Old Testament History

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A Book Report
Presented to
Dr. T.J. Betts
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

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In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for BL101

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by
slytle

October 22, 2008

Sailhamer, John H., Old Testament History. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1998. 96 pp.

Introduction
Old Testament History by John H. Sailhamer is one book in the Zondervan Quick-Reference Library. It is divided into easy to read one-page sections in eleven chapters. Sailhamer begins with “Primeval History” and ends with the “Intertestamental Period”.
Summary
John H. Sailhamer introduces his book by asking, “What is the Bible?” (9) He gives one definitive answer, that it is a book, or series of books that tell God’s story. He asserts that it is divinely inspired because, if not, the authors would appear presumptuous.
Sailhamer goes on to explain what history is and how it applies to the Bible. He maintains that everything that happened to Israel is not necessarily in the Bible. He also says that it is important to study Bible history because it is “essential for demonstrating the truthfulness of the biblical message” and it “can also help fill in the details of many stories in the Bible.”(13)
In the next section, Sailhamer deals with primeval history. He discusses whether Genesis is literal or poetic. He also includes a basic overview of the controversy of Biblical days in the Genesis account of creation. Sailhamer describes the difference between the views of theism (Biblical assumptions), materialism (scientific assumptions) and naturalism (historical assumptions.) He also explains the difference between the positions evangelicals typically take in the conflict between science and the Bible: creationism, progressive creationism and theistic evolution. He ends this section with a brief one-page account of the flood and repopulation of the earth.
The rest of the book discusses Israel’s foundation and creation as a nation. Sailhamer begins with the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He continues with the Exodus from Egypt and the wandering in the dessert. Also covered are the judges, the kings, the Babylonian exile, the return from exile, and finally the period of time between the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Critical Evaluation
In Old Testament History, John H. Sailhamer has tried to cover many topics, and none of them well. One of the major problems with the book is that Sailhamer fails to cite references for the information that he delivers. One is left wondering if he has sources or if he made up the data and statistics. He devotes little over a page to the topic of creationism and evolution. This is not nearly enough to explain the differences in opinion.
It is hard to determine what Sailhamer’s beliefs are in regards to the creation. He gives reasons that evolution is a problem, but presents dates of the creation in terms of billions of years. Sailhamer gives one clue by the way he compares theistic evolutionist and creationists, “theistic evolutionists are similar in the approach to creationists. Both view the meaning of the biblical account in terms of their own particular scientific understanding of the world. The theistic evolutionists apply their evolutionary theories to Genesis 1, and the creationists read Genesis 1 in light of their view of the Genesis Flood. In both cases the meaning of the Bible is ‘explained’ and shown to be true by scientific laws and theory.” (21) One can take from this that Sailhamer sides with the only other choice, progressive creationism. In that, he fails to give the reader any indication why one view might be better than the others.
In the “Patriarchal History” section, Sailhamer states, “Recent studies of agricultural changes suggest that the migration of Abraham may have been associated with a more general migration of peoples throughout the Near East as a result of widespread famine.”(30) His reasoning for this is that “in fact, Abraham himself felt forced to travel beyond Canaan into Egypt because of famine (Gen. 12:10).”(30) Sailhamer ignores the fact that God called Abraham to leave his country, his people, and his father’s household to go to the land that God would show him. (Genesis 12:1)
In another example of statements that have no basis in theology, Sailhamer ends the chapter on Balaam by saying that, “Though Balaam was a pagan diviner, he apparently came across elements of the true knowledge of Israel’s God, either through tradition or through reports of the great things God had done for Israel in Egypt. In that way, Balaam was drawn to identify himself with the Lord without, however, actually becoming a prophet.” (46) The author presents no evidence for believing this, nor does he explain the inconsistency of believing a pagan diviner would submit himself to the will of God without actually becoming a believer and wither being a true prophet or giving up his pagan abilities.
There appears to be no real purpose to Old Testament History. By the end of the book, one is left wondering which elements in the book are true and which are Sailhamer’s conjectures. It would have been a much more worthwhile read had the author included documentation to back up his statements and he had been more coherent in his statements regarding the theology of the Old Testament.
Conclusion
Old Testament History is supposed to be a quick reference guide, but it is difficult to find the exact information that one is looking for. John H. Sailhamer has tried to cover too much information in ninety-six pages. The book does not have enough information to be an in depth study guide, yet it is not well organized enough to be the reference it was intended to be. Sailhamer has made some assertions that are dubious and some that are just wrong. One cannot be sure of the validity of information presented in Old Testament History. This book can only be recommended as a supplement to a more intensive Old Testament Bible study and then only with a skeptical eye.