Cultural Concepts Collection (20 vols.)

by R. H. Charles; M. G. Easton; Jacob Neusner; Alan J. Avery-Peck

and

24 more

Publishers:

Clarendon Press; Harper & Brothers; Brill; Princeton University Press

and

8 more

, 1893–2012

Overview

Explore ancient cultural practices and customs from Old and New Testament passages—and find where else they occur in other ancient biblical and non-biblical texts. This collection expands your library’s connections to the Cultural Concepts tools in your Passage Guide as well as in your Factbook. You’ll get a greater understanding of the significance behind the events and details of Scripture—such as birth and death practices, food, holidays, legal standards, and religious rituals.

With five extensive Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias, as well as more than 10 books of ancient texts and manuscripts from the ancient world, this collection provides the best resources for expanding your Cultural Concepts tools.

Curious how these resources work in Logos Bible Software? Watch the video below to see for yourself where you’ll be using them:

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Key Features

• Contains Logos resources with extensive Cultural Concepts linking
• Expands your library’s connections to the ancient world
• Provides important context to the cultures the Bible was written in

Product Details

• Title: Cultural Concepts Collection
• Volumes: 20
• Resource Types: Ancient Texts, Dictionaries, Handbooks
• Topic: Culture
• Software Requirements: Logos 7 Bronze or higher

The Apostolic Fathers in English

• Author: Rick Brannan
• Publisher: Lexham Press
• Publication Date: 2012

The “Apostolic Fathers” wrote what has become some of the most important literature in the early church—letters and epistolary documents, homilies and theological tracts, documents on church order, and apocalyptic literature. In fact, some texts came close to inclusion in the New Testament canon. Tertullian regarded Hermas as Scripture, Irenaeus treated 1 Clement as canonical, and Origen regarded the Didache as inspired. Barnabas and Hermas were included in Codex Sinaiticus and 1 and 2 Clement were included in Codex Alexandrinus. The near-canonical status of the writings of the Apostolic Fathers in the early church makes their importance for modern study undisputed.

Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, vol. 1

• Publication Date: 1983
• Pages: 1,056

Volume 1 of this work contains two sections. The first is Apocalyptic Literature and Related Works. An apocalypse, from the Greek meaning revelation or disclosure, is a certain type of literature which was a special feature of religions in late antiquity. In the past, the definition was derived from the study of only some of the extant apocalypses, especially the Apocalypse, the Book of Revelation. This has changed, and the present edition of the pseudepigrapha includes nineteen documents that are apocalypses or related literature. It will now be easier to perceive the richness of apocalyptic literature and the extent of early Jewish and Christian apocalyptic ideas and apocalyptic religion.

These new translations present these important documents, many for the first time in modern English, for all "People of the Book" to study, contemplate, and understand.

Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, vol. 2

• Publication Date: 1985
• Pages: 1,056

The publication of Volume 2 of Charlesworth's Pseudepigrapha completes his landmark work. Together with Volume 1, Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments, these new translations present important documents, many for the first time in English.

The second volume contains Expansions of the "Old Testament" and Legends, Wisdom and Philosophical Literature, Prayers, Psalms and Odes, Fragments of lost Judeo-Hellenistic Works. The section on the Old Testament contains clarifications, enrichments, expansions, and retellings of biblical narratives. The primary focus is upon God's story in history, the ongoing drama in which the author claims to participate. Charlesworth's discussion of Wisdom literature contains various collections of wise sayings and philosophical maxims of the Israelites. In his discussion of Psalms, prayers, and odes, Charlesworth presents collection of hymns, expressions of praise, songs of joy and sorrow, and prayers of petition that were important in the period 100 B. C. to A. D. 200. The section of fragments of lost Judeo-Hellenistic works reflect ideas associated with the Persians, Greeks, and Romans, often filtered through the cultures of Syria and Egypt. These fragments are examples of how this mix of cultures influenced Jewish writings.

The Apocrypha of the Old Testament

• Editor: R.H. Charles
• Publication Date: 1913

This Logos Bible Software edition contains the text of R.H. Charles' edition of the Apocrypha, along with the introductions to each apocryphal document, as well as commentary, apparatuses, and an index.

The Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament

• Editor: R.H. Charles
• Publication Date: 1913

This Logos Bible Software edition contains the text of R.H. Charles' edition of the Pseudepigrapha, along with the introductions to each document, as well as commentary, apparatuses, and an index.

The Book of Enoch

• Translator: R.H. Charles
• Editor: W.O.E. Oesterley
• Publication Date: 1917
• Pages: 128

SPCK first published R.H. Charles’s translation of the Book of Enoch in 1917 and it has remained in print ever since. R. H. Charles is recognized as one of the leading figures in Enoch scholarship and his masterly translation remains the standard edition of the text in English. The Book of Enoch has recently reached a far wider audience due to Dan Brown’s phenomenally successful novel, The Da Vinci Code, which has various allusions to this important book.

The Book of Enoch is an invaluable resource for all those who are interested in learning about Christian origins. It sheds light on the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and the reader can gain a clearer understanding of many concepts found in the New Testament, such as demonology, future judgment, the Messiah, the Messianic kingdom, the title “Son of Man” and the resurrection. This edition also contains an introduction written by W. O. E. Oesterley, which introduces readers to Apocryphal literature in general and Enoch in particular—including the authorship, dating, language, and general themes of Enoch.

The Dead Sea Scrolls in English

• Author: Geza Vermes
• Publisher: Sheffield
• Publication Date: 1995
• Pages: 391

Sample pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

From Religious Studies Review: “This significantly expanded and revised fourth edition of what has always been the best English translation of the Scrolls has become a combination of two books: Vermes has replaced nearly all of the original Introduction with an abridged version of the corresponding material from The Dead Sea Scrolls: Qumran in Perspective... He has also added new translations of material that have been published since the last edition appeared in 1975... By far still the best edition of the scrolls in English.”

Geza Vermes is Professor Emeritus of Jewish Studies, University of Oxford.

The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition: Vol. I: 1Q1–4Q273–Vol. II: 4Q274–11Q31 (Translations)

• Editors: Florentino García Martínez and Eibert J.C. Tigchelaar
• Publisher: Brill
• Publication Date: 1997

The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition is a practical reference tool to facilitate access to the Qumran collection of the Dead Sea Scrolls. It contains newly edited English translations of the non-biblical scrolls on facing pages, arranged by serial number from Cave 1 to Cave 11.

In addition, it offers a summary of the contents of the biblical scrolls from Qumran. Each Q-number is provided with a heading which contains the essential information on the text and selected bibliographical references. Although unidentified and unclassified fragments have been omitted, and no snippets of manuscripts have been reproduced, this edition aims to be complete for the non-biblical scrolls.

Please note that this contains only the translations of the Dead Sea Scrolls: Study Edition. For full product containing the Aramaic and Hebrew transcriptions, check out The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition: vol. I: 1Q1–4Q273–vol. II: 4Q274–11Q31

The authors are to be congratulated for producing a well-conceived and well-executed work that will be of immense practical value to students and scholars alike.

—The Catholic Biblical Quarterly

Canonical Compositions from the Biblical World

• Editors: William W. Hallo and K. Lawson Younger, Jr.
• Series: The Context of Scripture
• Publisher: Brill
• Publication Date: 1997
• Pages: 599

Volume I is devoted to 'literary' texts: those responses to the world about them by which the creative minds of antiquity sought to come to terms with their environment, real or imaginary.

Monumental Inscriptions from the Biblical World

• Editors: William W. Hallo and K. Lawson Younger, Jr.
• Series: The Context of Scripture
• Publisher: Brill
• Publication Date: 2000
• Pages: 438

Volume II is devoted to building and votive inscriptions, seals, weights, treaties, collections of laws, and other genres originally inscribed on durable mediums or in multiple copies for long-term survival. Many are royal inscriptions, and nearly all are crucial to the reconstruction of the history of the Biblical world.

Archival Documents from the Biblical World

• Editors: William W. Hallo and K. Lawson Younger, Jr.
• Series: The Context of Scripture
• Publisher: Brill
• Publication Date: 2002
• Pages: 406

Volume III provides a generous selection from the vast number of legal, commercial and private documents preserved from pre-classical antiquity. These courtcases, contracts, accounts and letters, so often slighted or underrepresented in older anthologies, throw a bright light on the daily life of ordinary human beings as recorded by their contemporaries. In addition, exhaustive indices to all three volumes identify and classify all proper names and many of the themes struck throughout the work.

Ancient Near Eastern Texts

• Author: James B. Pritchard
• Edition: 3rd with Supplement
• Publisher: Princeton
• Publication Date: 1969
• Pages: 735

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

The Ancient Near Eastern Texts brings together the most important historical, legal, mythological, liturgical, and secular texts of the ancient Near East, with the purpose of providing a rich contextual base for understanding the people, cultures, and literature of the Old Testament. A scholar of religious thought and biblical archaeology, James Pritchard recruited the foremost linguists, historians, and archaeologists to select and translate the texts. The goal, in his words, was "a better understanding of the likenesses and differences which existed between Israel and the surrounding cultures."

Before the ANET—as it is fondly referred to—students of the Old Testament were disposed to search out scattered books and journals in various languages to find what this essential resource offers: invaluable documents, in one place and in one language. As one reviewer put it, "This great volume is one of the most notable to have appeared in the field of Old Testament scholarship this century."

Pritchard's ANET, a standard reference for those examining the cultural setting of the Bible, contains translations of many important inscriptions which shed light on otherwise mysterious Bible customs. Included are such things as the Epic of Gilgamesh (containing our oldest Flood parallels), the Nuzi Texts (which, among others, help us understand the life of Jacob), various ancient law codes which have parallels to the biblical code, an early Palestinian ostraka, a wide selection of Egyptian and Akkadian oracles and prophecies, and even a Sumerian lullaby.

[A] very useful book, soundly conceived, competently edited, and beautifully printed. It offers in translation texts of the most important documents which throw light on the Near East background of the Old Testament. As a source book it will be welcomed not merely by Biblical students, but by all ancient historians who concern themselves with the cultures anterior to those of Greece and Rome.

—Archaeology

James Bennett Pritchard (1909–1997) was an American archaeologist who excavated in Israel, Canaan, Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon. He received his PhD and taught Religious Thought at the University of Pennsylvania, and was the first curator of Biblical Archaeology at the university’s museum. His last major excavation was at Sarafand, Lebanon (1969–1974), which revealed the ancient Phoenician city of Sarepta. It was the first time a major Phoenician city situated in the Phoenician heartland had been fully excavated. He was President of the Archaeological Institute of America in 1972–1973, and the recipient in December 1983 of the institute’s prestigious Gold Medal for Distinguished Archaeological Achievement. His major focus throughout his career concerned the relation between material remains and written texts within the context of biblical studies. Pritchard served as editor and consultant to the American Philosophical Society, the American Oriental Society, the National Geographic Society, and the Archaeological Institute of America.

Religious Texts from Ugarit, Second Edition

• Author: N. Wyatt
• Publisher: Sheffield Academic Press
• Publication Date: 2002
• Pages: 505

Sample pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Religious Texts from Ugarit contains accurate and readable English translations of the most important religious texts, along with extensive notes, making these texts accessible to the English reader.

Aramaic Papyri of the Fifth Century BC

• Author: A. Cowley
• Publisher: Clarendon Press
• Publication Date: 1923
• Pages: 319

This volume contains A. Cowley’s careful study of facsimiles, texts, papyri, and other materials. Collected in one volume and arranged chronologically, Aramaic Papyri of the Fifth Century BC contains all legible pre-Christian Aramaic papyri known at the time of publication. It includes letters, legal documents, lists of names, accounts, and literary pieces. Some are complete; others are fragmentary. A large portion are dated and arranged to form a historical sequence. Together, they present a picture of the surroundings—not distorted by the lapse of time or obscured by textual corruption.

A Cultural Handbook to the Bible

• Author: John J. Pilch
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Publication Date: 2012
• Pages: 319

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

The task of interpreting the Bible—a book written by and to people living in very different cultural contexts from contemporary Western society—can seem monumental. The opposite is also true: people can easily forget that studying the Bible is a type of cross-cultural encounter, instead reading their own cultural assumptions into biblical texts.

In A Cultural Handbook to the Bible, John Pilch bridges this cultural divide by translating important social concepts and applying them to biblical texts. In accessible chapters Pilch discusses 63 topics related to the cosmos, the earth, persons, family, language, human consciousness, God and the spirit world, and entertainment. Pilch’s fresh interpretations of the Bible challenge traditional views and explore topics often overlooked in commentaries. Each chapter concludes with a list of useful references from cultural anthropology or biblical studies, making this book an excellent resource for students of the Bible.

John J. Pilch is visiting professor in the Odyssey Program at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, and was adjunct professor of biblical literature at Georgetown University for 18 years.

Easton’s Bible Dictionary

• Author: M.G. Easton
• Publisher: Harper & Brothers
• Publication Date: 1893
• Pages: 755

Easton’s Bible Dictionary provides informative explanations of histories, people and customs of the Bible. It is an excellent and readily understandable source of information for the student and layperson and one of Matthew George Easton's most significant literary achievements.

Matthew George Easton was a Scottish Presbyterian preacher and writer. His most notable work was the Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 3rd ed., better known as Easton’s Bible Dictionary. Among his other works are the English translations of two commentaries by Franz Delitzsch, a German Lutheran theologian.

The Encyclopaedia of Judaism

• Editors: Jacob Neusner, Alan J. Avery-Peck, and William Scott Green
• Publisher: Brill
• Publication Date: 2004
• Volumes: 5
• Pages: 2,484

The Encyclopaedia of Judaism provides a full and reliable account of Judaism, beginning in ancient Israelite times and extending to the twenty-first century. These five volumes encompass much of what we know about Judaism, the religion, its diverse history, literature, beliefs past and present, observances and practices, and place in the context of society and culture. All principal topics required for the systematic description of Judaism as a religion—its world view, way of life, theory of the social entity constituted by the faithful—are addressed here.

It is actually more than an ordinary encyclopedia. It is a substantial reference book. I recommend the Encyclopaedia of Judaism to everyone who wants to get reliable information about major subjects in Judaism in a compact . . . usefully detailed, format.

—Ithamar Grünwald, chair of religious studies, Tel Aviv University

The Encyclopaedia of Judaism is an essential resource for those interested in learning more about Jewish life.

—Alfred Gottschalk, president, Museum of Jewish Heritage

Alan J. Avery Peck is a fine co-editor, responsible for useful and sometimes ground-breaking authority. Avery Peck gives us the state of scholarship and useful bibliographies at the end of his many fine articles. I also admire Mendes-Flohr on modern philosophies and theologies of Judaism, Hoffman on Liturgy, Salkin on New Age Judaism, Wolfson on Jewish Mysticism, and Ravitsky on Zionism and Judaism. . . . Neusner himself offers a brilliant, highly original treatment of the Conservative Judaism in which he was trained. . . . The illustrations are breathtaking and important.

—Review of Biblical Literature

HarperCollins Bible Dictionary

• Author: Mark Allen Powell
• Edition: Revised and updated
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication Date: 2011

Harper’s Bible Dictionary is a magnificent companion to the Harper’s Bible Commentary. It allows you to understand, in all their contexts, the texts of the Old Testament, the Apocrypha, and the New Testament. It is completely up to date, and represents the best current biblical scholarship. The entire volume is written by 180 members of the Society of Biblical Literature, and contains 3500 articles and 400 photographs.

Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary

• General Editors: Chad Brand, Charles W. Draper, Archie W. England
• Publisher: B&H
• Publication Date: 2003
• Pages: 1,717

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary sets the standard for what a Bible dictionary should be—a vast storehouse of easy-to-find, easy-to-grasp, useful information. Completely revised and expanded, with more user-friendly features than ever, this edition of the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary is designed both for those who need information quickly and those who want in-depth treatments on hundreds of topics. Additionally, hundreds of color photographs, maps, reconstructions and charts illuminate the text in a way you never thought possible. Once you begin reading, you’ll understand why the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary has become the gold standard in Bible reference publishing!

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE), 1915 Edition

• General Editor: James Orr
• Publisher: The Howard-Severance Company
• Publication Date: 1915
• Pages: 3,540

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) is an authoritative reference encyclopedia which explains every significant word, subject, place, person, and doctrine in the Bible and Apocrypha! In scope, the ISBE covers literature (apocalyptic, apocryphal, sub-apostolic, etc.), archeology, ethnology, geography, topography, biography, arts and crafts, manners and customs, family life, natural history, agriculture, ritual, laws, sects, music—whatever, in short, may throw light on the meaning and message of the Bible. Over two hundred scholars and teachers contributed to this encyclopedia—including Archibald Alexander, H. C. G. Moule, B. B. Warfield, A. T. Robertson, and more.