The Cities That Built the Bible

In this inviting and informed blend of religion, cultural history, and travelogue—illustrated with maps and dozens of color and black-and-white photographs—the archeologist, Bible scholar, and host of numerous television documentaries explores the cities of the Bible and how they influenced the creation and development of the Bible.

Weaving together biblical archaeology, personal experience, and historical geography, Dr. Robert Cargill analyzes the relationship between the Bible and the cities from which it developed. We cannot understand the Bible without understanding the cities and cultures that produced it, he argues. The story of these cities—their history, their archaeology, their mysteries, and the people who inhabited them and later excavated them—is also the story of the Bible itself.

Accessible, engaging, and erudite yet told in Cargill’s compelling, humorous voice,The Cities That Built the Bible is a colorful tour through cities in the Holy Land, including Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Qumran, and Samaria. Along this fascinating journey, Cargill shares a host of surprising facts: there is no archaeological evidence for the biblical Exodus or the existence of Jesus—and no literary evidence from the first century outside of the Bible that mentions Jesus.

An exciting adventure through time, The Cities That Built the Bible is a fresh, fascinating study that sheds new light on the Bible, including how these cities actually play a role in the creation of the sacred text we read today, and offers important insights for historians, archeologists, and all curious people of faith.