Notes
From Library Journal
Cahill argues that the greatest gifts of the Jews are the linear theory of history (vs. the cyclical theory of other ancients), with its implication that life can get better and avoid decline and the idea of the equality and dignity of each individual that culminated in the declaration that "All men are created equal." Other gifts include the concepts of universal brotherhood, peace, and justice. (LJ 3/15/97)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
Cahill, the author of How the Irish Saved Civilization (1995), turns his attention to how the Jews' concept of one God changed world culture forever. Setting the scene, he offers an extended tour of the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament), looking at the stories and characters found there with a keen and often-amusing eye. He begins with Avraham (Abraham), who heard a voice and was willing to follow it, and explores how that voice made Avraham's descendants think and believe in ways that were so radically different as to change even the concept of time. When Cahill directly addresses the thesis of his subtitle--the Jews' contributions to the evolution of society--his book is at its most interesting. Particularly insightful is his discussion of the Ten Commandments and how they changed the hearts as well as the behavior of humankind. Although there are numerous points here with which readers may disagree, they will enjoy the thought-provoking and spirited (in both senses of the word) discourse. Ilene Cooper --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Kirkus Reviews
An engrossing overview of the values and sensibilities of the Hebrew Bible, and of how decisively they have influenced our own. The second (after the bestselling How the Irish Saved Civilization, 1995) of a projected seven-volume series on the evolution of human sensibility shows how the ancient Israelites transformed the idea of religion by gradually introducing monotheism, and equally transformed our sense of time and history. Beginning with Abraham's departure from his Sumerian homeland, the ancient Hebrews broke with the repetitive cyclical image of history assumed by most ancient religions to forge what Cahill terms the ``processive'' worldview. In this perspective, the present and future become more important than the past, for they are open to change, progress, and hope. Cahill also credits the Hebrew Bible with bequeathing to Western civilization such seminal ideas as the interior self (e.g. in David's Psalms), the universal commonalities of all peoples, and, more dubiously, a focus on interpersonal relationships (e.g. in the Song of Songs). He often manages to turn many a beautiful phrase while being forthrightly colloquial. Occasionally, however, he overdoes the plain talk, missing more profound dynamics, as in noting that he's willing to give God ``the benefit of the doubt'' for commanding Abraham to sacrifice Isaac (Gen. 22) because ``He had to jump-start this new religion and he didn't always have the best material to work with.'' But he occasionally overstates his case--surely the ancient Greeks were as significant an influence on our values and worldview as the ancient Israelites. Nonetheless, in an age crowded with bloated, pedantic tomes, Cahill offers a refreshingly succinct, illuminating, and readable summary of the Hebrew Bible's enduring wisdom and influence.
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