The World around the Old Testament

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.

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