Liora Ravid

Anyone engaged in serious Bible study knows how important it is to have a realistic understanding of the times and settings of the events described. Daily Life in Biblical Times by Liora Ravid, a native Israeli with a PhD in biblical studies, provides this background information for many of the major characters and stories in the Hebrew Bible.

Drawing on historical and archaeological resources, Dr. Ravid describes the prevailing cultural realities, social norms, and legal systems at the time the biblical narratives took place. She offers knowledgeable answers to the many basic questions that arise for the modern reader of the Bible. (For example, how long did it take Abraham, Sarah and Lot to travel from Ur to Hebron?) She also elucidates the true Hebrew-language meanings largely hidden in English translations.

The book is divided into six major parts: (1) Abraham, his family and their journeys; (2) the women of the Bible; (3) the dynastic processions of the forefathers and foremothers; (4) the rape stories and the rebellion of Absalom; (5) the inheritance stories; and (6) the world of the Bible narratives as they really happened. In conclusion, Dr. Ravid says she has tried to peel away the legendary overlay from the biblical stories to reveal a realistic historical society. By so doing, she hopes to have shown the Bible to be “a credible testimony about the beginnings of a nation and its land.”

Although the book is very readable, its level of detail makes it somewhat difficult to read from cover to cover. I found it more helpful first to scan its contents and then to peruse its various sections in conjunction with Bible study. The book is recommended for all church and synagogue libraries and for all those desiring more background information on biblical characters and stories.… (meer)

The author takes several major themes that would impact family (and 'tribal' life) in the time of the Jewish Bible / Old Testament, covering topics such as inheritance, the roles and rights of women as wives, concubines, and slaves, and the patriarchy in general. Derived almost entirely from textual evidence rather than archaeological or physical evidence (which would indeed be scant for a nomadic people), she makes brings out many points from the text that may have significant cultural differences between the authors' / subjects' time and our own. In doing so, she does serve to give a richer picture of the situations portrayed, and perhaps gets the reader closer to how the original stories may habe been received, with a shift in emphasis or nuanced understanding. Even the punning language of the text can lead to new insights. However, it is a bit frustrating that she seems to have no clearly explained guide as to when fantastical language of the texts should be rejected (e.g., impossibly long life spans) and when it should be carefully explained as rational, no matter how improbably (impossibly long journeys). There are also some disturbing 'readings' of the psychology of ancient characters, such as the discussion of rape, or the unironic comparison of Israelite settlers and Canaanites to American 'pioneers' and the Native Americans who 'opposed' them.… (meer)

I found this book to be very interesting. It gave a lot of information on questions that are of interest. We get to see how people of the Bible days lived and handled many things that came up in their lives We find that many things where the same back then, and they set up laws to live by just as it is today. I would say this is a great book for someone that is studying the Bible. Also would be a great reverence book for for a Bible teacher. I enjoyed this book reading over may things I wondered about.… (meer)