#6 – “101 Myths of the Bible”: (Part One) Book Review

Summary in Seconds: how I was introduced to this book, the author and his book, the type of this book, quick review of its content, what to expect in my next article.

Over ten years ago, I was attending a cookout in the backyard of a friend of mine when I was introduced to a middle-aged woman who seemed eager to talk to “someone from Egypt.”  She seemed interested, like most Americans, in the history of ancient Egypt and expressed her desire to visit Egypt to experience that history in person.  Our back-and-forth discussion shifted to religion when I mentioned my infatuation with Akhenaten and his monotheistic religion. Later on, we argued about the similarities between one of Akhenaten’s hymns and a famous prayer in the Old Testament¹. During our discussion, she introduced me to Gary Greenberg’s book “101 Myths of the Bible.”  Sometime later, I got a chance to read this book and was very impressed with it, so I contacted the its publisher and purchased the right to publish it in the Arabic language².   

The author and his book

The author of this book is Gary Greenberg.  He is a New York City Attorney, President of the Biblical Archaeology Society of New York, member of The Society of Biblical Literature, The Egypt Exploration Society, The American Research Center in Egypt, The Archaeological Institute of America, and The Historical Society.  Mr. Greenberg is the author of: The Moses Mystery: The African Origins of the Jewish People, Genesis Chronology and Egyptian King-Lists: The Egyptian Origins of Genesis History (Genesis and Egypt), and Who Wrote the Gospels? Why New Testament Scholars Challenge Church Traditions. Mr. Greenberg has lectured frequently on ancient history, mythology, biblical studies, and he has presented papers at several prestigious International Conferences concerned with Egyptian and/or biblical affairs.   

“101 Myths of the Bible: How Ancient Scribes Invented Biblical History” is the title of the book that I selected for this month.  The First Edition of this book was published in 2000 by Sourcebooks, Inc.  “101 Myths of the Bible” has been translated into Arabic and was published in Cairo in 2013 by El Ain Publishing.  ( (101 أسطورة توراتية – ترجمة دينا عبد الرؤوف ومراجعة د. منير موسى

“101 Myths of the Bible” is a non-fictional genre book with an analytical approach to multiple topics that are difficult to categorize. These categories are history, mythology, religion, and philosophy. The book, which spans 319 pages, also has a preface, an introduction, notes on terminology, and three parts that describe in detail the 101 myths that the author selected from the Old Testament. 

Part One: Myths of the Beginning

Part one covers the first eleven chapters of the Book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible.  This part tells the history of the world from the time of Creation to just after the great flood.  Part one contains 47 myths which include stories like the seven days of Creation, Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden, Cain and Abel, Noah and the flood, the repopulation of the world, and the founding of the first nations.  Mr. Greenberg noted Myths of the Beginning because these stories “clearly conflict with conventional scientific wisdom, and are the most controversial portions among those who argue about the accuracy of the Bible.”

Part Two: Myths of the Founders

Part two tells the story of the founders of ancient Israel, from Abraham to his son Isaac and from Isaac to his son Jacob (collectively known as the Patriarchs).  Jacob, who later changed his name to Israel, had twelve male children.  Each one of his sons founded one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel.  Jacob’s most important children were Joseph and Judah.  According to Mr. Greenberg, “the primary purpose of the patriarchal history is to trace the transmittal of the ‘Abrahamic covenant’ from generation to generation.” Part two includes 24 myths (from myths # 48 to # 71). This part includes stories like Abraham came from Ur of the Chaldees, God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, and Lot’s wife turned into a pillar of salt.

Part Three: Myths of Heroes

The last part of this book covers the period of the Israelite’s history from their hardships in Egypt (after the death of Joseph) to the emergence of Moses (the story of Israelite’s Exodus from Egypt entering Canaan) until the first destruction of the Temple in 587 B.C.  This part describes 30 myths (from myth # 72 to myth # 101).  Part three includes stories like Egypt enslaved Israel for four hundred years, God sent ten plagues against Egypt, and Pharaoh’s army drowned in the Red Sea.

In my next article of this book review, I will discuss the mythological nature of many stories of the Old Testament and how ancient Middle Eastern civilizations influenced the Israelites and their Bible.  

References:

1. The similarities between Akhenaten’s Great Hymn to the Aten and the Biblical Psalm 104. 

Assmann, Jan (2020). The Invention of Religion: Faith and Covenant in the Book of Exodus. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-20319-5.

2. Greenberg, Gary (2000). 101 Myths of the Bible, How Ancient Scribes Invented Biblical History. Sourcebooks, Inc.  ISBN 1-57071-842-3.

تأليف جارى جرينبرج – ترجمة دينا عبد الرؤوف ومراجعة د. منير  موسى.  “101  أسطورة توراتية، وكيف إبتدع الكتبة القدماء التاريخ التوراتى”. دار العين للنشر- الطبعة الأولى 2013 ميلادية.