Any serious student of the world portrayed in the Bible should seek out additional resources to further their study. Below is an annotated list of some additional resources as well as a listing of those works that I have found particularly helpful in the creation of this edition. This short guide is arranged in categories of reference works and then more specific items to assist you to obtain several levels of information from the simplest to the most complex.
Study Bibles
The study Bible is a good solution for those who want to have additional information available with the notes on each page providing quick insights and historical data. Those recommended include:
The Catholic Study Bible (NABRE). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.
The HarperCollins Study Bible (NRSV). San Francisco: HarperOne, 2006.
Jewish Study Bible (NJPS). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
New Interpreter’s Study Bible (NRSV). Nashville: Abingdon, 2003.
New Oxford Annotated NRSV Bible with Apocrypha. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Oxford Study Bible (REB). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.
Bible Atlases
In order to obtain more information on historical geography or about a particular site mentioned in the Bible, a Bible atlas is an excellent resource.
An atlas can provide much more commentary on the topographical and climatic character of Syria-Palestine and the ancient Mediterranean world. Bible atlases come in a variety of price ranges and formats. For instance, the Hammond Atlas of the Bible Lands (New York: Hammond, 2008) and the Bible Atlas and Companion (Uhrichsville, OH: Barbour, 2008) are inexpensive but serviceable atlases. Slightly more expensive, but also in paperback, is the Oxford Bible Atlas, 4th ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009). The model for most modern reference atlases is Y. Aharoni, M. Avi-Yonah, and A. Rainey, The Macmillan Bible Atlas, 3rd ed. (New York: Macmillan, 1993).
Several atlases, like The Harper Atlas of the Bible (San Francisco: HarperOne, 2008), C. Rasmussen, Zondervan Atlas of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009), and A. Rainey and R. S. Notley, The Sacred Bridge (Jerusalem: Carta, 2006), have spectacular color pictures and excellent discussions of geography. However, they are all fairly expensive, and this expense must be weighed against the need to purchase other resources. Bible dictionaries and commentaries do deal at least somewhat with biblical geography and usually contain a set of color maps.
For more detailed study of specific aspects of historical geography, the following resources would be helpful:
Brisco, Thomas C., and V. Brisco. Holman Bible Atlas: A Complete Guide to the Expansive Geography of Biblical History. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1999.
DeVries, LaMoine F. Cities of the Biblical World. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1997.
Dorsey, D. A. The Roads and Highways of Ancient Israel. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991.
Hutton, Jeremy. “‘Bethany beyond the Jordan’ in Text, Tradition, and Historical Geography.” Biblica 89 (2008): 305–28.
Kallai, Zecharia. Historical Geography of the Bible: The Tribal Territories of Israel. Jerusalem: Magnes, 1986.
Matthews, Victor H. “Back to Bethel: Geographic Reiteration in Biblical Narrative.” JBL 128 (2009): 151–67.
One-Volume Bible Dictionaries
The single-volume Bible dictionary is an excellent resource to obtain thumbnail sketches on every person or place mentioned in the Bible. Those recommended are:
Baker Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2013.
Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000.
HarperCollins Bible Dictionary. Rev. ed. San Francisco: HarperOne, 2011.
Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Rev. ed. Nashville: Holman, 2003.
Multivolume Bible Dictionaries
A multivolume reference work will be the most comprehensive and the most expensive of these study aids. There are currently two excellent multivolume dictionaries available, although The Anchor Bible Dictionary in six volumes (New York: Doubleday, 1992) is now dated. More up-to-date is The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, 5 vols. (Nashville: Abingdon, 2006–9). Both are also available on CD-ROM. Most student questions can be answered by using either of these dictionaries, and the bibliographies at the end of most articles are particularly helpful for further study of specific items.
Archaeology
For those who wish to gain a more detailed understanding of archaeological methods and the results of recent excavations in biblical lands, there are a number of reference works and monographs to choose from. For the beginner, recommended are:
Benjamin, Don C. Stones and Stories: An Introduction to Archaeology and the Bible. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2009.
Ben Tor, A. The Archaeology of Ancient Israel. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994.
Laughlin, J. Archaeology and the Bible. London: Routledge, 1999.
Comprehensive, but dated, reference works include:
Levy, T. E., ed. The Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land. London: Continuum, 1998.
Meyers, Eric, ed. Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East. 5 vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Stern, Ephraim, ed. The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land. Jerusalem: Carta, 1993.
For the purposes of further study and as a reflection of the works consulted in the production of this new edition, the following monographs and articles are recommended:
Bloch-Smith, Elizabeth, and Beth A. Nakhai. “A Landscape Comes to Life: The Iron Age I.” NEA 62 (1999): 62–92, 101–27.
Callaway, Joseph A. “A Visit with Ahilud.” BAR 9, no. 5 (1983): 42–53.
Charlesworth, James H., ed. Jesus and Archaeology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006.
Crossan, John D., and Jonathan L. Reed. Excavating Jesus: Beneath the Stones, Behind the Texts. San Francisco: HarperCollins, 2001.
Currid, James D. Doing Archaeology in the Land of the Bible: A Basic Guide. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999.
Dever, William G. What Did the Biblical Writers Know and When Did They Know It? What Archaeology Can Tell Us about the Reality of Ancient Israel. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001.
Finkelstein, Israel. The Archaeology of the Settlement of Israel. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1988.
Hoffmeier, James K. Israel in Egypt. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Jeremias, J. Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1969.
Kenyon, Kathleen. Digging Up Jerusalem. New York: Praeger, 1974.
Laughlin, John C. H. “On the Convergence of Texts and Artifacts: Using Archaeology to Teach the Hebrew Bible.” In Between Text and Artifact: Integrating Archaeology in Biblical Studies Teaching, edited by Milton C. Moreland, 115–32. Leiden: Brill, 2004.
Levy, Thomas E., ed. The Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land. New York: Continuum, 1998.
Magness, Jodi. The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002.
Mazar, Amihai. Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, 10,000–586 BCE. New York: Doubleday, 1990.
Meshorer, Yaakov. Ancient Jewish Coinage. New York: Amphora, 1982.
Meyers, Eric M., ed. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East. 5 vols. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Rast, Walter E. Through the Ages in Palestinian Archaeology. Philadelphia: Trinity, 1992.
Stern, Ephraim. Archaeology of the Land of the Bible: The Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian Periods (732–332 BCE). New York: Doubleday, 2001.
———. The Material Culture of the Land of the Bible in the Persian Period 538–332 BC. Warminster, UK: Aris & Phillips, 1982.
Vaughn, Andrew G., and Ann E. Killebrew, eds. Jerusalem in Bible and Archaeology. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2003.
Wilkinson, John. Jerusalem as Jesus Knew It: Archaeology as Evidence. London: Thames & Hudson, 1978.
Collections of Ancient Near Eastern Texts in Translation
Throughout this volume you will encounter references to ancient texts that either parallel or provide comparative data to biblical narratives or legal statements. The following monographs and multivolume reference works are sources for these translated texts, and serious students should consider obtaining some of them or spending time with them in the library.
Avigad, Nahman. “The Epitaph of a Royal Steward from Siloam Village.” IEJ 3, no. 3 (1953): 137–52.
Coogan, Michael. “Life in the Diaspora: Jews at Nippur in the Fifth Century BC.” BA 37 (1974): 6–12.
Coogan, Michael, and Mark Smith. Stories from Ancient Canaan. 2nd ed. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2012.
Dalley, Stephanie. Myths from Mesopotamia. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
Gabbay, Uri. “Dance in Textual Sources from Ancient Mesopotamia.” NEA 66, no. 3 (2003): 103–4.
Greenstein, Edward L., and David Marcus. “The Akkadian Inscription of Idrimri.” JANES 8 (1976): 59–96.
Hallo, William W., and K. Lawson Younger Jr., eds. The Context of Scripture. 3 vols. New York: Brill, 1997–2002.
Lichtheim, Miriam. Ancient Egyptian Literature: A Book of Readings. 3 vols. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1975–80.
Matthews, Victor H., and Don C. Benjamin. Old Testament Parallels: Laws and Stories from the Ancient Near East. 3rd ed. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist, 2006.
Moran, William L. The Amarna Letters. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992.
Na’aman, Nadav. “The Contribution of Royal Inscriptions for a Re-evaluation of the Book of Kings as a Historical Source.” JSOT 82 (1999): 3–17.
Nissinen, Marti. Prophets and Prophecy in the Ancient Near East. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2003.
Porten, Bezalel. The Elephantine Papyri in English: Three Millennia of Cross-Cultural Continuity and Change. Leiden: Brill, 1996.
Pritchard, James. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969.
Roth, Martha T. Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor. 2nd ed. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1997.
Histories of Israel and the Ancient Near East
Turning now to monographs and reference works that assist with further study of the history of Israel in its ancient Near Eastern context, the following are grouped by time period and are among the works consulted in the creation of this new edition. You will note that many of them are collections of articles on particular time periods and that collections of this type are becoming more typical rather than the creation of comprehensive histories that quickly are superseded by new discoveries.
Coogan, Michael D., ed. The Oxford History of the Biblical World. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Hayes, John H., and J. Maxwell Miller. Israelite and Judean History. 2nd ed. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2006.
Matthews, Victor H. A Brief History of Ancient Israel. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2002.
———. Studying the Ancient Israelites: A Guide to Sources and Methods. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007.
Moore, Megan B., and Brad E. Kelle. Biblical History and Israel’s Past: The Changing Study of the Bible and History. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2011.
Redford, Donald B. Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992.
Snell, Daniel C. Life in the Ancient Near East. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997.
Histories of the Exilic and Persian Periods
Albertz, Rainer. Israel in Exile: The History and Literature of the Sixth Century BCE. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2003.
Berquist, Jon L., ed. Approaching Yehud: New Approaches to the Study of the Persian Period. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2007.
———. Judaism in Persia’s Shadow: A Social and Historical Approach. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1995.
Betlyon, John W. “A People Transformed: Palestine in the Persian Period.” NEA 68 (2005): 4–58.
Briant, Pierre. From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2002.
Carter, C. E. The Emergence of Yehud in the Persian Period: A Social and Demographic Study. JSOTSup 294. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999.
Coggins, Richard J. “The Origins of the Jewish Diaspora.” In The World of Ancient Israel, edited by Ronald Clements, 163–81. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989.
Hoglund, Kenneth. Achaemenid Imperial Administration in Syria-Palestine and the Missions of Ezra and Nehemiah. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1992.
Kalimi, Isaac, ed. New Perspectives on Ezra-Nehemiah: History and Historiography. Text, Literature, and Interpretation. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2012.
Kuhrt, Amélie. “The Cyrus Cylinder and Achaemenid Imperial Policy.” JSOT 25 (1983): 83–97.
Levin, Yigal, ed. Judah and Its Neighbours in the Persian and Early Hellenistic Periods. New York: T&T Clark, 2007.
Lipschits, Oded, Gary N. Knoppers, and Rainer Albertz, eds. Judah and the Judeans in the Fourth Century BCE. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2007.
Lipschits, Oded, and Manfred Oeming, eds. Judah and the Judeans in the Persian Period. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2006.
Yamauchi, Edwin M. Persia and the Bible. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990.
Zadok, Ran. The Jews in Babylonia during the Chaldean and Achaemenian Periods. Haifa: University of Haifa Press, 1979.
Histories of the Intertestamental and New Testament Periods
Collins, John J. Between Athens and Jerusalem: Jewish Identity in the Hellenistic Diaspora. New York: Crossroad, 1983.
Feldman, Louis H., and Galia Hata, eds. Josephus, the Bible, and History. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1989.
Grabbe, Lester L. A History of the Jews and Judaism in the Second Temple Period. Vol. 1, Yehud: A History of the Persian Province of Judah. New York: T&T Clark, 2004.
———. Judaism from Cyrus to Hadrian. 2 vols. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992.
Harrison, Robert. “Hellenization in Syria-Palestine: The Case of Judea in the Third Century BCE.” BA 57 (1994): 98–108.
Jonker, Louis, ed. Texts, Contexts and Readings in Postexilic Literature: Explorations into Historiography and Identity Negotiations in Hebrew Bible and Related Texts. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011.
Koester, Helmut. Introduction to the New Testament: History, Culture, and Religion of the Hellenistic Age. 2 vols. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1980.
Levine, Lee I. Judaism and Hellenism in Antiquity: Conflict or Confluence? Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1998.
Malina, Bruce J. Christian Origins and Cultural Anthropology. Atlanta: John Knox, 1986.
———. The New Testament World: Insights from Cultural Anthropology. Atlanta: John Knox, 1981.
Meeks, Wayne A. The First Urban Christians: The Social World of the Apostle Paul. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983.
Schäfer, Peter. The History of the Jews in the Greco-Roman World. New York: Routledge, 2003.
Smallwood, E. Mary. The Jews under Roman Rule: From Pompey to Diocletian. Atlanta: SBL Press, 2015.
Tcherikover, Victor. Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews. New York: Atheneum, 1970.
Since so much of this volume is concerned with discussing various aspects of the social world and domestic life depicted in the biblical narrative and ancient Near Eastern texts, the following group of studies is useful for those who wish to learn more about architecture, aspects of honor and shame, commercial activity, and family life.
Bunimovitz, Shelomoh, and Avraham Faust. “Ideology in Stone: Understanding the Four-Room House.” BAR 28, no. 4 (2002): 33–41, 59–60.
Clark, Douglas R. “Bricks, Sweat and Tears: The Human Investment in Constructing a ‘Four-Room’ House.” NEA 66, no. 1/2 (2003): 34–43.
Cohen, Shaye J. D., ed. The Jewish Family in Antiquity. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1993.
Court, John, and Kathleen Court. The New Testament World. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1990.
deSilva, David A. Honor, Patronage, Kinship and Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2000.
Green, Joel B., and Lee M. McDonald, eds. The World of the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013.
Hanson, Kenneth C., and Douglas E. Oakman. Palestine in the Time of Jesus: Social Structures and Social Conflicts. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1998.
King, Philip J., and Lawrence E. Stager. Life in Biblical Israel. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2001.
Magness, Jodi. Stone and Dung, Oil and Spit: Jewish Daily Life in the Time of Jesus. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2011.
Matthews, Victor H. “Entrance Ways and Threshing Floors: Legally Significant Sites in the Ancient Near East.” FEH 19 (1987): 25–40.
Matthews, Victor H., and Don C. Benjamin. Social World of Ancient Israel, 1250–587 BCE. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1993.
McNutt, Paula. Reconstructing the Society of Ancient Israel. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1999.
Meyers, Carol. Discovering Eve: Ancient Israelite Women in Context. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.
Nakhai, Beth A. “Contextualizing Village Life in the Iron Age I.” In Israel in Transition: From Late Bronze II to Iron IIa (c. 1250–850 BCE). Vol. 1, The Archaeology, edited by Lester L. Grabbe, 121–37. New York: T&T Clark, 2008.
Osiek, Carolyn. What Are They Saying about the Social Setting of the New Testament? New York: Paulist Press, 1984.
Osiek, Carolyn, and David L. Balch. Families in the New Testament World. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1997.
Perdue, Leo G., Joseph Blenkinsopp, John J. Collins, and Carol Meyers. Families in Ancient Israel. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1997.
Reinhardt, Wolfgang, and Andrew Warren. “The Population Size of Jerusalem and the Numerical Growth of the Jerusalem Church.” In The Book of Acts in Its Palestinian Setting, edited by Richard Bauckham, 237–65. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995.
Reviv, Hanoch. The Elders in Ancient Israel. Jerusalem: Magnes, 1989.
Roetzel, Calvin J. The World That Shaped the New Testament. Atlanta: John Knox, 1985.
Rousseau, John J., and Rami Arav. Jesus and His World. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1995.
Stager, Lawrence E. “The Archaeology of the Family in Ancient Israel.” BASOR 260 (1985): 1–35.
Also of importance in any study of the ancient world is to examine developments in science and technology. Studies on health care, industrial and agricultural implements and methods, and horticulture are found in this collection.
Avalos, Hector. “Ancient Medicine: In Case of Emergency, Contact Your Local Prophet.” BRev 11, no. 3 (1995): 27–35, 48.
———. Health Care and the Rise of Christianity. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1999.
Avigad, Nahman. “Jerusalem Flourishing—A Craft Center for Stone, Pottery, and Glass.” BAR 9, no. 6 (1983): 48–65.
Biggs, Robert D. “Medicine, Surgery, and Public Health in Ancient Mesopotamia.” In Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, edited by Jack M. Sasson, 1911–24. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1995.
Borowski, Oded. Agriculture in Iron Age Israel. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1987.
Hepper, F. Nigel. Baker Encyclopedia of Bible Plants. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992.
Kinnier Wilson, J. V. “Medicine in the Land and Times of the Old Testament.” In Studies in the Period of David and Solomon and Other Essays, edited by T. Ishida, 337–65. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1982.
McNutt, Paula. The Forging of Israel: Iron Technology, Symbolism, and Tradition in Ancient Society. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1990.
Muhly, James D. “How Iron Technology Changed the Ancient World—And Gave the Philistines a Military Edge.” BAR 8, no. 6 (1982): 40–54.
Powell, Mark. “Weights and Measures.” In Anchor Bible Dictionary, edited by David Noel Freedman, 6:897–908. New York: Doubleday, 1992.
Stieglitz, Robert R. “Long-Distance Seafaring in the Ancient Near East.” BA 47, no. 3 (1984): 134–42.
Walsh, Carey E. The Fruit of the Vine: Viticulture in Ancient Israel. Winona Lake, IN; Eisenbrauns, 2000.
Zias, Joseph. “Current Archaeological Research in Israel: Death and Disease in Ancient Israel.” BA 54 (1991): 146–59.
Zohary, Michael. Plants of the Bible. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982.
The history of the Levant has been marked by almost continuous warfare as the super powers in Egypt and Mesopotamia attempted to gain access to the major trade routes and control the area of Syria-Palestine. The royal annals of kings in the Bible and elsewhere are filled with details about methods of warfare and their effect on the peoples who faced the brunt of invading armies. Here is a representative sample of works dealing with this important topic.
Bleibtreu, Erika. “Grisly Assyrian Record of Torture and Death.” BAR 17, no. 1 (1991): 53–61, 75.
Graham, Philip. “Weapons and Warfare in Ancient Syria-Palestine.” In Near Eastern Archaeology: A Reader, edited by Suzanne Richard, 184–92. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2003.
Kelle, Brad E., and Frank R. Ames, eds. Writing and Reading War: Rhetoric, Gender and Ethics in Biblical and Modern Contexts. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2008.
Niditch, Susan. War in the Hebrew Bible: A Study in the Ethics of Violence. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
Wernick, Nicholas. Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC: Holy Warriors at the Dawn of History. London: Routledge, 2006.
Yadin, Yigael. The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands in the Light of Archaeological Discoveries. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1963.
Religion plays a huge role in the life of the ancient Israelites. Large sections of this volume have dealt with methods of sacrifice, worship practices, and the changes that took place over time, eventually evolving into two major world religions: Judaism and Christianity. The following studies have contributed to our discussion and would be helpful for further study.
Collins, John J. The Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to Jewish Apocalyptic Literature. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998.
———. Jewish Wisdom in the Hellenistic Age. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1997.
Gottwald, Norman K. The Tribes of Yahweh: A Sociology of the Religion of Liberated Israel 1250–1050 BCE. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1979.
Grabbe, Lester. An Introduction to Second Temple Judaism. New York: Continuum, 2010.
Haran, Menahem. Temples and Temple Service in Ancient Israel. Oxford: Clarendon, 1970.
Hengel, Martin. Judaism and Hellenism. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1981.
Hess, Richard S. Israelite Religions: An Archaeological and Biblical Survey. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007.
Hurowitz, Victor. “Inside Solomon’s Temple.” BRev 10, no. 2 (1994): 24–37, 50.
Keel, Othmar, and Chris Uehlinger. Gods, Goddesses, and Images of God in Ancient Israel. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1998.
Lang, Bernhard. “Afterlife: Ancient Israel’s Changing Vision of the World Beyond.” BRev 4, no. 1 (1988): 12–23.
Neusner, Jacob. From Politics to Piety: The Emergence of Pharisaic Judaism. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1973.
Rahmani, L. Y. “Ancient Jerusalem’s Funerary Customs and Tombs, Part Three.” BA 45, no. 1 (1982): 43–53.
———. “Ossuaries and Ossilegium (Bone-Gathering) in the Late Second Temple Period.” In Ancient Jerusalem Revealed, edited by H. Geva, 191–205. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1994.
Saldarini, Anthony J. Pharisees, Scribes, and Sadducees in Palestinian Society: A Sociological Approach. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001.
Shanks, Hershel. “The Tombs of Silwan.” BAR 20, no. 3 (1994): 38–51.
Smith, Mark S. The Origins of Biblical Monotheism: Israel’s Polytheistic Background and the Ugaritic Texts. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Theissen, Gerd. Sociology of Early Palestinian Christianity. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1978.
VanderKam, James C. The Dead Sea Scrolls Today. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010.
———. From Joshua to Caiaphas: High Priests after the Exile. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2004.
Zevit, Ziony. The Religions of Ancient Israel: A Synthesis of Parallactic Approaches. New York: Continuum, 2001.
Yet another aspect of ancient Israel’s cultural heritage has been the development of law and its relationship to social justice and the maintenance of an ordered existence. The studies listed below are representative of a multitude of works on this subject.
Boecker, Hans J. Law and the Administration of Justice in the Old Testament and Ancient East. London: SPCK, 1980.
Derrett, J. Duncan M. Law in the New Testament. London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1970.
Hecht, Neil S., Bernard S. Jackson, and Stephen M. Passamaneck, eds. An Introduction to the History and Sources of Jewish Law. Oxford: Clarendon, 1996.
Levinson, Bernard M. Deuteronomy and the Hermeneutics of Legal Innovation. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Matthews, Victor H. “The King’s Call to Justice.” BZ 35 (1991): 204–16.
———. “The Social Context of Law in the Second Temple Period.” BTB 28 (1998): 7–15.
Patrick, Dale. Old Testament Law. Atlanta: John Knox, 1985.
Weinfeld, M. Social Justice in Ancient Israel and in the Ancient Near East. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1995.
Westbrook, Raymond, and Bruce Wells. Everyday Law in Biblical Israel: An Introduction. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2009.
Willis, Timothy M. The Elders of the City: A Study of the Elders-Laws in Deuteronomy. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2001.