Fascinating Facts, Puzzling Problems and Matters of Taste: Controversies About the Bible

The Bible was not written primarily to entertain its readers or to provide interesting facts about history, geography, or daily life in ancient times, though it does all of the above. Because of its unique role as God’s book for all people the Bible generates more interest and controversy than any other book. This creates a whole set of problems for translators of the Bible. Another big problem is that we are so far removed from the daily lifestyles of the people in the Bible. Things and activities that were common in their daily lives are largely unknown to many inhabitants of large, modern cities. The last two centuries have greatly widened the gap between our culture and the culture and daily lives of the inhabitants of the Bible. This creates the plausibility of our title, ＂Fascinating Facts, Puzzling Problems, and Matters of Taste: Controversies about the Bible.＂ It will answer questions like ＂How tall was Goliath?＂ and ＂Did David have red hair?＂ How reliable are the ancient measurements in the Bible? How accurate is the dating of biblical events? This book addresses these and many similar questions frequently asked by readers of the Bible.