Interview with Bruce Gore

Bruce Gore has written a thick book called Historical and Chronological Context of the Bible.

Since I’m a student of church history and the Scriptures, I asked the publisher for a complimentary copy (to see what the book was like and how it was written and arranged) in exchange for an interview with the author.

The interview is below.

What provoked you to write this book?

The book was originally written as a textbook for a class in the historical context of the Bible that I taught to high school students at a classical and Christian school here in Spokane.

How long did it take you to complete?

The book was originally a series of handouts and readings, but over about a 10 year period morphed into an actual book that looked like it might be worthy of publication.

Why is there no bibliography?

That was an oversight. I self-published and was totally responsible for everything, layout, pagination, etc., and although I had a bibliography, somehow forgot to include it in the package I sent to the publisher.

What is the reason why you didn’t document your findings? There are no footnotes or endnotes, only a few primary sources.

For a textbook for high schoolers I did not regard extensive footnotes or endnotes to be essential. I relied primarily on accepted secondary sources for the bulk of the content, but included references to primary sources when it seemed useful. This book was not, nor was it promoted as groundbreaking research, but merely a summary of accepted scholarly opinion on the matters covered.

What else would you like readers to know about your book?

That’s really about it. The book speaks for itself. If any reader wants the bibliography, I’m happy to provide it if they will shoot me an email.

Here’s a description from the publisher:

Take in the full history of the Bible with a detailed account that focuses on its major empires, events and personalities. Written by a religious scholar who has taught at high school, college and adult levels, this historical exploration is organized around the major civilizations and epochs of the ancient world, beginning with Summer and ending with Rome. Author Bruce W. Gore provides a thorough overview of major empires, such as the Assyrians or Babylonians, as well as more modest civilizations, such as the Phoenicians or Hittites. Learn how Cyrus the Persian, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and others changed the course of Christianity. In the course of historical exploration, this account also examines questions that may have puzzled readers of the Bible in the past: • Who was Sennacherib? • To which Assyrian king did Jonah preach, and did this make any difference in history? • What did the “eight night visions” of Zechariah mean in light of the rule of Darius the Persian? Study the Bible with an eye on its ancient setting and develop an understanding of its key people, places and civilizations with Historical and Chronological Context of the Bible.