Elements in the Ancient Near Eastern World and the Bible – serie

This Element presents what we know about the construction of sexuality and the sex lives of the residents of ancient Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and the Levant. After briefly introducing the regions and cultures under consideration and the sources of data, the work turns to female and male experiences of sexuality, matters of fertility and infertility, sexual orientation, and finally sex crimes. Primary sources are heavily foregrounded so that readers may understand what the sources of information are on these topics and may see how scholars have come to the understandings that they have.

This Element presents what we know about the construction of sexuality and the sex lives of the residents of ancient Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and the Levant. After briefly introducing the regions and cultures under consideration and the sources of data, the work turns to female and male experiences of sexuality, matters of fertility and infertility, sexual orientation, and finally sex crimes. Primary sources are heavily foregrounded so that readers may understand what the sources of information are on these topics and may see how scholars have come to the understandings that they have.

The purpose of this Element is twofold. First, it offers an up-to-date introduction to Paleo-Hebrew inscriptions. Second, it argues that the wealth of information they yield about ancient Israel and Judah is underappreciated and needs to be reevaluated. To these ends, it first briefly retraces the slow rediscovery of the Paleo-Hebrew script by modern scholars from the Renaissance onward and shows that it remained poorly identified by many until the second third of the twentieth century. Even today, most historians focus on a few iconic inscriptions or sets of inscriptions in specific periods. This Element then retraces the biography of the script in its entirety and highlights the surprising variety of its uses over more than a millennium. Finally, it shows, by a selection of relevant documents, how Paleo-Hebrew inscriptions shed light on daily life, historical events, religious beliefs and practices, and literacy in ancient Israel and Judah.

The purpose of this Element is twofold. First, it offers an up-to-date introduction to Paleo-Hebrew inscriptions. Second, it argues that the wealth of information they yield about ancient Israel and Judah is underappreciated and needs to be reevaluated. To these ends, it first briefly retraces the slow rediscovery of the Paleo-Hebrew script by modern scholars from the Renaissance onward and shows that it remained poorly identified by many until the second third of the twentieth century. Even today, most historians focus on a few iconic inscriptions or sets of inscriptions in specific periods. This Element then retraces the biography of the script in its entirety and highlights the surprising variety of its uses over more than a millennium. Finally, it shows, by a selection of relevant documents, how Paleo-Hebrew inscriptions shed light on daily life, historical events, religious beliefs and practices, and literacy in ancient Israel and Judah.

Food, drink, and feasting represent both the stuff of everyday life and potent symbols for worship, identity, and power since time immemorial and throughout the globe. However, the ways they exercise influence take shape in accordance with the realities and imaginations of distinct cultural settings. This volume provides an overview of the ways that these elements and motifs appear in the texts of Hebrew Bible in relation to its larger cultural and historical context. After considering food as a broader anthropological object of study, it discusses the features of regular provision in ancient Israel. Specific investigations include feasts, prohibitions, fasting, along with connections with sexuality, worship, and identity in relation to the foodways of the broader region.

Food, drink, and feasting represent both the stuff of everyday life and potent symbols for worship, identity, and power since time immemorial and throughout the globe. However, the ways they exercise influence take shape in accordance with the realities and imaginations of distinct cultural settings. This volume provides an overview of the ways that these elements and motifs appear in the texts of Hebrew Bible in relation to its larger cultural and historical context. After considering food as a broader anthropological object of study, it discusses the features of regular provision in ancient Israel. Specific investigations include feasts, prohibitions, fasting, along with connections with sexuality, worship, and identity in relation to the foodways of the broader region.

This Element offers readers an introduction to the Amarna letters. This group of 350 cuneiform tablets was discovered at the site of Tell el-Amarna (ancient Akhetaten) in Egypt. They date to the mid-fourteenth century BCE and preserve correspondence between Egyptian rulers of the late Eighteenth Dynasty and foreign political contemporaries from all over ancient Western Asia. These rulers (with few exceptions) never met face-to-face, yet they communicated about trade, military operations, gift-giving, and intermarriage between royal houses. The Canaanite Amarna letters from the southern Leant also elucidate the impact of Egypt's military and economic agenda from the perspective of subjugated elites. The Amarna letters are also important for our understanding of the people who made written diplomacy possible: cuneiform scribes. Overall, the letters paint a picture of highly localized and divergent scribal practices. The letters thereby fill in the gaps in material evidence for cuneiform scribal communities in the Amarna Age.

This Element offers readers an introduction to the Amarna letters. This group of 350 cuneiform tablets was discovered at the site of Tell el-Amarna (ancient Akhetaten) in Egypt. They date to the mid-fourteenth century BCE and preserve correspondence between Egyptian rulers of the late Eighteenth Dynasty and foreign political contemporaries from all over ancient Western Asia. These rulers (with few exceptions) never met face-to-face, yet they communicated about trade, military operations, gift-giving, and intermarriage between royal houses. The Canaanite Amarna letters from the southern Leant also elucidate the impact of Egypt's military and economic agenda from the perspective of subjugated elites. The Amarna letters are also important for our understanding of the people who made written diplomacy possible: cuneiform scribes. Overall, the letters paint a picture of highly localized and divergent scribal practices. The letters thereby fill in the gaps in material evidence for cuneiform scribal communities in the Amarna Age.

This Element introduces the reader to the fascinating world of magical rituals performed in the ancient Near East and ancient Israel. It is designed for a diverse audience of professionals, students, and general readers. It surveys the definitions and history of research on magic in the ancient world, delineates the chronological and geographical boundaries of the ancient Near East, and details the pertinent sources of information. The Element distinguishes between different types of magical rituals and identifies their aims, beneficiaries, performers, and procedures. It sheds fresh light on the mechanics of ritual performance in the ancient Near East and explicates the rationales that guided it.