Monumental Inscriptions from the Biblical World (The Context of Scripture, vol. 2)

by William W. Hallo

Publisher:

Brill

, 2000

Overview

The Hebrew Bible is filled with references to people, places, deities, customs, beliefs, practices and traditions of the ancient Near Eastern world. Egyptians, Assyrians, Canaanites, Hittites, and Babylonians appear as central figures in many biblical narratives. Thus it is fitting that students of the Bible turn to the literary remains of these civilizations to understand how they shaped the biblical world.

The Context of Scripture is an impressive three-volume collection of these ancient Near Eastern writings in English translations. Each translation is accompanied by cross references to related biblical texts, allowing users of the electronic edition to easily search for ancient writings that relate to a given passage. The translations also sport extensive notes and thorough bibliographies, to help the student understand the texts and provide avenues for further study.

Volume II, Monumental Inscriptions from the Biblical World, 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.

Key Features

• Cross references to related Biblical text
• Extensive notes and bibliographies
• Ideal for students and pastors

Contents

Top Highlights

“He at[tacked it, and plundered] it of [transplantees, cattle and sheep.]” (Page 87)

“§271 If a man rents cattle, a wagon, and its driver, he shall give 180 sila of grain per day.” (Page 350)

“A star approached, coming to the south of them. The like had not happened before. It shot straight toward them (the enemy), not one of them could stand […] falling headlong. Now then […] was behind them with fire in their faces. Not one of them retaliated;⁴⁸ no one looked back. Their chariotry is gone, they (the horses?) having bolted⁴⁹ in […] in order that all foreigners might see the awe of my majesty.” (Page 17)

“He called out his name:^a Cyrus, king of Anshan;⁴ he pronounced his name to be king over all (the world)” (Page 315)

“I made its devastation greater than that of ‘the Flood.’^{b” (Page 305)}

Endorsements for the Context of Scripture Series

…the three volumes in COS will be reliable and frequently used companions of Old Testament scholars in the next fifty years. Biblical commentaries and journal articles will regularly refer to them.

—Ralph W. Klein, Currents, 2001

…an up-to-date and indispensable collection of Near Eastern literature.

—William M. Schniedewind, Religious Studies Review, 2001

Given the high quality of this compendium, one of the editors' hopes for this series would seem to be well founded, namely, that The Context of Scripture will become a standard reference work in college, seminary, and university libraries well into the twenty-first century.

—Gary N. Knoppers, Review of Biblical Literature, April 2000

Product Details

• Title: The Context of Scripture, Volume Two: Monumental Inscriptions from the Biblical World
• Author: William W. Hallo
• Series: Context of Scripture
• Publisher: Brill
• Print Publication Date: 2000
• Logos Release Date: 2004
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Bible. O.T. › Extra-canonical parallels; Middle Eastern literature › Relation to the Old Testament; Bible. O.T. › History of contemporary events--Sources; Middle Eastern literature › Translations into English
• ISBNs: 9789004106192, 9004106197
• Resource ID: LLS:8.20.5
• Resource Type: text.monograph.ancient-manuscript.translation
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-01-16T19:01:18Z

About the Editors

William W. Hallo is the William M. Laffan Professor of Assyriology and Babylonian Literature and Curator of the Babylonian Collection at Yale University. He holds degrees from Harvard, Leiden, and Chicago. He is author or co-author of Seals and Seal Impressions (2001), The Ancient Near East: a History (1998, 1971), Origins (1997), The Book of the People (1991), Scripture in Context (4 vols. 1980-1991), Heritage: Civilization and the Jews (2 vols. 1984), The Tablets of Ebla (1984), Sumerian Archival Texts (1973), The Exaltation of Inanna (1968), and Early Mesopotamian Royal Titles (1957).

K. Lawson Younger, Jr., Ph.D. (1988) at the University of Sheffield is Professor of Old Testament, Semitic Languages and Ancient Near Eastern History at Trinity International University -- Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois. He is the author of Ancient Near Eastern Conquest Accounts: A Study of Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical History Writing (1990), co-editor of Mesopotamia and the Bible (2002), as well as numerous scholarly articles and reviews.