The Old Testament is a collection of strange documents. Major players are ancient people groups about whom a new Bible reader (or even a seasoned Bible reader) knows nothing. Geography is difficult to memorize, and topography is even harder without having been to the Near East. Moreover, the explosion of ancient Near Eastern studies since the late 1800s has given us so much information about these ancient peoples and places, but it is difficult to know where to start.
Well, you can start here.
Arnold and Strawn are both well-regarded Old Testament scholars who specialize in ancient Near Eastern backgrounds. These editors have brought together a volume that focuses exclusively on the ancient Near Eastern nations that are relevant for Old Testament studies. Thirteen chapters cover the following nations or people groups:
- Amorites
- Assyria
- Babylonia
- Ugarit
- Egypt
- Hittites and Hurrians
- Aram
- Phoenicia
- Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites
- Philistia
- Persia
- Arabia
- Greece
The chapters are longer, compared to some other background books, with these thirteen chapters spreading to 500 pages. Most chapters are 30-40 pages, although Christopher Hays (with Peter Machinist) apparently lobbied successfully with the editors to permit him 77 pages! Granted, he covers the Assyrians, who are arguably the most important nation to study if one wants to better understand the history of Israel and some of her literary forms.
That the chapters are longer means that pastors may not be able to consult them during sermon prep–at least not if they are doing all of their sermon prep in one week. However, if the pastor looks ahead at future passages and sees that some are coming up in which one or more of these nations feature prominently, then scheduling time to work through one or more of these chapters would give invaluable data for the “explanation” portion of the sermon.
Scholars and students who are wading into ancient Near Eastern studies may find these chapters accessible entry points, but they might also profitably consult first a shorter encyclopedia entry. These shorter entries can give overviews that will make 30-40 page histories of ancient nations much easier to digest and retain.
The reader should know that most of these chapters are not comprehensive histories. The Egyptian chapter focuses mostly on the New Kingdom, and also on the following years down to 332, and then discusses points of contact between Egypt and Israel. The chapter on Assyria focuses heavily on the neo-Assyrian empire, which is the period in which Assyria had so many dealings with Israel and Judah.
On the other hand, a chapter such as Mark Smith’s on Ugarit does read as an overview of the city and all that we know about it, with a section at the end on Old Testament parallels in Ugaritic literature. The difference is of course the nature of the subject: Ugarit had no prominent dealings with Israel historically, as Egypt and the neo-Assyrians did.
It should go without saying, but the authors are trusted and generally veteran scholars on their topics. Contributes include Christopher Hays, Mark Smith, K. Lawson Younger Jr., and of course the editors, to name some. There are a good number of illustrations and tables, but in a book like this I would have lobbied for many more to help the reader visualize the long complex histories with numerous kings, viziers, vassals, etc. I recommend purchasing the hardback over the paperback, the binding of the latter being glued and very rigid and nearly falling apart after my first round with the book.
Overall, I was pleased with the layout of the book by nation/people group, and the information was somewhat concise and relevant to Old Testament studies. Learning more about these ancient neighbors of Israel will only bring the Old Testament alive in a new way, and I cannot recommend it enough. Arnold’s and Strawn’s group of contributors have created a helpful, up-to-date resources that will be as good a place as any to start.
