Kingdom of Priests, 2nd edition by Eugene Merrill

Coming Soon

Merrill, Eugene H. Kingdom of Priests: A History of Old Testament Israel, 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008. Paperback. 560 pages. $34.99

ISBN: 9780801031991

Read an Excerpt.

Publication date: Mar. 08 | Division: Baker Academic

Pre-Order: CBD ($19.99) | Amazon ($23.09)

This afternoon I noticed that Baker Academic will be releasing a 2nd edition of Eugene Merrill's Kingdom of Priests. I don't yet own a copy, but this book has been on my watch list for years. I remember some hearty recommendations of this work by Dr Layton Talbert as he taught through the kings of Israel in a Sunday School series.

This evening I emailed Dr Talbert and asked him to tell me, again, about the usefulness of this work. He graciously responded with a copy of his review of Walter C. Kaiser, Jr.'s A History of Israel (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1998) which has been published in Biblical Viewpoint. In this review he compared Kaiser's work with the preceding Kingdom of Priests by Eugene Merrill. Dr Talbert's review pointed out, in a not so flattering way, how much Kaiser seems to have relied upon Merrill's work. In the end he concludes that, "for the serious and reverent student or teacher of the Old Testament, Kaiser’s work makes a helpful addition to Eugene Merrill’s more theologically thoughtful and readable Kingdom Of Priests."

The major difference between these two History's is that of approach. Talbert notes,

Kaiser’s Preface makes clear that the focus of his concern is almost exclusively historical. Contrast that with Merrill’s philosophy of writing a history of Israel: “The Old Testament is first and foremost theological and not historical literature; this means that theological and not historical approaches must be brought to bear if its underlying purpose and message are to be discerned” (Kingdom Of Priests, 11). This difference in focus produces very different results, indeed. The difference is not that Merrill is any less historically helpful, but that Kaiser is less theologically illuminating.

In his email to me, Dr Talbert closed the sale with the following sentences:

Despite Kaiser’s greater name recognition and wider respectability, Merrill’s volume beats Kaiser’s hands down. (Naturally, since Merrill was trained and taught for a while at BJU!) It is more readable, more substantive, more thorough, more conservative, and less self-conscious about impressing liberal readers.

I especially like the the shameless plug for BJU. :)

Eugene Merrill (ETS page) began his studies at Bob Jones University. It was there that he earned a B.A. (1957), an M.A. (1960), and his first Ph.D. (1963). He taught for a while at the University and then went on to earn a second M.A. at New York University (1970), an M.Phil. (1976), and a second Ph.D. at Columbia University (1985). He is currently the Distinguished Professor of Old Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary.

Here is a list of recommendations I have noted of Kingdom of Priests.

• Akin, Daniel L. Building a Theological Library: The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
• Carroll R., M. Daniel & Richard S. Hess. (2005) Annotated Old Testament Bibliography. DJ.
• Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary. (2005) Basic Library Booklist. Revised ed.
• Köstenberger, Andreas J. (2007) Helpful Reference Tools for Biblical Studies.
• Ligonier Ministries. (na) Book Reviews & Recommendations.

Kingdom of Priests, 2nd edition by Eugene Merrill