In an attempt to reconcile the Biblical record with the historical record, Fischer comes up with an extremely interesting hypothesis: Genesis is literally about southern Mesopotamia. Essentially, Genesis 2-11 is the story not of the world, but of the Jewish people and their origins. This is not to say that he claims that Genesis 1 is not the creation of the universe and the world. He in fact makes no claims at all about Genesis 1, his entire analysis is of Genesis 2-11.

Although I took a number of religious studies classes in college, I am not a Biblical scholar by any means. I have never made an exhaustive study of Genesis in the ancient Hebrew, nor do I know any ancient Hebrew at all, other than the bits Fischer taught me in “Historical Genesis”. Neither can I speak with real authority to the veracity of statements about pottery types and flood layers, kings lists and linguistic similarities between the names Ziusudra and Noah. I can say, however, that I felt that I knew far more about the scientific basis for placing the events of Genesis in Mesopotamia and the cultural implications of many parts of the creation and flood stories.

I would highly recommend this book for any interested in the accounts in the book of Genesis. Whether you agree with him or not, Fischer’s book will make you think.

For the full review, see:
http://devourerofbooks.wordpress.com/2008/04/23/historical-genesis-book-review/ ( )