Book Review - YHWH by GP Taylor & Paula K Parker

Reading and writing a review of GP Taylor & Paula K Parker's YHWH: The Flood The Fish and The Giant, Ancient Mysteries Retold is one of the more intriguing tasks I have embarked upon recently. The reason is that while there is nothing specifically wrong or negative I can say about the book, there is also very little to say in terms of recommending it to others.

Although not stated explicitly, it seems the purpose of the book is to "fill in the details" on twenty stories from the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). And in so far as that seems to be its purpose, it accomplishes the goal decently. Positively, none of the "extra details" of the narratives contradict the biblical accounts, and they do fill in the details as one might imagine. At times, it makes up names that seem fitting for the historical time of the story, and yet at least in chapter 1, The Fall, the characters who would seem to be Adam and Eve are named Marah and Havva. The rest of the book seems to take seriously the biblical accounts as historically accurate, so this odd re-naming of Adam and Eve seems out-of-place with the rest of the book.

However, there are two negative features to point out... though they are not so much negative as non-descript. First, the writing is nice, easy to read, clear, and reasonable. Yet that it is all that one can say for the writing. It is not historically inaccurate, yet it also does not seem to include or explain any "additional" historical or cultural research that would add to the story beyond what your average high school educated student could add. It is not "brilliant writing" that makes this book come alive.

Secondly, and ultimately my largest criticism of this book is that it adds nothing to our Biblical understanding. Its nice to read on paper what me, my friends, pastors or others may have said in various contexts to fill-in-the-details of the biblical accounts. However, that is all this book is... another person's (two peoples') speculations about what happened based upon what the Hebrew Scriptures do say. Again, nothing wrong with their speculations, yet there is nothing more or less inspiring about their ideas of "reading between the lines" than any other suggestion. And there is nothing about their writing style or research or creative expression that makes this book worth purchasing as something that enlightens biblical thinking.

So, while I do not think anything bad will happen from reading this book, I cannot recommend one spend their hours reading this book, when the Book itself often stays on the shelf unopened or while other additional sources of good writing and/or biblical exposition remain untouched.