Much of the Old Testament looks like history. Yet, a close reading of the biblical text in conjunction with other ancient literature and archaeological evidence indicates that its accounts of 'events' are often inaccurate or untrue. What then were the goals of the ancient biblical historians? How are we to read these texts if not as history?

The Creation of History in Ancient Israel explores a set of biblical texts, which offer answers to these questions. It examines the Book of Chronicles, which presents the clearest model for how ancient biblical historians might have worked. Marc Zvi Brettler, a leading authority in this field, then surveys texts from Genesis, Deuteronomy, Judges and Samuel which illustrate how biblical historians were influenced by typology, interpretation of earlier texts, satire and ideology.

Taking a central chapter from Kings, he shows how these factors function together in a single, complex text. The implications of this model of history writing for the modern historian are evaluated.

1. This study shows how the Hebrew Bible can be used as a historical source. It strikes a balance between the position that the Bible is fictitious and the position that the Bible is completely true.