"Students and scholars of every level will save days of catalog and preparation time for any one project just by having this ready to hand."

To fully illuminate the history and culture of the Old Testament, it is necessary to compare these ancient writings to the contemporary texts of Israel's neighbors.

Beginning with an overview of the important archives of the ancient Near East, Sparks provides exhaustive references to the ancient literary counterparts to the Hebrew Bible's major genres. Surveying the ancient writings found throughout Egypt, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and Palestine, he provides a brief summary of each text discussed, translating brief portions and linking them to literarily similar biblical passages.

Exploring over 30 genres--"wisdom, hymns, love poetry, rituals, prophecy, apocalyptic, novella, epic legend, myth, genealogy, history, law, treaty, epigraphic materials, and others--"Sparks offers an exemplary guide to the fertile literary environment from which the canonical writings sprung. A number of helpful indexes round out this outstanding resource. Providing students with a thorough introduction to the literature of the ancient Near East--"and time--"pressed scholars with an admirably up-to-date research tool--"it will become a syllabus standard for a myriad of courses.