Leading evangelical scholar John Walton surveys the cultural context of the ancient Near East, bringing insight to the interpretation of specific Old Testament passages. This new edition of a top-selling textbook has been thoroughly updated and revised throughout to reflect the refined thinking of a mature scholar. It includes over 30 illustrations. Students and pastors who want to deepen their understanding of the Old Testament will find this a helpful and instructive study.

Tracing parallels between biblical accounts and pagan cultures of the ancient Near East, Niehaus explores creation and flood narratives; literary and legal forms; and the acts of deities and the God of the Bible. He reveals not just cultural similarities but spiritual dimensions of common thought and practice, providing an overarching view of the story of the Bible. - Publisher.

This is a collection of ancient Near Eastern texts relevant to the study of the Old Testament. The texts have been selected from the vast body of written materials in many different languages and in a variety of media from the ancient Near East (including Egypt) from the third millennium bce to the turn of the era.

Two classic illustrated anthologies, now combined in one convenient volume James Pritchard's classic anthologies of the ancient Near East have introduced generations of readers to texts essential for understanding the peoples and cultures of this important region. Now these two enduring works have been combined and integrated into one convenient and richly illustrated volume, with a new foreword that puts the translations in context. With more than 130 reading selections and 300 photographs of ancient art, architecture, and artifacts, this volume provides a stimulating introduction to some of the most significant and widely studied texts of the ancient Near East, including the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Creation Epic (Enuma elish), the Code of Hammurabi, and the Baal Cycle. For students of history, religion, the Bible, archaeology, and anthropology, this anthology provides a wealth of material for understanding the ancient Near East. Represents the diverse cultures and languages of the ancient Near East—Sumerian, Akkadian, Egyptian, Hittite, Ugaritic, Canaanite, and Aramaic—in a wide range of genres: Historical texts Legal texts and treaties Inscriptions Hymns Didactic and wisdom literature Oracles and prophecies Love poetry and other literary texts Letters New foreword puts the classic translations in context More than 300 photographs document ancient art, architecture, and artifacts related to the texts Fully indexed

Comprehensive, up-to-date collection of primary source documents (creation accounts, epic literature, etc.) gives insight into the Ancient Near East and the Old Testament.

Works on Old Testament historiography, the 'Conquest', and the origins of ancient Israel have burgeoned in recent days. But while others have been issuing new reconstructions this novel work presents a close reading of the biblical text. The focus is on the literary techniques that ancient writers employed in narrating stories of conquest, and the aim is to pinpoint their communicative intentions in their own contexts. This reading is enhanced by engagement with the important discipline of the philosophy of history. Ancient Conquest accounts, replete with extensive quotations from Assyrian, Hittite and Egyptian conquest accounts, is a learned and methodologically sensitive study of a wide range of ancient Near Eastern texts as well as of Joshua 9-12.

This book surveys within the various literary genres (cosmologies, personal archives and epics, hymns, and prayers) parallels between the Bible and Ancient Near Eastern literature.