Posted on Sat, Aug. 04, 2007

WEEKLY OFFERINGS

Highlights and reviews of new releases and publications

BOOKS

'FROM EDEN TO EXILE'

By Eric H. Cline. National Geographic. 256 pp. $26.

Cline, a classics professor at George Washington University, brings the scholar's penchant for using multiple sources to seven "mysteries" of the Bible, specifically the Hebrew Bible. Such stories as the Exodus, Noah's ark and the Battle of Jericho are of universal interest.

He uses the material in the Bible, of course, but also the secular records available, as well as the findings of archaeologists.

Cline cautions against the amateur biblical scholarship by people who write easy-to-read best sellers but don't consider all the available evidence.

Fortunately, Cline's book is also easy to read, as well as being authoritative.