Overview
Leading Experts Introduce the People and Contexts of the Old Testament
What people groups interacted with ancient Israel? Who were the Hurrians and why do they matter? What do we know about the Philistines, the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and others?
In this up-to-date volume, leading experts introduce the peoples and places of the world around the Old Testament, providing students with a fresh exploration of the ancient Near East. The contributors offer comprehensive orientations to the main cultures and people groups that surrounded ancient Israel in the wider ancient Near East, including not only Mesopotamia and the northern Levant but also Egypt, Arabia, and Greece. They also explore the contributions of each people group or culture to our understanding of the Hebrew Scriptures.
This supplementary text is organized by geographic region, making it especially suitable for the classroom and useful in a variety of Old Testament courses. Approximately eighty-five illustrative items are included throughout the book.
What people groups interacted with ancient Israel? Who were the Hurrians and why do they matter? What do we know about the Philistines, the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and others?
In this up-to-date volume, leading experts introduce the peoples and places of the world around the Old Testament, providing students with a fresh exploration of the ancient Near East. The contributors offer comprehensive orientations to the main cultures and people groups that surrounded ancient Israel in the wider ancient Near East, including not only Mesopotamia and the northern Levant but also Egypt, Arabia, and Greece. They also explore the contributions of each people group or culture to our understanding of the Hebrew Scriptures.
This supplementary text is organized by geographic region, making it especially suitable for the classroom and useful in a variety of Old Testament courses. Approximately eighty-five illustrative items are included throughout the book.
Table of Contents
Contents
Introduction
Bill T. Arnold and Brent A. Strawn
1. The Amorites
Daniel E. Fleming
2. Assyria and the Assyrians
Christopher B. Hays with Peter Machinist
3. Babylonia and the Babylonians
David S. Vanderhooft
4. Ugarit and the Ugaritians
Mark S. Smith
5. Egypt and the Egyptians
Joel M. LeMon
6. The Hittites and the Hurrians
Billie Jean Collins
7. Aram and the Arameans
K. Lawson Younger Jr.
8. Phoenicia and the Phoenicians
Christopher A. Rollston
9. Transjordan: The Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites
Joel S. Burnett
10. Philistia and the Philistines
Carl S. Ehrlich
11. Persia and the Persians
Pierre Briant
12. Arabia and the Arabians
David F. Graf
13. Greece and the Greeks
Walter Burkert†
Indexes
Introduction
Bill T. Arnold and Brent A. Strawn
1. The Amorites
Daniel E. Fleming
2. Assyria and the Assyrians
Christopher B. Hays with Peter Machinist
3. Babylonia and the Babylonians
David S. Vanderhooft
4. Ugarit and the Ugaritians
Mark S. Smith
5. Egypt and the Egyptians
Joel M. LeMon
6. The Hittites and the Hurrians
Billie Jean Collins
7. Aram and the Arameans
K. Lawson Younger Jr.
8. Phoenicia and the Phoenicians
Christopher A. Rollston
9. Transjordan: The Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites
Joel S. Burnett
10. Philistia and the Philistines
Carl S. Ehrlich
11. Persia and the Persians
Pierre Briant
12. Arabia and the Arabians
David F. Graf
13. Greece and the Greeks
Walter Burkert†
Indexes
Endorsements
"The best scholars in the modern world illuminate the various peoples in the ancient world of the Bible in this indispensable resource for students and teachers."
William M. Schniedewind, Kershaw Chair of Ancient Eastern Mediterranean Studies, University of California, Los Angeles
"For those interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the Scriptures, The World around the Old Testament is an eminently useful and accessible resource. The volume features detailed, well-written, and informative articles on various peoples and places mentioned in the Bible, written by leading authorities in the field. The careful attention devoted to recent archaeological excavations and ancient inscriptions is most welcome."
Gary N. Knoppers, John A. O'Brien Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame
"The World around the Old Testament is a refreshing contribution to contextualizing the Hebrew Bible within its ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean context. The specialists for each area focus on their particular region while tying it into the larger framework of the Hebrew Bible."
Tammi J. Schneider, professor of religion, dean of the School of Arts and Humanities, Claremont Graduate University
"This is an especially important book. Nowhere else can one find, in a single volume, the kind of up-to-date and nuanced treatment of the ethnolinguistic groups of the ancient Near East that appears in this collection. Each chapter is written by a renowned scholar, and each carefully explains the sources that are used to reconstruct our understanding of the history, language, and religion of these cultures. The clear-eyed examination of current scholarly debates and the identification of key insights for the study of biblical texts also set this book apart. While the authors play to their strengths--with some emphasizing the surviving literature of a given group and others concentrating on political history--all of the discussions are extensive, robust, and far-reaching in their use of contemporary scholarship. The World around the Old Testament will be a very productive resource for advanced students and scholars alike."
Bruce Wells, professor of theology and religious studies, Saint Joseph's University