25

Since Greek antiquity, and especially with Herodotus and Thucydides, a clear conception of history seems to have become established, even at the expense of excluding from its sphere a certain number of other “historiographies” that would not have coincided with this conception. Although medieval historiography was dominated by the biblical model and its schemes, it found itself gradually dismissed, all the more so as, from the 17th century onwards, the critical examination of the biblical corpus and the different forms that this examination would take during the following three centuries tended to reduce, if not deny, its relevance and importance. Nevertheless, there is history in the Old as in the New Testament. While some recent works have led us to seriously reduce the historical truth of certain characters and events, or even most of the historical synthesis of the O.T., there still exists a historical project that expresses itself in principles, rules, and practices and reveals authentic historical awareness.