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K. A. KITCHEN, On the Reliability of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids/Cambridge: Eerdmans, 2003). Pp. xii + 662. $45.
The name of Kenneth Kitchen is well known to both biblical scholars and Egyptologists. The former will recall his earlier books, apologetic in nature, on the Hebrew Bible in its ancient Near Eastern context (Ancient Orient and Old Testament [London: Tyndale, 1966], followed by The Bible in Its World: The Bible and Archaeology Today [Exeter: Paternoster, 1977]). The volume under review consists often chapters, with thirty-eight tables (interspersed throughout the volume), notes (totaling one hundred pages), sixty-two figures (maps, illustrations, charts, drawings, etc.), and indexes of subjects and scriptural references. The ten chapters break down as follows: (1) "First Things First-What's in a Question?"; (2) '"In Medias Res'-the Era of the Hebrew Kingdoms"; (3) "Home and Away-Exile and Return"; (4) "The Empire Strikes Back-Saul, David, and Solomon"; (5) "Humble Beginnings-around and in Canaan"; (6) "Lotus Eating and Moving On-Exodus and Covenant"; (7) "Founding Fathers or Fleeting Phantoms-The Patriarchs"; (8) "A Vitamin Supplement-Prophets and Prophecy"; (9) "Back to Methuselah-and Well Beyond"; and (10) "Last Things Last-a Few Conclusions." Curiously, the numbered figures are also assigned plate numbers (forty in all), although the two do not match, which is very confusing; for example, plate XXI consists of figures 22 A-B and 23, while plate XXXV equals figures 41 A-D. One gets the impression that the plate designations were added later in the editorial process, especially since one finds no listing of them alongside the tables or figures. The lack of an index of authors is bothersome, but, given K.'s often belittling and downright hostile language when citing the views of others and the disciplines they represent, perhaps the need is less relevant. Furthermore, his colorful criticisms vary little from person to person.
In his preface, K. notes that this volume was initially conceived as the OT counterpart to the similarly titled slim volume by the late British classicist and NT scholar F. F. Bruce, The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? (5th ed.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1960). Bruce opens his preface with the "discerning question" of a reviewer: "Reliable as what?" For his part, K. defines "reliability" as a "quest into finding out what may be authentic (or...