""In addition to the discussion of the cuneiform inscriptions in these lectures, which bear more particularly upon the Old Testament, several chapters have been included on life in ancient Babylonia. Besides facts published by others, these chapters include a presentation of certain discussions of general interest which I have published in a more technical form in the series: 'The Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.' These chapters, however, also contain much material that appears for the first time. -- from the Preface Albert T. Clay (1866-1925) was the William M. Laffan Professor of Assyriology and Babylonian Literature at Yale University. Among his other publications are 'Babylonian Epics, Hymns, Omens, and Other Texts'; 'The Empire of the Amorites'; Neo-Babylonian Letters from Erech'; and 'The Origin of Biblical Traditions.'