Behind the Scenes of the Old Testament: Cultural, Social, and Historical Contexts ed. by Jonathan S. Greer, John W. Hilber, John H. Walton

Abstract

Reviewed by: Behind the Scenes of the Old Testament: Cultural, Social, and Historical Contexts ed. by Jonathan S. Greer, John W. Hilber, John H. Walton Ki-Eun Jang jonathan s. greer, john w. hilber, and john h. walton (eds.), Behind the Scenes of the Old Testament: Cultural, Social, and Historical Contexts (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2018). Pp. xix + 615. $49.99. This helpful volume features a collection of sixty-six essays by an international group of biblical scholars, archaeologists, and ancient historians based in six different continents —predominantly in North America, Israel, and Europe. Each essay contributes to the volume’s [End Page 152] aim to introduce historical, cultural, and social backdrops for the study of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible in a comparative manner. As suggested in the title, the editors draw on a metaphor of “drama” as a way to organize the book’s structure into three major parts. Following an introduction by the three editors, part 1, “Elements of the Drama,” surveys the historical geography and archaeological backgrounds of the ancient Levant and introduces ancient Near Eastern literature and iconography for the comparative study. This methodological overview is divided into four sections. The first section, “The Stage: Historical Geography,” has four essays: Paul H. Wright, “Introduction to Historical Geography”; Carl G. Rasmussen, “Regions and Routes in the Levant”; Elizabeth Arnold, “Climate and Environment of the Levant”; and Daniel Fuks and Nimrod Marom, “Plants and Animals of the Land of Israel.” The second section, “The Sets and Props: Archaeology,” consists of six essays: Seymour Gitin, “Introduction to Biblical Archaeology”; Joe Uziel, “Archaeology of the Late Bronze Age”; Aren M. Maeir, “Archaeology of the Iron Age I”; Amihai Mazar, “Archaeology of the Iron Age II”; Constance E. Gane, “Archaeology of the Neo-Babylonian and Persian Periods”; and Jordan Ryan, “Archaeology of the Hellenistic Period.” The third section, “The Scripts: Ancient Near Eastern Literature,” includes Adam E. Miglio, “Introduction to Ancient Near Eastern Literature”; David C. Deuel, “Mesopotamian Literature”; Nili Shupak, “Egyptian Literature”; Alice Mouton, “Hittite Literature”; William D. Baker, “Ugaritic Literature”; Margaret E. Cohen, “Northwest Semitic Inscriptions”; Judith M. Hadley, “Hebrew Inscriptions”; and Ryan E. Stokes, “Early Jewish Literature.” The fourth and final section, “The Frames: Ancient Near Eastern Iconography,” contains Izak Cornelius, “Introduction to Ancient Near Eastern Iconography”; Laura Wright, “Egyptian Iconography”; Daniel Bodi, “Mesopotamian and Anatolian Iconography”; and Brent A. Strawn, “Canaanite/Israelite Iconography.” While many contributions in this part, which addresses material evidence, are efficiently supplemented by maps, photos, and drawings, it would have been welcome if such visual data had been included in the chapter on Egyptian iconography. Part 2, “Acts and Scenes of the Drama,” offers an overview of the broad-scale historical periods as depicted in the biblical narrative and further examines selected socio-political events in the history of ancient Israel and Judah. The first section, “Acts: Integrated Approaches to Broad Historical Contexts,” includes nine essays that follow a traditional division of biblical chronology: Richard S. Hess, “The Ancestral Period”; David A. Falk, “The Egyptian Sojourn and the Exodus”; Pekka Pitkänen, “The Settlement Period”; Steven M. Ortiz, “The United Monarchy”; Jens Bruun Kofoed, “The Divided Monarchy: Israel”; Eric L. Welch, “The Divided Monarchy: Judah”; Deirdre N. Fulton, “The Exile and the Exilic Communities”; Kenneth A. Ristau, “The Achaemenid Persian Empire in the West and Persian-Period Yehud”; and Joel Willitts, “The Maccabean Revolt and Hasmonean Statecraft.” The second section, “Scenes: Integrated Approaches to Event-Based Historical Contexts,” features ten essays: Mark D. Janzen, “Akhenaten and the Amarna Period”; Gregory D. Mumford, “The Late Bronze Age Collapse and the Sea Peoples’ Migrations”; Yigal Levin, “Sheshonq’s Levantine Conquest and Biblical History”; Mark W. Chavalas, “The Battle of Qarqar and Assyrian Aspirations”; Juan Manuel Tebes, “The Mesha Inscription and Relations with Moab and Edom”; K. Lawson Younger Jr., “The Tel Dan Inscription and the Deaths of Joram of Israel and Ahaziah of Judah”; Kyle H. Keimer, “Sennacherib’s Invasion of Judah and Neo-Assyrian Expansion”; Ryan N. Roberts, “Eighth-Century Levantine Earthquakes and Natural Disasters”; Sara L. Hoffman, “The Battle of Carchemish [End Page 153] and Seventh/Sixth-Century Regional Politics”; and D. Brent Sandy, “Alexander the Great and Hellenism.” The third and...