BITH 211: OT Backgrounds

Features include* Over 2000 photographs, drawings, maps, diagrams and charts provide a visual feast that breathes fresh life into the text.* Passage-by-passage commentary presents archaeological findings, historical explanations, geographic insights, notes on manners and customs, and more.* Analysis into the literature of the ancient Near East will open your eyes to new depths of understanding both familiar and unfamiliar passages. * Written by an international team of 30 specialists, all top scholars in background studies.

From Genesis through Malachi, this single volume gathers and condenses an abundance of specialized knowledge--making it available and accessible to ordinary readers of the Old Testament. Expert scholars John Walton, Victor Matthews and Mark Chavalas have included along with the fruits of their research and collaboration a glossary of historical terms, ancient peoples, texts and inscriptions maps and charts of important historical resources, expanded explanations of significant background issues, introductory essays on each book of the Old Testament.

Draws on experts in archaeology to provide information on such aspects of the Bible as cultural history, folklore in the ancient Near East, travel and communication, music, and even the use of computers in Biblical studies

Professor Buster: "focuses on images in the Psalms but the contents are listed topically, and if one is dealing with symbolism related to the flora and fauna of the ANE, the temple, or conceptions of God, it provides another accessible work." -- This pioneering work that first appeared in 1972 in German was the first to compare the conceptual world of a biblical book with ancient Near Eastern iconography. Generously illustrated with photographs and line drawings.

This study considers the historical, cultural, and literary significance of some of the most important Ancient Near East (ANE) texts that illuminate the Hebrew Bible. Christopher B. Hays provides primary texts from the Ancient Near East with a comparison to literature of the Hebrew Bible to demonstrate how Israel's Scriptures not only draw from these ancient contexts but also reshape them in a unique way. Hays offers a brief introduction to comparative studies, then lays out examples from various literary genres that shed light on particular biblical texts. Texts about ANE law collections, treaties, theological histories, prophecies, ritual texts, oracles, prayers, hymns, laments, edicts, and instructions are compared to corresponding literature in the Pentateuch, Prophets, and Writings of the Hebrew Bible. The book includes summaries to help instructors and students identify key points for comparison. By considering the literary and historical context of other literature, students will come away with a better understanding of the historical, literary, and theological depth of the Hebrew Bible. Source: Old Testament Abstracts [Abstracted by: Fred W. Guyette] - Abstract Number: OTA38-2015-OCT-2606