The Oxford History of the Biblical World by Michael D. Coogan Read Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Michael D. Coogan
throughout the book of Genesis of the descendants of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Esau, and finally Jacob, whose name is changed to Israel. These genealogies join as in a continuous history the birth of the world with the birth of Israel, first the family, then the nation, that will be the primary focus of the Bible’s subsequent books.
This, then, is the beginning of history in the biblical world, the world in which prophets and sages, poets and historians, storytellers and apologists, produced their works, eventually to be edited and collected into two anthologies of early Jewish and early Christian traditions: the Hebrew Bible—the Torah, Prophets, and Writings—and the New Testament.
Select Bibliography
Albrektson, Bertil.
History and the Gods: An Essay on the Idea of Historical Events as Divine Manifestations in the Ancient Near East and in Israel.
Lund, Sweden: CWK Gleerup, 1967. An important monograph that shows significant similarities between ancient Israel and its neighbors in the interpretation of historical events as divine revelation.
Bar-Yosef, Ofer. “Prehistoric Palestine.” In
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East,
ed. Eric M. Meyers, 4.207–12. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. An up-to-date synopsis of the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods.
Clifford, Richard J.
Creation Accounts in the Ancient Near East and in the Bible.
The Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series, 26. Washington, D.C.: Catholic Biblical Association, 1994. A valuable summary, with detailed comparisons.
Dalley, Stephanie.
Myths from Mesopotamia.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989. A reliable translation of ten major Mesopotamian myths.
Ehrich, Robert W., ed.
Chronologies in Old World Archaeology.
3d ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992. A comprehensive survey of the archaeological data for prehistoric chronology.
Gonen, Rivka. “The Chalcolithic Period.” In
The Archaeology of Ancient Israel,
ed. Amnon Ben-Tor, 40–80. A detailed interpretive summary of the evidence.
Grimal, Nicholas. A
History of Ancient Egypt.
Trans. Ian Shaw. Oxford: Blackwell, 1992. A current summary.
Orni, Ephraim, and E. Ephrat.
Geography of Israel.
4th ed. Jerusalem: Israel Universities Press, 1980. A detailed treatment.
Postgate, J. N.
Early Mesopotamia: Society and Economy at the Dawn of History.
New York: Routledge, 1992. A synthesis of archaeological and textual data into a detailed social and economic history.
Potts, D. T.
Mesopotamian Civilization: The Material Foundations.
Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1997. Provocative synthesis of archaeological data with historical, literary, and artistic evidence.
Rollefson, Gary O. “Invoking the Spirit: Prehistoric Religion at Ain Ghazal.”
Archaeology Odyssey
1.1 (1998): 54–63. An illustrated discussion by the excavator of Ain Ghazal. For further bibliography, see his ’“Ain Ghazal,” in
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East,
ed. Eric M. Meyers, 1.36–38 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997).
Saggs, H. W. F.
Civilization before Greece and Rome.
New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1989. A thematic overview.
Schmandt-Besserat, Denise.
Before Writing.
Vol. 1,
From Counting to Cuneiform;
vol. 2,
A
Catalog of Near Eastern Tokens.
Austin: University of Texas Press, 1992. An innovative investigation of the origins of writing.
Snell, Daniel C.
Life in the Ancient Near East, 3100–332 B.C.E.
New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1997. A chronologically arranged social history.
Soden, Wolfram von.
The Ancient Orient: An Introduction to the Study of the Ancient Near East.
Trans. Donald G. Schley. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1994. A thematic survey by a distinguished Assyriologist
Trigger, B. G., et al.
Ancient Egypt: A Social History.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983. An innovative historical survey that focuses on social and economic
This, then, is the beginning of history in the biblical world, the world in which prophets and sages, poets and historians, storytellers and apologists, produced their works, eventually to be edited and collected into two anthologies of early Jewish and early Christian traditions: the Hebrew Bible—the Torah, Prophets, and Writings—and the New Testament.
Select Bibliography
Albrektson, Bertil.
History and the Gods: An Essay on the Idea of Historical Events as Divine Manifestations in the Ancient Near East and in Israel.
Lund, Sweden: CWK Gleerup, 1967. An important monograph that shows significant similarities between ancient Israel and its neighbors in the interpretation of historical events as divine revelation.
Bar-Yosef, Ofer. “Prehistoric Palestine.” In
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East,
ed. Eric M. Meyers, 4.207–12. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. An up-to-date synopsis of the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods.
Clifford, Richard J.
Creation Accounts in the Ancient Near East and in the Bible.
The Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series, 26. Washington, D.C.: Catholic Biblical Association, 1994. A valuable summary, with detailed comparisons.
Dalley, Stephanie.
Myths from Mesopotamia.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989. A reliable translation of ten major Mesopotamian myths.
Ehrich, Robert W., ed.
Chronologies in Old World Archaeology.
3d ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992. A comprehensive survey of the archaeological data for prehistoric chronology.
Gonen, Rivka. “The Chalcolithic Period.” In
The Archaeology of Ancient Israel,
ed. Amnon Ben-Tor, 40–80. A detailed interpretive summary of the evidence.
Grimal, Nicholas. A
History of Ancient Egypt.
Trans. Ian Shaw. Oxford: Blackwell, 1992. A current summary.
Orni, Ephraim, and E. Ephrat.
Geography of Israel.
4th ed. Jerusalem: Israel Universities Press, 1980. A detailed treatment.
Postgate, J. N.
Early Mesopotamia: Society and Economy at the Dawn of History.
New York: Routledge, 1992. A synthesis of archaeological and textual data into a detailed social and economic history.
Potts, D. T.
Mesopotamian Civilization: The Material Foundations.
Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1997. Provocative synthesis of archaeological data with historical, literary, and artistic evidence.
Rollefson, Gary O. “Invoking the Spirit: Prehistoric Religion at Ain Ghazal.”
Archaeology Odyssey
1.1 (1998): 54–63. An illustrated discussion by the excavator of Ain Ghazal. For further bibliography, see his ’“Ain Ghazal,” in
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East,
ed. Eric M. Meyers, 1.36–38 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997).
Saggs, H. W. F.
Civilization before Greece and Rome.
New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1989. A thematic overview.
Schmandt-Besserat, Denise.
Before Writing.
Vol. 1,
From Counting to Cuneiform;
vol. 2,
A
Catalog of Near Eastern Tokens.
Austin: University of Texas Press, 1992. An innovative investigation of the origins of writing.
Snell, Daniel C.
Life in the Ancient Near East, 3100–332 B.C.E.
New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1997. A chronologically arranged social history.
Soden, Wolfram von.
The Ancient Orient: An Introduction to the Study of the Ancient Near East.
Trans. Donald G. Schley. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1994. A thematic survey by a distinguished Assyriologist
Trigger, B. G., et al.
Ancient Egypt: A Social History.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983. An innovative historical survey that focuses on social and economic
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