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GOD'S FOOTNOTES
The Strange, Funny and Unexpected Ways History Keeps Catching Up With the Bible
by Marcel Arden
Ancient stories. Unexpected discoveries. History with a sense of humour.
SOME THINGS JUST WON'T STAY BURIED.
A pharaoh boasts that Israel is gone — and leaves behind one of the earliest surviving records that Israel existed.
An enemy king preserves the name of David's dynasty.
Babylonian accountants keep a conquered Judean king alive in the paperwork.
Burned scrolls become readable again.
History has a strange habit of preserving the details somebody expected to disappear.
Sometimes history leaves a footnote.
GET GOD'S FOOTNOTES ON AMAZONTHE TRUE VERSION IS INTERESTING ENOUGH.
God's Footnotes brings together thirty-five stories where archaeology, ancient texts, inscriptions, manuscripts and the biblical world unexpectedly intersect.
This is not a book about forcing every discovery to prove every verse.
EVIDENCE FIRST. INTERPRETATION SECOND.
Where scholars disagree, the disagreement belongs in the story. Where an artifact establishes something small, we let it establish only that point.
The reader keeps the final vote.
FEATURED STORIES
THE ENEMY KEPT THE RECORD
The Merneptah Stele was carved to celebrate Israel's destruction. It became the oldest known inscription to mention Israel by name.
PEOPLE WALK OUT OF THE GROUND
Figures dismissed as legendary — kings, priests, officials — keep turning up in the archaeology. The ground has opinions.
TEXTS THAT REFUSED TO DIE
Scrolls burned, buried, hidden and scattered. The ones that survived did so for reasons nobody planned.
THE BIBLE LAUGHS TOO
Dry wit, irony, wordplay and the occasional punchline. The ancient writers knew exactly what they were doing.
WHAT'S INSIDE
Some Things Just Won't Stay Buried.
History is untidy. A pharaoh boasts that Israel is gone — and leaves one of the earliest surviving records that a people called Israel existed. An enemy king preserves the House of David while celebrating his own victories. Babylon keeps ration records for a captive Judean king. Burned scrolls begin speaking again.
In God's Footnotes, Marcel Arden curates thirty-five short stories where archaeology, manuscripts, imperial propaganda, bureaucracy and biblical literature unexpectedly intersect.
This is not a book about making archaeology prove every verse. Evidence comes first. Where scholars disagree, the disagreement stays in the story. The result is history with a light touch: careful about what the evidence can establish, and delighted by the strange reversals it leaves behind.
Ancient stories. Unexpected discoveries. History with a sense of humour.
GOD'S FOOTNOTES
by Marcel Arden
35 stories. Four parts. Thousands of years of history leaving clues behind.
Available now in paperback and Kindle.
WATCH THE STORIES
The stories continue beyond the page. Short documentary-style videos explore the artifacts, people, manuscripts and strange reversals behind God's Footnotes.
WATCH GOD'S FOOTNOTES ON YOUTUBEMARCEL ARDEN
Marcel Arden curates history, texts and the odd persistence of inconvenient facts.
His interest lies where archaeology, ancient records and familiar stories unexpectedly intersect — particularly the moments when evidence survives for reasons nobody intended.
He writes for curious readers rather than specialists.
PRESS & REVIEW COPIES
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media@godsfootnotes.com