If you're following the Naked Bible Podcast we've had several episodes where we get mired in the quagmire that is ancient chronology. Years ago I read the book Centuries of Darkness by Peter James. It's fundamental exposure to why the accepted chronologies of...
Ancient Near East
Can We Please Stop Appealing to Rabbis for Biblical and Ancient Text Interpretation?
I have this topic stuck in my head today in the wake of some conversations with folks about the Dead Sea Scrolls. But it could just as well be about interpreting any passage in the Hebrew Bible. I've grown weary of people (especially in Christian Middle Earth)...
Apkallu in the News
I couldn't resist posting this -- hat tip to Matthew for it! "Record-Setting Sale Of An Ancient Assyrian Stone Relief Sparks Looting Fears In Iraq" $28 million for a seven-foot carved relief of an apkallu. Readers will recall that apkallu are either depicted with...
Naked Bible Conference Speaker and Topic Profile #4
Our fourth speaker and topic profile for the inaugural Naked Bible Conference in Dallas, TX on August 18 is Dr. William ("Rusty") Osborne. I've alluded to Dr. Osborne's work on the Naked Bible Podcast several times. His dissertation was on tree imagery and symbolism...
Free PDF Books on Ancient Sumerians, Akkadians, Etc.
Courtesy of the University of Chicago. Here are some titles (but follow that link): Gelb, The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character Gelb, A Study of Writing Frankfort, Kingship and the Gods: A Study of Ancient Near Eastern Religion as the Integration of...
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 167: Melchizedek, Part 1B: Old Testament Continued
Melchizedek is one of the more enigmatic figures in the Bible. Mentioned in only two passages in the Old Testament (Gen 14:17-24; Psalm 110), he nevertheless drew a lot of attention during the Second Temple Period and the New Testament. Thousands of pages of scholarly...
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 166: Melchizedek in the Old Testament: Part 1A
Melchizedek is such a complicated subject we're going to end up doing four episodes on him: Old Testament, Part 1A Old Testament, Part 1B 2nd Temple Judaism New Testament 1A is now live! Melchizedek remains one of the most enigmatic figures in the Bible. In Episode...
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 162: The Evil Eye
The “evil eye” was a widespread superstition in the ancient world, one that continues on into the present day. The belief that one could cause someone harm merely by looking at them, or cast a spell over them by the same means, shows up in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamian,...
Kenneth Kitchen’s Ancient Orient and Old Testament Available as Free PDF
This book is an important, though slightly dated, contribution to understanding the OT in its ancient Near Eastern context. It is also quite useful for addressing a range of attacks on the integrity of the OT. Prof. Kitchen was for many years an Egyptologist in the...
The Function of the Divine Council in Heavenly Worship: Piety, not Mysticism: Part 2
Part 1 of this series can be found here. To introduce the topic and get things moving, there are two points to remember. First, the responsibilities of the divine council include (1) administrating Yahweh’s will to the nations, (2) administering justice, and...
New Book on Ancient Near Eastern Backgrounds to the Hebrew Bible
Just a heads up, as I am often asked about such resources. This link leads to two reviews of this new book: My "go to" recommendations for this sort of information, though, are Walton's two volumes: Ancient Israelite Literature in its Cultural Context (1994) Ancient...
Naked Bible 71: Q&A 7
Our 7th Question and Answer episode! Transcript 71 QA7 Timestamps & Questions Timestamp Question Summary 00:00–02:00 Intro by Trey Stricklin — housekeeping, podcast updates 02:00–06:38 Can you explain more about the “two Yahwehs” idea in light of Deuteronomy...
Resource: Ancient World Digital Library
I just discovered this resource via the Ancient World Online blog. The site has a number of scholarly monographs on Egyptology, Mesopotamia, Israel, etc. that can be downloaded as PDF. For example, click here for the books in the Mesopotamian category. One of the...
The Ancient Near Eastern Context for Genesis 6:1-4
Hat tip to Terry the Censor for finding the Amar Annus article to which I alluded on the Conspirinormal podcast: Amar Annus, “On the Origin of Watchers: A Comparative Study of the Antediluvian Wisdom in Mesopotamian and Jewish Traditions,” Journal for the Study of the...
Thoughts on ETS / SBL / AAR 2014
Well, I'm finally home from San Diego. Lots I could talk about. This year's meeting was as hectic as always (pretty much 9-9 every day), but was one of the better ones for me in recent memory. First there was the hotel -- not the one for ETS (for those traveling to...