An Atheist's Guide to the Bible

Historical outline

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A frequently asked question is, can I rely on the historical framework of the Old Testament? The short answer is no, especially for the earliest period - the stories of Noah, Abraham and Moses should be seen as moral tales, not an attempt at historical accuracy.

However, in the later period, from about 700 BCE, the Bible chronology becomes more reliable, as this is the time when the books were collected - the writers were writing about their own times or recent events. There are firm dates for some kings and conquerors mentioned in the biblical text who can be identified from outside sources such as Assyrian king lists. Before that date it is a lot more tricky.

In the New Testament the historical evidence is much better documented, and it is almost certain that Jesus did actually live and teach in the first century Roman province of Judaea.

Main historical periods

The events of the Bible take place against the background of the history of the Near East, specifically Palestine (the area is also known as Canaan or Israel - see geography of the Bible). This area was long the frontier between competing ancient empires. On one side was Egypt, and to the north there was a succession of different empires - Hittite, Assyrian, Babylonian and Persian.

The major periods into which the historical background can be divided largely follow the successive domination of the region by these empires:

• Assyrian period
• Babylonian period - the fall of the kingdom of Judah and the exile
• Persian period
• Hellenistic period
• Rise of the Hasmonaean dynasty in Judah
• Roman Palestine

History and the Bible

It was during the Assyrian period (c.900 - 612 BCE) that many of the books of the Old Testament were composed or edited into something like their present form. Older sources may have been used as a starting point but a process of editing known technically as redaction can be seen in the texts.

The historical books of the Old Testament tell of two kingdoms - the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. Both kingdoms fell to invaders - first the north was taken by the Assyrians, and later in 587 BCE the kingdom of Judah fell to the Babylonians who had taken over the Assyrian empire - see the Fall of Judah.

Following defeat and deportation many people from the Palestinian area went into exile, until the Persian king Cyrus overthrew the Babylonians and established his own empire. He permitted some exiles to return to the area of Jerusalem and formed a new state of Judah. The picture of pre-exile life which they presented in their scriptures did not necessarily reflect the historical past accurately. Far more importantly, it provided a rallying point of cultural identity for the adherents of Yahweh, and in particular tried to make sense of their history in terms of a divine plan and a relationship between a god and his people.

For a time in the 330s BCE the conquests of Alexander the Great of Macedon swept away all the ancient empires and unified the Eastern Meditteranean under Greek rule. The epoch which followed is known as Hellenistic. A common culture was established, based on the new cities which the Greeks founded, and the common civilised language was Greek.

Alexander's successors ruled the various parts of this vast domain, but soon fell to fighting among themselves. Once again the inhabitants of Palestine were in the position of being a buffer state. In Egypt there were the Ptolemies, and to the north the Seleucid empire in Persia. This was a tremendously important period for the small Jewish state as they successfully asserted their independence in the Maccabean revolt. The new Jewish ruling dynasty were known as the Hasmonaeans.

From the 1st Century BCE onwards, Roman power was dominant in the region. By the time Jesus lived, all of Palestine was under Roman control, either directly or through client states and puppet rulers like Herod. The Judaea of this time had a strong tradition of resisting Roman rule, often leading to rebellion and cruel suppression. Eventually after two major wars the Romans crushed the popular opposition completely.

Some knowledge of this historical context is essential for understanding the Bible and its setting. Here are some of the milestone events and their dates, in reverse chronological order:

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