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The Natural History of the Bible: An Environmental Exploration of the Hebrew Scriptures Paperback – November 29, 2007

by Daniel Hillel (Author)
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 15 ratings
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Traversing river valleys, steppes, deserts, rain-fed forests, farmlands, and seacoasts, the early Israelites experienced all the contrasting ecological domains of the ancient Near East. As they grew from a nomadic clan to become a nation-state in Canaan, they interacted with indigenous societies of the region, absorbed selective elements of their cultures, and integrated them into a radically new culture of their own. Daniel Hillel reveals the interplay between the culture of the Israelites and the environments within which it evolved. More than just affecting their material existence, the region's ecology influenced their views of creation and the creator, their conception of humanity's role on Earth, their own distinctive identity and destiny, and their ethics.

In The Natural History of the Bible, Hillel shows how the eclectic experiences of the Israelites shaped their perception of the overarching unity governing nature's varied manifestations. Where other societies idolized disparate and capricious forces of nature, the Israelites discerned essential harmony and higher moral purpose. Inspired by visionary prophets, they looked to a singular, omnipresent, omnipotent force of nature mandating justice and compassion in human affairs. Monotheism was promoted as state policy and centralized in the Temple of Jerusalem. After it was destroyed and the people were exiled, a collection of scrolls distilling the nation's memories and spiritual quest served as the focus of faith in its stead.

A prominent environmental scientist who surveyed Israel's land and water resources and has worked on agricultural development projects throughout the region, Daniel Hillel is a uniquely qualified expert on the natural history of the lands of the Bible. Combining his scientific work with a passionate, life-long study of the Bible, Hillel offers new perspectives on biblical views of the environment and the origin of ethical monotheism as an outgrowth of the Israelites' internalized experiences.
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  1. Print length
    376 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Columbia University Press
  4. Publication date
    November 29, 2007
  5. Dimensions
    6.41 x 0.7 x 9.19 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0231133634
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0231133630
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

This is a book to supplement and fill in details of natural history that are generally absent or neglected in standard hisotrical studies. It is well illustrated and the bibliography is extensive. ― The Master's Seminary Journal

That environmental factors affect our daily lives is disputed by no one. But can environment, climate and topology play a part in the development of a religious community? Hillel, professor emeritus of environmental studies at the University of Massachusetts and senior research scientist at Columbia University's Center for Climate Systems Research, says yes. He comes to the subject immersed in the lore of ancient Israel, from his grandfather's instruction to his own years living in modern Israel. He sees the Jewish belief system as an amalgam of ideas emerging from an interplay of human beings with both the land and its peoples, "absorb[ing] all the cultural strands... from all the ecological domains of the ancient Near East... and assimilat[ing] them into their own culture." He divides sacred history into seven "domains," dispensations based not on some theological construct but rather on the terrain in which the Israelites lived. What emerges is a largely naturalistic explanation of Israel's beliefs and laws, with a strong emphasis on the impact of culture and environment on the evolving Jewish religion. Hillel recounts, in a richly detailed and beautifully told manner, the origins of the Hebrew Bible in a new and satisfying way. (Jan.) ― Publisher's Weekly

Hillel recounts, in a richly detailed and beautifully told manner, the origins of the Hebrew Bible in a new and satisfying way.Publishers Weekly ― Publishers Weekly

With all the commentaries and books on the Hebrew Scriptures that have appeared over the years, it would seem nearly impossible to write something unique and illuminating. Yet this is precisely what Hillel has done by providing an environmental and ecological analysis of the text. ― Library Journal

Engrossing... Hillel offers new perspectives on biblical views of the environment. ― Wispas

The results are fascinating. -- Edward Rothstein ― New York Times

Hillel... offers us a quintessential resource for understanding the role of nature in Jewish cultural and religious movements. -- Daneil Orenstein ― Jerusalem Report

Hillel takes a fresh and invigorating approach to biblical exegesis... A detailed ecological analysis of the Bible. -- Josie Glausiusz ― Forward

Hillel's contribution is truly distinctive, insightful and provocative. -- Sandee Brawarsky ― The Jewish Week

[The Natural History of the Bible] should be of equal interest to the student of ecology and the student of theology. -- Sir Ghillean Prance ― The Times Higher Education Supplement

A highly stimulating new take on an old question, and deserves to be widely read. -- John Barton ― Times Literary Supplement

It definitely belongs on the shelves of those interested in the development of biblical culture. -- Rabbi Rachel Essermang ― The Reporter

Daniel Hillel's The Natural History of the Bible is a very good read and deserves a place on the shelf. -- Alon Tal ― Environmental History

Fascinating because of its fine prose, important because of its scope. ― Kansas City Star

An informed and readable entrance into a profound world. -- Harvey E. Goldberg ― The European Legacy

The Natural History of the Bible is one beautiful book. -- Jeanne Kay Guelke ― Environmental Ethics

I highly recommend this book. -- Rabbi Louis A. Rieser ― Church and Synagogue Libraries

Daniel Hillel has done a magnificent job and contributed substantially both to Biblical scholarship and to the understanding of the ecology of the area. But he goes much deeper than simply interpreting the Bible's ecological setting. Hillel allows us to understand better the minds of those who were recording the events in Egypt, the return to Canaan, David and Solomon, and the various interpretations of Jerusalem, as well as the meaning of these events. So well presented and so informative. -- Peter H. Raven, Home Secretary of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and former president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

A refreshing, detailed and stimulating account of an important aspect of ancient Israelite development. -- Hilary Marlow ― Journal of Jewish Studies

For anyone concerned about the origins of the Hebrew Bible... this is a fascinating book that can be highly recommended. -- Antoinette Bosco ― The American Catholic

Hillel's rational accounts of natural phenomena in the Hebrew scriptures and his thesis about the formation of montheism will assist anyone who wishes to extend understanding of the Bible as a foundational text for Western civilization and to comprehend the relationship between faith formation and place. -- James W. Hood ― Friends Journal

About the Author

Daniel Hillel is professor emeritus of environmental studies, University of Massachusetts, and senior research scientist, Center for Climate Systems Research, Columbia University. He is the author or editor of more than twenty books, including Negev: Land, Water, and Life in a Desert Enviornment; Out of the Earth: Civilization and the Life of the Soil; and Rivers of Eden: The Struggle for Water and the Quest for Peace in the Middle East. He is the 2012 World Food Prize Laureate.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Columbia University Press (November 29, 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 376 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0231133634
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0231133630
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.14 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.41 x 0.7 x 9.19 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 15 ratings

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Daniel Hillel

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Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
15 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

E. N. Anderson
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful introduction to Biblical nature
Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2010
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The previous six reviews make the main points, especially about Daniel Hillel's excellent study of the actual environmental attitudes in the Bible--so different from the "dominion" line unfortunately placed early in Genesis. The one thing worth adding is that this is an introductory book. It retells Biblical history up to the end of the Babylonian Captivity, with descriptions of the natural and agricultural landscapes. If you want to go on and find out about animals and plants, I have some suggestions that are off the beaten path but absolutely not to be missed. Hillel cites two of them, both confusingly called PLANTS OF THE BIBLE. One is by H. and A. Moldenke and came out in 1952; it is best for folklore and uses. The other is by D. Zohary, and came out in 1982; it's best for the botany. The Zohary family has written several newer books too, cited in Hillel.
More obscure but really good is an essay by Eugene Hunn: 1979. "The Abominations of Leviticus Revisited: A Commentary on Anomaly in Symbolic Anthropology." In: Ellen, Roy F., and David Reason (eds.), Classifications in Their Social Context. London: Academic Press. Pp. 103-116.
This is by far the best (indeed, the only thorough and accurate) article on why some animals were banned and some were not. Basically, the ones that shed blood or eat carrion are banned, and a few others that Hunn explains.
Finally, a truly amazing book: A SHEPHERD LOOKS AT PSALM 23, by Phillip Keller. Keller was a sheep farmer, and he brings out the full depth of Psalm 23 ("The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want...") by explaining all the lore about taking care of sheep that is implied in it. The pastoral Israelites knew all this, but modern urban readers don't, and thus miss far too much of the wonderful symbolism in this poem. The book reminds us of how much of the Bible relies on natural symbol and metaphor that the original readers know, but we now tend to miss. For instance, when Isaiah (34:11) is describing future punishments in the land, he says "the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it." This means it will become a salt marsh from overirrigation. Hillel explains the process but does not note that cormorants and bitterns in the Holy Land live in salt marshes. And the Song of Songs is metaphoric on several levels; Moldenke and Moldenke explain a lot of the floral and spice symbolism in it.
I wonder what Biblical literalists do with these passages.
7 people found this helpful
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Michael Lewyn
3.0 out of 5 stars OK but would have been better had it been shorter
Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2023
The most useful part of this book (which comprises a little over half of its pages) focuses on several ecological "domains" where the Hebrews and their neighbors lived, and shows how various features of those domains affected the Bible's heroes and their neighbors.

Hillel devotes special attention to the "pastoral domain" the semiarid-but-not-quite-desert where the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) lived. These areas received just enough rain to be grazable by sheep and other livestock, but not enough for regular farming. Hillel explains that many otherwise inexplicable parts of the Torah make more sense if you know more about the pastoral domain. For example, one reason for Jacob's refusal to join Esau in Seir (Gen. 33:13-14) may have been that if the two brothers lived near each other, they might quickly discover that there was not enough grass or water for both brothers' flocks. Similarly, a couple of generations earlier, Abraham and Lot parted ways because their land was not fertile enough to support all of their livestock).

Hillel also explains the nomadic emphasis on hospitality (exemplified by Abraham's behavior in Gen. 18). He notes that in a not-very-fertile area, a family of shepherds may overgraze its temporary home within a few weeks, and will need to know where to go for subsistence. Thus, the family will need information more than anything else. And who can they get this information from? Travelers. Thus, a family of nomadic shepherds ha a strong incentive to get along well with travelers.

Hillel's next chapter is about the "riverine domain"- that is, Egypt, where most agriculture came from the Nile River. Hillel points out that the irrigation of the Nile often allowed Egyptians to have enough grain to store for hard times; even though Egypt did have famines, those famines were usually not at the same time as famines in rainfall-based societies to the east. As a result, when there was a famine in (for example) Canaan, it made sense for that region's pastoralists (such as the patriarchs) to come to Egypt for food.

After the Hebrews left Egypt, they moved through the wilderness- so Hillel has a chapter on the "desert domain" that this wilderness included. Hillel suggests that some of the "desert miracles" of the book of Exodus have a rational explanation. For example, Moses threw a piece of wood into the water and thus made it drinkable (Exodus 15). Hillel suggests that if a pool of water is covered with algae or other waste, throwing something into the water might stir it up enough to bring better water to the surface. Hillel also has chapters on the more fertile "rainfed domain" of Canaan and on life near the ocean.

The last few chapters of the book are a more general history of ancient Judaism, told from a secularist point of view. (That is, Hillel believes that the Torah was pieced together from a variety of traditions, rather than being the product of a Divine author).

But the latter chapters were less interesting to me; I don't get the sense that Hillel has as much expertise about history and religion as he does in environmental science. Here's one very trivial example: one footnote describes the Talmud as "one of the pillars of Orthodox Judaism." This is misleading for two reasons. First, non-Orthodox Judaism is based on the Talmud to some extent as well, even if it is more willing to deviate from the Talmud to reflect modern views. Second, there was no such thing as "Orthodox Judaism" until Reform Judaism emerged in the 19th century. Before then, there was "rabbinic Judaism", which was the only form of Judaism that existed in many places between the creation of the Talmud and the birth of Reform.
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David Arnow
5.0 out of 5 stars Reading the Bible with Fresh Eyes
Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2006
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Reading The Natural History of the Bible is like taking a trip to one of the most fascinating regions on the planet with a world class environmental scientist as your guide. Seeing the biblical landscape through Daniel Hillel's eyes allows you to notice aspects of the text that you've probably ignored regardless of how much time you've spent with the Hebrew Scriptures. Far from being unimportant background features, Hillel makes a strong case that that the succession of diverse habitats in which the ancient Israelites found themselves helped shape the development of their commitment to monotheism. In addition to a sharp eye for the details of the biblical landscape, the author has an ear for the language of the Bible that many trained linguists would envy. Hillel presents not only a fresh reading of ancient texts, but a passionate pleading for surrendering the widely held but dangerously simplistic view that blames our present environmental crisis on the Bible--i.e. on God's instruction to Adam and Eve that they, and their descendents "subdue" the earth. Hillel concludes that "using the Bible to justify or even to explain the abuse of the nature is an abuse of the Bible." If you're looking for an eminently readable book that will transform your understanding of the Bible and the natural world this is it.
16 people found this helpful
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E. D. Hance
1.0 out of 5 stars A book only a Phd would love.
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2013
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This is a very long, detailed tomb written in small print. It is written with great care and outstanding knowledge. If you have great passion for Bible history, then this is the perfect book for you. I struggled to read it.
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