--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I find it exciting to get any historical…" description: "\"I find it exciting to get any historical material from the ground. As you know, I love to put ancient Israel and its literature into their ancient cont..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/frank-moore-cross-14963_ancient_i-find-it-exciting-to-get-any-historical_2812965.jpg" --- # I find it exciting to get any historical material from the… ![“I find it exciting to get any historical material from the ground. As you know, I love to put ancient Israel and its literature into their ancient contexts. And to rebuild - that is, to me, a very exciting historical task.” quote by Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/frank-moore-cross-14963_ancient_i-find-it-exciting-to-get-any-historical_2812965.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/frank-moore-cross-14963_ancient_i-find-it-exciting-to-get-any-historical_2812965.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/frank-moore-cross-14963_ancient_i-find-it-exciting-to-get-any-historical_2812965.jpg) > “I find it exciting to get any historical material from the ground. As you know, I love to put ancient Israel and its literature into their ancient contexts. And to rebuild - that is, to me, a very exciting historical task.” [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Excitement comes from reconstructing ancient contexts, revealing the living world of historical texts **In simple terms:** Rebuilding ancient contexts is thrilling Key Takeaway Engage deeply with primary sources to uncover historical realities Themes history archaeology literature Mood enthusiastic scholarly Type academic inspirational When to use this quote - academic research - museum curation - educational curriculum - cultural heritage projects Key Concepts ancient Israel textual analysis Questions to Reflect On - How can we ensure authentic reconstruction of ancient societies? - What value does contextualizing ancient texts bring today? A Different Perspective Modern bias may color reconstructions ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) [Historical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) ## Related quotes > [“But what does America have to do with ancient Israel? 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It's just a complete deconstruction, and when you start to rebuild, nobody has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-connick-jr/you-won-t-talk-to-anybody-who-breaks-lyrics-down-more-thoroughly-it-s/) [Harry Connick, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-connick-jr/) > [Trust takes one second to lose and a lifetime to rebuild.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathie-lee-gifford/trust-takes-one-second-to-lose-and-a-lifetime-to-rebuild/) [Kathie Lee Gifford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathie-lee-gifford/) > [9/11 occurs, and you're going to rebuild, and after awhile, the memory will be there, but there will be something new there, and different,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/9-11-occurs-and-you-re-going-to-rebuild-and-after-awhile-the-memory/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [“the desperate need to get back to normal housing and other living conditions stimulated increased efforts. But this does not mean that property destruction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/the-desperate-need-to-get-back-to-normal-housing-and-other-living/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [“I struggled, while facing my own death, to rebuild my old life—or perhaps find a new one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/i-struggled-while-facing-my-own-death-to-rebuild-my-old-life-or/) [Paul Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/) > [Don't be afraid to start over. It's a new chance to rebuild things. This time better. The way you want it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-be-afraid-to-start-over-it-s-a-new-chance-to-rebuild-things/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > ['Falling Skies' is not just about aliens attacking. 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Without it, you’ll crush people’s spirits.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-chand/work-hard-to-build-or-rebuild-trust-with-it-you-can-fulfill-the/) Samuel Chand > [“She would fold herself around him to protect him. She would drink out all the darkness from him and pour out all her light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-henry/she-would-fold-herself-around-him-to-protect-him-she-would-drink-out/) [Emily Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-henry/) > [It is not difficult to rebuild a life. All we need is to be aware that we have the same strength we had before,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/it-is-not-difficult-to-rebuild-a-life-all-we-need-is-to-be-aware-that/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) ## More by Frank Moore Cross > [The text says Deuteronomy was lost, but you say it was written then.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/the-text-says-deuteronomy-was-lost-but-you-say-it-was-written-then/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [If I had to choose between the two ways of approaching the deity, I should prefer the existential relational way, to the abstract philosophical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/if-i-had-to-choose-between-the-two-ways-of-approaching-the-deity-i/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [ \[Sacrifice of Isaac\] is a major theme of the so-called Elohist \[one authorial strand in the Pentateuch\]. It is marked by all of his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/sacrifice-of-isaac-is-a-major-theme-of-the-so-called-elohist-one/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [My father's religious life was not Biblically centered. He was a saintly man, whom I could never emulate, so I went into scholarship rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/my-father-s-religious-life-was-not-biblically-centered-he-was-a/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [When you come to the New Testament you can't even swing a cat without hitting three demons and two spirits. And magic becomes something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/when-you-come-to-the-new-testament-you-can-t-even-swing-a-cat-without/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [ \[The story of Adam and Eve\] it's poetry. One must interpret it as poetry. The first 11 chapters of Genesis \[the Primeval History\] are… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/the-story-of-adam-and-eve-it-s-poetry-one-must-interpret-it-as-poetry/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [Israel defined its God and its relation to that God in existential, relational terms. They did not, until quite late, approach the question of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/israel-defined-its-god-and-its-relation-to-that-god-in-existential/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [ Elie \[Wiesel\], when you ask, "Why do I want to know," I'm trying to grab the holy. And I'm getting thrown back. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/elie-wiesel-when-you-ask-why-do-i-want-to-know-i-m-trying-to-grab-the/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [ The history of interpretation \[of the Bible\] is fascinating; but that is something else. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/the-history-of-interpretation-of-the-bible-is-fascinating-but-that-is/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [We want to live in ambiguity. This is the human condition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/we-want-to-live-in-ambiguity-this-is-the-human-condition/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [I prefer to have all of this apparatus - historical, literary, critical - and then, beyond initial innocence and naiveté, to try to achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/i-prefer-to-have-all-of-this-apparatus-historical-literary-critical/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [We are thrown back on the text, for the most part. Archaeology can give us background. It doesn't either confirm or disprove the Bible,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/we-are-thrown-back-on-the-text-for-the-most-part-archaeology-can-give/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [It has been said that in order to pursue the history of Biblical interpretation, you must include the whole philosophy of the West, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/it-has-been-said-that-in-order-to-pursue-the-history-of-biblical/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [ You have miracles \[in the Hebrew Bible\], yes, but they're not the work, normally, of demons. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/you-have-miracles-in-the-hebrew-bible-yes-but-they-re-not-the-work/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [ I guess what this is reflecting is my own search for answers that I can't find. Frank \[Moore Cross\] and I have examined a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/i-guess-what-this-is-reflecting-is-my-own-search-for-answers-that-i/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) [Explore all 44 Frank Moore Cross quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) ## More Ancient quotes > [“We ought to know the history of our ancient ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-ought-to-know-the-history-of-our-ancient-ancestors/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [In ancient times, those who wished to illuminate the world with virtue first brought order to their nations. Wishing to order well their nations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/in-ancient-times-those-who-wished-to-illuminate-the-world-with-virtue/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“Whenever I think about ancient cultures nostalgia seizes me. Perhaps this is nothing but envy of the sweet slowness of the history of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/whenever-i-think-about-ancient-cultures-nostalgia-seizes-me-perhaps/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [I don't know if I've come of age, but I'm certainly older now. I feel shrunken, as if there's a tiny ancient Oliver Tate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-dunthorne/i-don-t-know-if-i-ve-come-of-age-but-i-m-certainly-older-now-i-feel/) [Joe Dunthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-dunthorne/) > [Tentatively I stood a great lump of wood on the chopping block and bought the axe down on it. It flew into two perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/tentatively-i-stood-a-great-lump-of-wood-on-the-chopping-block-and/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [Men must speak English who can write Sanskrit; they must speak a modern language who write, perchance, an ancient and universal one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-must-speak-english-who-can-write-sanskrit-they-must-speak-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [So too, monks, I saw the ancient path, the ancient road traveled by the Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past. And what is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/so-too-monks-i-saw-the-ancient-path-the-ancient-road-traveled-by-the/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Ancient societies had anthropomorphic gods: a huge pantheon expanding into centuries of dynastic drama; fathers and sons, martyred heroes, star-crossed lovers, the deaths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/ancient-societies-had-anthropomorphic-gods-a-huge-pantheon-expanding/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [My life shall be free and broad and great, and I will not be the slave to the sense delights which chained my ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/my-life-shall-be-free-and-broad-and-great-and-i-will-not-be-the-slave/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [Those of us with this ancient compulsion to tell stories sometimes start with a single kernel of something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-p-jones/those-of-us-with-this-ancient-compulsion-to-tell-stories-sometimes/) [Edward P. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-p-jones/) > [All the stories I have told you are finally as useless as all ancient knowledge is to man and to us. Its images and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/all-the-stories-i-have-told-you-are-finally-as-useless-as-all-ancient/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [So what if I'm ninety-three? So what if I'm ancient and cranky and my body's a wreck? 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