got it back.

This book is exactly what I expected: a very brief overview of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Using an engaging interview format, Kuhlken quizzes Freedman on the various questions surrounding the Scrolls.

Most—but not all—of this book was review for me, but a helpful review. If you’re a little fuzzy on the basics of the Scrolls or are looking for an introduction, this is a great primer. Freedman has studied the scrolls since they were found in 1947, so he’s a reliable guide. He handles questions about treasure-hunts and LXX validation with even grace and wisdom.

Here’s my sole criticism: Kuhlken persists in asking irrelevant Christianity-related questions. Freedman accurately states that the Qumran community was not influenced by Jesus or Christianity—in fact, it’s the other way around. Still, Kuhlken asks a series of questions to relate the two faiths. I suppose that’s what the main audience for this book would expect. I just found it slightly irritating.

You can’t go wrong with this book. It’s not too deep, but it’s wide and reliable.½

A readable, but scholarly and detailed, introduction to the leaders of five of the major religious traditions. Good for cultural background and impact of these men.

This resource has excellent background and research materials; it's just that the conclusions are drawn from the liberal mindset. A must have for pastors and seminary students, well worth the (expensive) price.

this is the most scholarly, academic, and complete bible dictionary i have thus used. although those in the most conservative circle may recommend other dictionaries before this, the extent of its academic and scholarly contribution cannot be ignored by any serious student of the bible. highly recommended.

6 v.

Logos Library

Organization of the Hebrew Bible

NO OF PAGES: 217 SUB CAT I: Ten Commandments SUB CAT II: SUB CAT III: DESCRIPTION: The Nine Commandments is David Noel Freedman's daringly original reading of the early history of the Israelites. Freedman's thesis is as follows: "Hidden in the Bible is a previously unrecognized pattern of commandment violations that has gone undetected for over 2,000 years. In the books spanning from Exodus to Kings the nation of Israel is presented as thoroughly defying its covenant with God by breaking each of the Ten Commandments, one by one, book by book, until there are none--leaving God with only one choice: the destruction of the nation." (The book is titled The Nine Commandments because the pattern it describes is of nine commandments being violated in nine books; Freedman argues that the remaining commandment, against covetousness, is implicitly broken in the perpetration of the other nine offenses.) Furthermore, Freedman believes this pattern indicates the presence of a "Master Editor" who arranged these stories in this order so that readers would be discouraged from emulating Israel's rebelliousness. Freedman, a professor of Hebrew studies at the University of California, San Diego, and general editor of the Anchor Bible series, backs up his ingenious and controversial claims with close textual readings and informs them with deep knowledge of the biblical texts.NOTES: Purchased from Aliens on Earth Bookstore through Amazon.com. SUBTITLE: Uncovering the Hidden Pattern of Crime and Punishment in the Hebrew Bible