Victor H. Matthews - Old Testament Parallels: Laws and Stories from the Ancient Near East

.. definitely `user friendly.' With its modest price and decent illustrations, it should be of good service to the current generation of students."

J. Andrew Dearman, Biblical Archaeologist

"..J or the undergraduate student and for those engaged in private study this is strongly recommended as an excellent introduction to the mysteries of ancient accounts of creation, law codes, Ugaritic epics, and the like."

-Richard Coggins, Theological Book Review

.. accessible to the lay person because the texts are not literal renderings or reproductions of the originals, but rather paraphrases of the ancient documents."

-Biblical Archaeologist

.. the best asset of this book, in my opinion, is the wide variety of texts collected in it. From creation stories to legal codes, from treaties to historical annals, from instructions to hymns, from love songs to visions, Old Testament Parallels offers a comparison to virtually every major type of literature found in the Bible. Moreover, this book has included a number of texts which are not readily found elsewhere. In comparison to the two-volume paperback set of Pritchard's Ancient Near Eastern Texts-the standard anthology, and the predominant alternative to Old Testament Parallels-it contains the following additional texts: the Atrahasis Story, the Hymn to Atum, the Treaty of Ramesses II and Hattusilis III, the Story of Balaam, the YavneYam Inscription, the Story of Kirta, the Lament of Ur, the Mari Prophecies, the Sufferer and the Soul, and the Farmer and the Courts. These are all very important texts and shed substantial light on the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible. Their inclusion in Old Testament Parallels increases the value of this book."

-Ronald A. Simkins, Creighton University

.. this collection should serve students well in basic courses who often find more text-oriented translations formidable and the price of other available collections excessive."

W. Lee Humphreys, Religious Studies Review

"...important, convenient, essential."

-Library Journal

.. Matthews and Benjamin have done a fine job in sorting through what's accessible, picking out the best, modernizing the translations and explaining their relevance to Scripture.... there may be more scholarly apparatuses on the market, but for preparing a sermon or adult Bible there's little comparable." .. -

-Religious Book Club News

More praise for Old Testament Parallels: Laws and Stories from the Ancient Near East at the end of this book

LAWS AND STORIES FROM THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST

Fully Revised and Expanded Third Edition

VICTOR H. MATTHEWS and DON C. BENJAMIN

E. Harold and Lillie Mae Matthews Don C. and Edith B. Benjamin

Whose love gave us life

................................................. xi

Genesis

.......................................... 3

......................................... 7

.................................... 11

.................................... 21

..................................... 33

....................................... 43

......................................... 47

.................................. 54

...................................... 57

................................... 59

............................... 65

........................................ 70

........................................ 80

Exodus

................................ 89

............... 91

................................... 97

Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

....................................... 101

....................................... 103

................................... 105

.......................................... 115

.................................. 120

..................................... 131

Joshua, Judges

...................................... 137

................................ 142

..................................... 146

................................. 151

....................................... 155

Ruth

................................... 159

Samuel, Kings

.............................. 165

...................................... 167

....................................... 170

........................... 172

.............................. 176

............................. 182

.................................... 185

................................. 190

......................................... 193

........................... 195

.......................................... 198

....................................... 201

Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah

..................................... 207

................................... 210

Job, Ecclesiastes

.............................. 219

.......................... 223

....................... 230

...................... 239

Psalms, Lamentations

....................................... 247

...................................... 256

......................................... 258

................................ 263

..................................... 275

Proverbs, Sirach, Wisdom

............................... 283

.................................... 289

....................... 293

................................... 303

............................ 310

Song of Songs

...................................321

Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Amos

........................... 329

..................................... 335

.......................................... 341

.................................... 347

...................................... 355

........................... 357

................................. 359

................................. 361

............................ 363

................................... 377

............................................379

..................... 383

............................................ 423

The Bible belongs to a wonderful family of traditions from Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, Syria-Palestine and Egypt. Old Testament Parallels: Laws and Stories from the Ancient Near East offers an exciting guide to this larger world of law-making and storytelling. Introductions, illustrations, and a variety of reference tools clearly explain the relationship between each ancient Near Eastern tradition and the Bible.