Ancient Near East Monographs
Series · 19
books · 1989-2019
Books in series
#3
Reading Akkadian Prayers and Hymns
An Introduction
2011
This book is a pedagogical tool intended to increase reading fluency for second or third semester Akkadian students by way of annotated readings. It is equally an introduction to Akkadian prayers and hymns from ancient Mesopotamia.
#4
Constructs of Prophecy in the Former and Latter Prophets and Other Texts
2011
Proceedings of meetings of the Prophetic Texts and Their Ancient Contexts Group of the Society of Biblical Literature held in 2007 in Washington, D.C. and in 2008 in Boston, Mass.
#5
The Forgotten Kingdom
The Archaeology and History of Northern Israel
2013
Although Israel was dominant for most of the time the kingdoms of Israel and Judah coexisted, it has remained in Judah s shadow in both the Hebrew Bible and consequently in the attention of modern scholarship. This book presents the first comprehensive history of the northern kingdom and description of the archaeology of northern Israel from the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1350 B.C.E.) until the kingdom's fall in 720 B.C.E. and beyond. It tells the story of the northern kingdom primarily in its formative phases. The narrative is based in archaeology and makes use of the most updated field research, with the addition of what is known from ancient Near Eastern and biblical texts. Finkelstein's thirty years of fieldwork in sites related to the northern kingdom have paved the way for a new understanding of the history and archaeology of ancient Israel.
#6
Deuteronomy-Kings as Emerging Authoritative Books
A Conversation
2014
International scholars uniquely focus on why the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings encapsulated emerging Jewish identity for readers in the Persian and Hellenistic periods, and how those readers used the past to address the present and future.
#7
Divination, Politics, and Ancient Near Eastern Empires
2014
Advance your understanding of divination's role in supporting or undermining imperial aspirations in the ancient Near East This collection examines the ways that divinatory texts in the Hebrew Bible and the ancient Near East undermined and upheld the empires in which the texts were composed, edited, and read. Nine essays and an introduction engage biblical scholarship on the Prophets, Assyriology, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the critical study of Ancient Empires.
#8
Israel and the Assyrians
Deuteronomy, the Succession Treaty of Esarhaddon, and the Nature of Subversion
2014
This volume investigates Deuteronomy's subversive intent within its social context, and reconsiders the relationship between Deuteronomy and Assyria, its relationship to ancient Near Eastern and biblical treaty and loyalty oath traditions, and the relevance of its treaty affinities to discussions of its date.
#11
Disembodied Souls
The Nefesh in Israel and Kindred Spirits in the Ancient Near East, with an Appendix on the Katumuwa Inscription
2015
A reevaluation of the concept of the soul based on the latest evidence Biblical scholars have long claimed that the Israelites could not conceive of a disembodied nefesh \[soul\]. Steiner rejects that claim based on a broad spectrum of textual, linguistic, archaeological, and anthropological evidence spanning the millennia from prehistoric times to the present. The biblical evidence includes a prophecy of Ezekiel condemning women who pretend to trap the wandering souls of sleeping people. The extrabiblical evidence suggests that a belief in the existence of disembodied souls was part of the common religious heritage of the peoples of the ancient Near East. Features
#12
Epigraphy, Philology, and the Hebrew Bible
2015
Colleagues and former students honor Professor Jo Ann Hackett in this collection of essays focused on her interests in Northwest Semitic languages and epigraphy, and Southern Levantine religions of the Iron Age. Each of the three sections begins with concise methodological chapters followed by subject-specific application chapters. Each contributor illuminates the unifying theme of the collection: the continuing value and necessity of philological and comparative study of the Hebrew Bible.
#13
Political Memory in and after the Persian Empire
2015
An interdisciplinary study of the Persian Period Various disciplines that deal with Achaemenid rule offer starkly different assessments of Persian kingship. While Assyriologists treat Cyrus' heirs as legitimate successors of the Babylonian kings, biblical scholars often speak of a kingless era in which the priesthood took over the function of the Davidic monarch. Egyptologists see their land as uniquely independently minded despite conquests, while Hellenistic scholarship tends to evaluate the interface between Hellenism and native traditions without reference to the previous two centuries of Persian rule. This volume brings together in dialogue a broad array of scholars with the goal of seeking a broader context for assessing Persian kingship through the anthropological concept of political memory. Features
#14
Priests and Cults in the Book of the Twelve (Ancient Near East Monographs)
1989
Key essays that explore a range of attitudes toward clergy and ritual This book discusses the depictions of the cult and its personnel in the twelve prophetic books commonly referred to as the Book of the Twelve or the Minor Prophets. The articles in the volume explore the following How did these prophetic writers envision the priests and the Levites? What did they think about the ritual aspects of ancient Israelite faith, including not only the official temple cult in Jerusalem but also cultic expressions outside the capital? What, in their views, characterized a faithful priest and what should the relationship be between his cultic performance and the ways in which he lived his life? How does the message of each individual author fit in with the wider Israelite traditions? Finally, who were these prophetic authors, in which historical contexts did they live and work, and what stylistic tools did they use to communicate their message?
#15
Mapping Ezekiels Oracles against the Nations
2016
A unique study of ancient challenges to identity boundaries Ezekiel 25–32 contains some of the most virulent speeches directed against Judah's neighboring nations. Some scholars emphasize that the destruction of the nations in chapters 25–32 means the upcoming salvation of God's people. Other scholars presuppose that the nations are judged by a separate moral standard and render the judgment executed upon the nations irrelevant to that upon Judah. In this study, Lydia Lee postulates a third way to perceive the rhetorical roles of the nations in Ezekiel 25–32. Unraveling the intricate connections between the oracles against the nations and those against Judah, Lydia Lee argues that Ezekiel 25–32 contains a daring message directed not only against the foreign nations, but also against Judah's land, temple, and nation. Lee places Ezekiel 25–32 in a broader context, considering how samples of its early reception within the prophetic book affirm or transform the bleak message about the oblique judgment for the house of Judah. Features
#18
Household and Family Religion in Persian-Period Judah
An Archaeological Approach (José E. Balcells Gallarreta)
2017
An archaeological exploration of religion at Tell en-Nasbeh Balcells Gallarreta investigates the ritual artifacts from Persian period Tell en-Nasbeh in their original contexts, as a case study that provides a deeper understanding of the religious ideas and practices of households in Persian period Judah. Unlike previous scholarship that focused on official or state religion, he utilizes archaeology of religion and domestic contexts to reveal the existence of household religion and rituals in Persian period Tell en-Nasbeh, along with other contemporary sites in Yehud. Archaeological data from Tell en-Nasbeh and other sites in the Shephelah region of Yehud demonstrate that family and household rituals and religion were practiced in Persian period Judah.
#19
Reflections of Empire in Isaiah 1-39
Responses to Assyrian Ideology
2017
Explore the hidden meaning behind the majestic prophecies of Isaiah In this new book Shawn Zelig Aster relates the prophecies found in First Isaiah to the historical events of the 8th century BCE, when Assyria controlled much of the ancient Near East. Aster elucidates the arguments of Isaiah 1-2, 6-8, 10-12, 14, 19, 31, and 36-37 by explaining that the passages contain hidden polemic along with the imperial propaganda of the Assyrian empire. Aster illustrates that the prophet adapts motifs from Assyrian propaganda, while subverting Assyrian claims to universal dominion. Aster argues that Isaiah does this in order to promote belief in a single omnipotent God, more powerful than any human empire. The book exposes the meaning behind these passages of Isaiah, as well as the history of Israel in the period 745-701 BCE. Features
#20
Infancia y legalidad en el Próximo Oriente antiguo durante el Bronce Reciente
2018
In this volume Daniel Justel examines several cuneiform texts from Late Bronze Age Mesopotamia and Syria (ca. 1500-1100 BCE) that focus on legal aspects of childhood, such as child adoptions, marriage, abortion, abandonment of children, and child slavery. Justel thoroughly analyzes the role of infants in this time period and reveals the perception that adults had of children and the role that children played in processes initiated by adults.
#21
Perchance to Dream
Dream Divination in the Bible and the Ancient Near East
2018
Essays from an international group of experts This book examines the interpretation of dreams, which were thought to contain divine messages in the ancient Near East. The essays, written by scholars specializing in different regions and bodies of literature, shed light on dream divination in the Bible, the Talmud, and in writings from Canaan, Mesopotamia, and Hittite Anatolia. Contributors include Franziska Ede, Esther J. Hamori, Koowon Kim, Christopher Metcalf, Alice Mouton, Scott B. Noegel, Andrew B. Perrin, Stephen C. Russell, Jonathan Stökl, and Haim Weiss.
#22
Invention of the First-Century Synagogue
2018
This work critically reevaluates the scholarship surrounding the identification of first-century synagogues at five key Delos, Jericho, Herodium, Masada, and Gamla. These sites are consistently used in modern scholarship as comparators for all other early synagogues. Matassa reviews the scholarly discourse concerning each site, inspects each site, and thoroughly examines the excavation reports. Through close inspection of the material evidence she uncovers misunderstandings of the site remains and concludes that excavators incorrectly identified synagogues at Delos, Jericho, Masada, and Herodium. In the case of Gamla, however, the identification may be correct.
#23
Archaeology and History of Eighth-Century Judah
2018
The book explores what we know about eighth-century Judah from multiple angles, including a survey of what we know about Judah's neighbors, the land and its cities, daily life and material culture, religious beliefs and practices, and early forms of what are now biblical texts.
#24
A House of Weeping
The Motif of Tears in Akkadian and Hebrew Prayers
2018
David Bosworth draws on modern research on weeping to understand references to the petitioner's tears in biblical and other ancient Near Eastern prayers. Weeping reflects helplessness and being overwhelmed with emotion, and tears can motivate others to help. Similarly, people turn to prayer at times of extreme distress; therefore, weeping and prayer reinforce one another as strategies to move the deity to offer assistance. Bosworth finds that prayer that mention weeping also indicate that the deity is angry, so tears are a means of calming divine wrath. The book includes comparisons of Hebrew Psalms and Akkadian prayers with reference to modern scientific research on weeping.
#25
Sounding Sensory Profiles in the Ancient Near East
2019
An interdisciplinary essay collection from an international group of experts For several decades sociologists and cultural anthropologists have intensively researched the role of the senses in a variety of cultures, and their studies show how diverse cultures understand and evaluate the five or more senses differently. In this collection of eighteen essays, biblical and ancient Near Eastern scholars, as well as cultural anthropologists, apply the questions and methods from anthropological and sociological studies to Israel, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. Experts offer insights into the meaning of the senses in the ancient world, examining the classical senses (seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting) as well as other senses (such as kinesthesis and the sense of balance) and sense-related issues (such as disgust, sensory imagination, and disabilities). This collection provides a stimulus and a basis for students and scholars to explore the senses in the ancient Near East. Features
Authors
Jonathan Stökl
Author · 1 books
Lecturer in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament at King’s College London. He is the author of Prophecy in the Ancient Near East: A Philological and Sociological Comparison (Brill).
Carly Crouch
Author · 1 books
Lecturer in Hebrew Bible in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. She is the author of The Making of Israel: Cultural Diversity in the Southern Levant and the Formation of Ethnic Identity in Deuteronomy (Brill, 2014).
Esther J. Hamori
Author · 3 books
Professor Esther J. Hamori earned her B.A. at Sarah Lawrence College with a major in Violin Performance in 1994. She received the M.Div. at Yale Divinity School in 1997, and her Ph.D. from the Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University in 2004. Before joining the Union faculty she was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Hebrew Bible in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Cornell University, and visiting faculty at Sarah Lawrence College.
Israel Finkelstein
Author · 5 books
Israel Finkelstein is a professor of archaeology at Tel Aviv University. He is a leading figure in the archaeology of the Levant and the laureate of the 2005 Dan David Prize in the Past Dimension—Archaeology. Finkelstein served for many years as the Director of the Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University and is the co-Director of the Megiddo Expedition. He is the co-author, with Neil Silberman, of The Bible Unearthed (Free Press, 2001) and the author of many field reports and scholarly articles.
Thomas Krüger
Author · 5 books
Thomas Krüger, geboren 1962 in Ostwestfalen, arbeitete zunächst als Journalist für Tageszeitungen und Magazine. Heute ist er Hörbuch- und Kinderbuchverleger, Autor von Kinderbüchern (Jo Raketen-Po) und zahllosen Sonetten – u.a. an Donald Duck. Mit Erwin, Mord & Ente legt er seinen ersten Krimi vor und betritt mit der Figur der »Ermittlungsente« Lothar völlig neues Terrain. Thomas Krüger lebt mit seiner Familie in Bergisch Gladbach bei Köln. Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Lydia Lee
Author · 1 books
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. Hello! I am Lydia. 🙂 Malaysia was my birth country, but then I immigrated to Australia when I was 15. Having completed a Student Exchange Programme at RIS of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel (Fall Semester 2008), I earned a B. A. (Honours) in Biblical Studies and Classical Hebrew at the University of Sydney in Australia (2009). The defense of my doctoral dissertation, which is on the oracles against the nations in Ezekiel 25-32, took place in the Department of Ancient Near Eastern Studies at Georg-August-Universität Göttingen in Germany (2014). My marriage to my lovely husband from China in 2015 has marked a new chapter of my life! ♥ Between 2016 and 2018, I worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at the North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus) in South Africa. Since October 2018, I have served as a Golda Meir Postdoctoral Fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. "Mapping Judah's Fate in Ezekiel's Oracles against the Nations" is my first and most recent book. Happy reading!
