Essays On Ancient Israel In Its Near Eastern Context

Reflecting the breadth and interconnectedness of Professor Na'aman's research areas, this volume contains contributions on archaeology, ancient Near East (other than ancient Israel), Israel's ancient history and historiography, and biblical studies. --from publisher description.

The debate over history, history-writing, and the scientific study of history is reaching an apex in the late twentieth century and shows no signs of abating in the near future. The literature on the topic is prodigious. The time is thus ripe for an anthology of essays of the sort that Professor Long has collected, essays that trace the history of the issues that have fed into the debate. The classic and contemporary essays presented here provide an overview and introduction to the topic, bringing together the most essential of these in a handy compilation. The book is organized in six sections: (1) The State of Old Testament Historiography (2) Ancient Near Eastern Historiography (3) Ancient Israelite Historiography (4) Method in the Study of Ancient Israelite Historiography (5) The Historical Impulse in the Old Testament (6) The Future of Israel’s Past Long’s goal is to provide a context for Israelite history-writing within the milieu of the ancient Near East, expose the methodologies and assumptions of various approaches and perspectives on historiography, and provide access to essays that examine the contribution of the Hebrew Scriptures themselves to the origins of history-writing. The final essay, by Long, points the way to future research and topics that will move the discussion forward into the next millennium. Professor V. Philips Long teaches Old Testament at Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis.

Presented in this volume is a collection of the shorter writings of one of the more innovative scholars working on the relationship between the writings of the Hebrew Bible and its ancient Near East context. Topics include: ANE environment, literature of the ANE, myth versus history, Nebuchadnezzar I's Elamite crisis, Job and the Israelite religious tradition, motif of the weeping God in Jeremiah, lament tradition in ANE, the hand of Yahweh, and whether God lies.

This collection of essays contains a wide range of topics reflecting the depth and breadth of interest of the scholar in whose honour they were commissioned - Kevin J. Cathcart. The central focus is Near Eastern, and covers a range of philological, linguistic, exegetical, historical and interpretative issues. The Near Eastern languages examined include Akkadian, Arabic, Aramaic, Ethiopic, Hebrew, Septuagintal Greek, Syriac and Ugaritic, while exegetical and text-critical topics include treatments of issues in Deuteronomy, 1 Kings, Isaiah, Amos, Psalms and the Song of Songs. Hermeneutical and historical essays touch on Ancient Israel's history and its interpretation, as well as on the significance of such individuals as the consular official John Dickson, E.H. Palmer in the Cambridge Libraries, William Lithgow of Lanark, and the contribution to Semitic epigraphy of the explorer Julius Euting. This is volume 375 in the Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement series.

William G. Dever is recognized as the doyen of North American archaeologist-historians who work in the field of the ancient Levant. He is best known as the director of excavations at the site of Gezer but has worked at numerous other sites, and his many students have led dozens of other expeditions. He has been editor of the Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, was for many years professor in the influential archaeology program at the University of Arizona, and now in retirement continues actively to write and publish. In this volume, 46 of his colleagues and students contribute essays in his honor, reflecting the broad scope of his interests, particularly in terms of the historical implications of archaeology.

"In the summers of 1978 and 1980, William W. Hallo directed two National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminars, both of which had the title: 'Biblical History in its Near Eastern Setting.' These seminars, conducted at Yale University, have now resulted in two related collections of essays. This second collection, Scripture in Context II, had its origins in the 1980 seminar. Both seminars investigated in chronological sequence the major phases of ancient Near Eastern history and focused on the history, literary traditions, and religion of ancient Israel within the context of her cultural environs. A major concern was to recognize and explore the implications of the way in which the native biblical and extra-biblical literary traditions rendered account of themselves. The methodology followed in the seminars and the resulting essays is the contextual approach. This approach to the study of biblical history, literature, and religion is concerned not only to discover illuminating and insightful parallels between biblical and extrabiblical sources, but also to note and recognize the implications of significant and important differences."--Jacket.

From the Foreword— In a very short stretch of years, the Judaic Studies Program at the University of California, San Diego, has developed into one of the most important centers for teaching and research in biblical studies, in ancient Near Eastern and biblical archaeology, and more generally in Judaic studies. The program now rivals far older centers of study in these fields in eastern research universities. I have been an admirer of the program for some years, proud of former students of mine whose energy and foresight have contributed to the developments in La Jolla, including the establishment of endowed chairs that guarantee the future of this center and its program. This collection of essays honoring the Judaic Studies Program and its faculty is a testimony to the fecundity of the program in producing scholars, whose essays dominate the collection. Several essays come from other scholars whose home base is in the West and who have engaged in colloquia and common pursuits with the San Diego faculty. . . . There are sections on Genesis, poetry and prophecy, narrative and history, lexicon, archaeology, and (not least) paleography. —Frank Moore Cross Harvard University

A collection of essays on the history of the biblical tradition by George E. Mendenhall (1916-2016). Includes studies on law, covenant, and the Hebrew conquest of Palestine, as well as excerpts from Mendenhall's own autobiography.