This book compares a variety of biblical narratives with the stories found in several Northwest Semitic inscriptions from the ancient kingdom of Judah and its contemporary Syro-Palestinian neighbors. In genre, language, and cultural context, these epigraphic stories are closer to biblical narratives than any other ancient Near Eastern narrative corpus. For the first time, Parker analyzes and appreciates these stories as narratives and sets them beside comparable biblical stories. He illuminates the narrative character and techniques of both epigraphic and biblical stories and in many cases reveals their original social context and purpose. In some cases, he is able to shed light on the question of the sources and composition of the larger work in which most of the biblical stories appear, the Deuteronomistic history. Against the claim that the genius of biblical prose narrative derives from the monotheism of the authors, he shows that the presence or absence of a divine role in each type of story is consistent throughout both biblical and epigraphic examples, and that, when present, the role of the deity is essentially the same both inside and outside the Bible, inside and outside Israel.

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The aggression of the biblical God named Yhwh is notorious. Students of theology, the Bible, and the Ancient Near East know that the Hebrew Bible describes Yhwh acting destructively against his client country, Israel, and against its kings. But is Yhwh uniquely vengeful, or was he just one among other, similarly ferocious patron gods? To answer this question, Collin Cornell compares royal biblical psalms with memorial inscriptions. He finds that the Bible shares deep theological and literary commonalities with comparable texts from Israel's ancient neighbours. The centrepiece of both traditions is the intense mutual loyalty of gods and kings. In the event that the king's monument and legacy comes to harm, gods avenge their individual royal protégé. In the face of political inexpedience, kings honour their individual divine benefactor.

Inscriptions from the World of the Bible guides readers through the most significant Northwest Semitic inscriptions from the early first millennium BCE. These texts--most of which are written in Hebrew, Aramaic, Phoenician, or Moabite--are contemporary with the period of the Israelite and Judean monarchies and provide valuable historical and literary context for the Hebrew Bible. The book begins with an overview of the Northwest Semitic languages, an explanation of the methods of historical linguistics, and a brief comparative grammar. The explanations are geared toward readers with some prior knowledge of Biblical Hebrew, and special emphasis is placed on historical Hebrew grammar. The text selections are grouped by language, and each section includes a brief overview of the distinctive features of the language as well as a glossary. Texts are presented in a "reader" format with commentary on significant lexical, grammatical, and literary features. Key points and features: Another addition to Hendrickson's trusted and respected line of biblical studies booksShowcases texts from the first millenium BCE that provide valuable and historical context for the Hebrew BibleIncludes text selections, commentary, and glossaries

Jeremy Smoak presents a synthesis of recent discoveries bearing upon the early history and function of the biblical priestly blessing of Numbers 6:24-26. The book gives special focus to the importance of the discovery of the blessing on two silver amulets from Jerusalem dating to the late Iron Age and several other Iron Age inscriptions containing parallels to the blessing. The analysis of the inscriptions provides a new way to approach the meaning and significance of the instructions for the blessing in the biblical book of Numbers.

Studying the New Testament through Inscriptions is an intuitive introduction to inscriptions from the Greco-Roman world. Inscriptions can help contextualize certain events associated with the New Testament in a way that many widely circulated literary texts do not. This book both introduces inscriptions and demonstrates sound methodological use of them in the study of the New Testament. Through five case studies, it highlights the largely unrecognized ability of inscriptions to shed light on early Christian history, practice, and the leadership structure of early Christian churches, as well as to solve certain New Testament exegetical impasses. Key points and features: • No other book like this on the marketthis is the first of its kind! • A practical and much-needed tool for graduate students, seminarians, and pastors • Showcases five detailed case studies, designed to show students exactly how to use inscriptions • Includes 20+ black and white photos • Three appendices provide additional information for those who want to learn more

Editors Bill T. Arnold and Hugh G. M. Williamson present more than 160 in-depth articles on the essential historical, literary, theological, interpretive and background topics for studying the historical books of the Old Testament (Joshua, Judges, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah).

This book establishes the first comprehensive system for evaluating potential identifications of persons mentioned in the Hebrew Bible with persons mentioned in Northwest Semitic inscriptions. Then it delineates a first-ever corpus consisting only of inscriptions that name biblical persons. Paperback edition available from the Society of Biblical Literature (www.sbl-site.org).

In this groundbreaking work that sets apart fact and legend, authors Finkelstein and Silberman use significant archeological discoveries to provide historical information about biblical Israel and its neighbors. In this iconoclastic and provocative work, leading scholars Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman draw on recent archaeological research to present a dramatically revised portrait of ancient Israel and its neighbors. They argue that crucial evidence (or a telling lack of evidence) at digs in Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon suggests that many of the most famous stories in the Bible—the wanderings of the patriarchs, the Exodus from Egypt, Joshua’s conquest of Canaan, and David and Solomon’s vast empire—reflect the world of the later authors rather than actual historical facts. Challenging the fundamentalist readings of the scriptures and marshaling the latest archaeological evidence to support its new vision of ancient Israel, The Bible Unearthed offers a fascinating and controversial perspective on when and why the Bible was written and why it possesses such great spiritual and emotional power today.