THE OLD TESTAMENT AND HISTORY: SOME CONSIDERATIONS

Any historical study of ancient texts has to begin ~y. establishing their reliability as records of events or sltuatlons. The historian has to consider whether it is proper to suppose the documents he is able to use may relate faithfully what happened, or not. All will agree that every document from the past has historical value. A single name scratched or painted on a cup is witness to the currency of that name, and probably of its parent language, and of the script, in a society where the cup was inscribed at some stage of its existence. The writing and the cup may be mutually illuminating in matters of date and origin. A long royal inscription can offer much more information. If it includes narratives of the king's deeds, their form and style will throw light on literary practices and traditions, their content may give a precise date for their composition. Their content will also indicate the way the author or authors thought, and perhaps reveal the purpose of writin