Ancient Texts for the Study of the Hebrew Bible: A Guide to the Background Literature - Hardcover

Sparks, Kenton L.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0801047730 ISBN 13: 9780801047732

Verlag: Baker Academic, Div of Baker Publishing Group, 2005

Inhaltsangabe

The Hebrew Bible represents no mere collection of books but a stunning array of literary genres. To fully illuminate the history and culture of the Old Testament, it is necessary to compare these ancient writings to similar texts written concurrently by Israel's neighbors. Beginning with an overview of the important literary archives of the ancient Near East, Sparks provides exhaustive references to the ancient literary counterparts to the Hebrew Bible's major genres. Surveying the ancient writings found throughout Egypt, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and Palestine, Sparks provides a brief summary of each text discussed, translating brief portions and linking them to literarily similar biblical passages. Exploring over thirty genres--wisdom, hymns, love poetry, rituals, prophecy, apocalyptic, novella, epic legend, myth, genealogy, history, law, treaty, epigraphic materials, and others--it offers an exemplary guide to the fertile literary environment from which the canonical writings sprung. Rich with bibliographic material, this invaluable catalog enables the reader to locate not only the published texts in their original ancient languages but to find suitable English translations and commentary bearing on these ancient texts. A number of helpful indexes round out this outstanding resource. Providing students with a thorough introduction to the literature of the ancient Near East--and time-pressed scholars with an admirably up-to-date research tool--it will become a syllabus standard for a myriad of courses.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Kenton L. Sparks (PhD, University of North Carolina) is vice president for marketing and enrollment and is also special assistant to the president at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. He is the author of several books, including God's Word in Human Words and Ethnicity and Identity in Ancient Israel.

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"Frustrated over the lack of comparative bibliographic resources at his disposal in graduate school, [Sparks] has ventured to write a massive introduction to and overview of the Hebrew Bible in its ancient Near Eastern literary context. One is immediately struck with Sparks's extensive background in ancient Near Eastern civilizations, which makes him well suited to write a book such as this. . . . Sparks is to be congratulated for compiling such a useful reference tool; it will be of great use to biblical and ancient Near Eastern scholars alike."
--Catholic Biblical Quarterly

"This book is essential for everyone dealing with the Hebrew Bible in its ancient context. . . . It is a thorough introduction to the variety of genres in ancient Near Eastern literature and their relevance for the Hebrew Bible. The chapters can be consulted individually for an orientation to specific literary forms, for exemplars from specific locations, or for individual texts, as well as for contemporary scholarship on any aspect of the preceding. In short, all future comparative scholarship will take this book as its starting point."
--John L. McLaughlin, Review of Biblical Literature

"Sparks's fifteen chapters provide a genre-based discussion of ancient Near Eastern texts that in some way contribute to the study of the world, the literature, and the text of the Hebrew Bible. . . . While the primary audience for Sparks's book is students, it will also serve as a helpful reference guide for biblical scholars."
--Old Testament Abstracts

"For generations, specialists have begged for a book that would convey the literary richness of the ancient Near East to students of the Bible and of the classics. Sparks's handy reference guide is now here to fill that need: elegant in presentation; judicious in contents, with precise summaries of opinions; and helpful bibliographically."
--Jack M. Sasson, Vanderbilt University

"Students and scholars of every level will save days of catalog and preparation time for any one project just by having this ready to hand."
--Daniel Fleming, New York University

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Baker Academic, Div of Baker Publishing Group
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2005
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0801047730
• ISBN 13: 9780801047732
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 514
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar