Grant, Michael. The Roman Emperors: A Biographical Guide to the Rulers of Imperial Rome 31 BC-AD 476. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1985. Sketches of the lives and reigns of the Roman emperors from Augustus to Zeno.
Kee, Howard Clark, et al. Christianity: A Social and Cultural History. New York: Macmillan, 1991. A sociologically grounded history of Christianity from its origins to the present.
Kraemer, Ross Shepard, ed. Maenads, Martyrs, Matrons, Monastics: A Sourcebook on Women’s Religions in the Greco-Roman World. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1988. A valuable collection of primary sources on Jewish, Christian, and pagan women’s religious practices and opportunities in the Hellenistic and Late Antique Mediterranean world.
________. Her Share of the Blessings: Women’s Religions among Pagans, Jews, and Christians in the Greco-Roman World. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. Historical and anthropological study of women’s religious practices and opportunities.
Levine, Lee I. The Ancient Synagogue: The First Thousand Years. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2000. A monumental and comprehensive study of the development of the institution of the synagogue.
MacMullen, Ramsay. Christianizing the Roman Empire (A.D. 100–400). New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1984. An analysis of the growth and ultimate triumph of Christianity in the Roman Empire and the concomitant conflict between paganism and Christianity.
________. Christianity and Paganism in the Fourth to Eighth Centuries. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1997. A sequel to the preceding volume.
McManners, John, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990. A comprehensive and lavishly illustrated history of Christianity from its inception to the present, with contributions by nineteen leading scholars.
Meyers, Eric M., and James F. Strange. Archaeology, the Rabbis, and Early Christianity. Nashville: Abingdon, 1981. A helpful introduction to the importance of material culture in reconstructing the evolving histories of Judaism and Christianity in Roman and early Byzantine Palestine.
Neusner, Jacob. Rabbinic Judaism: Structure and System. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1995. A thoughtful analytical study of the key characteristics of rabbinic Judaism as present in its formative documents.
Pelikan, Jaroslav. Mary through the Centuries: Her Place in the History of Culture. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1996. A thoughtful study of the changing depictions of the mother of Jesus from the New Testament to the present.
Peters, F. E. Jerusalem: The Holy City in the Eyes of Chroniclers, Visitors, Pilgrims, and Prophets from the Days of Abraham to the Beginnings of Modern Times. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1985. A superb collection of primary sources from the Bronze Age to the nineteenth century, with helpful accompanying comments.
Schüssler Fiorenza, Elisabeth. In Memory of Her: A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins. New York: Crossroad, 1983. A pioneering feminist analysis of women in the New Testament and early Christianity in historical context.
Shanks, Hershel, ed. Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism: A Parallel History of Their Origins and Early Development. Washington, D.C.: Biblical Archaeology Society, 1992. A valuable introduction by nine leading scholars to Christianity and rabbinic Judaism, in historical context, during their first six centuries.
Smallwood, E. Mary. The Jews under Roman Rule: From Pompey to Diocletian. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1976. A political history of the Jews in the pagan Roman Empire.
Wegner, Judith Romney. Chattel or Person: The Status of Women in the Mishnah. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. A careful analysis of the Mishnah’s categories of women, and the opportunities and restrictions that it envisioned for women.
Wilkinson, John. Egeria’s Travels. London: SPCK, 1971. The text of the itinerary of the fourth-century Christian pilgrim with an accompanying helpful discussion.
________. Jerusalem Pilgrims before the Crusades. Warminster, England: Aris & Phillips, 1977. An overview, with selected texts of early Christian pilgrims to the Holy City.
Chronology
General Bibliography
The works listed here are applicable to the volume as a whole, or to more than one chapter. Our intention has been to provide interested readers with accessible sources for some of the ideas contained in this book, as well as with current reference works dealing with the biblical world. More detailed bibliographies will be found after each chapter, as well as in most of the works that follow.
ENCYCLOPEDIAS AND ENCYCLOPEDIC DICTIONARIES
Achtemeier, Paul J., ed. The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary. Rev. ed. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1996. A current and comprehensive handbook.
Cross, F. L., and E. A. Livingstone, eds. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 3d ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. A recent revision makes this standard current.
Freedman, David Noel, ed. The Anchor Bible Dictionary. 6 vols. New York: Doubleday, 1992. The standard reference both for the Bible and for the biblical world. (Also available on CD-ROM from Logos Research Systems, Oak Harbor, Wash.)
Hornblower, Simon, and Anthony Spaworth, eds. The Oxford Classical Dictionary. 3d ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. Recently revised and expanded, this is the place to start for information about the Greco-Roman world.
Metzger, Bruce M., and Michael D. Coogan, eds. The Oxford Companion to the Bible. New York: Oxford University Press 1993 (also available on CD-ROM).
ARCHAEOLOGY
Ben-Tor, Amnon, ed. The Archaeology of Ancient Israel. Trans. R. Greenberg. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1992. A detailed survey by a number of scholars, with excellent plans and photographs.
Levy, Thomas, ed. The Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land. New York: Facts on File, 1995. A collection of essays covering a wide chronological span from earliest times through the Ottoman period.
Mazar, Amihai. Archaeology of the Land of the Bible 10,000–586 B.C.E. New York: Doubleday, 1990. A useful synopsis of the archaeological history of ancient Israel.
Meyers, Eric M., ed. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Ancient Near East. 5 vols. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. A comprehensive work that is especially valuable for its coverage of sites outside Israel and for its thematic discussions.
Stern, Ephraim, ed. The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land. 4 vols. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993. Lavishly illustrated with photographs and plans, this is the best resource for sites in Israel.
Stillwell, Richard, ed. The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1976. Although dated, a useful resource.
PRIMARY SOURCES
Barrett, C. K., ed. The New Testament Back-ground: Selected Documents. Rev. ed. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1989. A handy anthology of historical and literary primary sources.
Ehrman, Bart D. The New Testament and Other Early Christian Writings: A Reader. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. A collection of all known Christian writings up to 130 CE.
Foster, Benjamin R. Before the Muses: An Anthology of Akkadian Literature. 2d ed. 2 vols. Bethesda, Md.: CDL, 1996. An extensive collection of prose and poetry, with a general introduction to the literary world of ancient Mesopotamia. An abridged edition, From Distant Days: Myths, Tales, and Poetry of Ancient Mesopotamia, was published in 1995.
Hallo, William W., and K. Lawson Younger, eds. The Context of Scripture. 3 vols. to date. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1997-. A new anthology of ancient New Eastern texts.
Matthews, Victor H., and Don C. Benjamin. Old Testament Parallels: Laws and Stories from the Ancient Near East. Rev. ed. New York: Paulist, 1997. Selections from ancient Near Eastern texts arranged according to the order of the biblical books.
Pritchard, James B., ed. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament. 3d ed. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1969. The standard anthology. Its companion volume, The Anc
ient Near East in Pictures Relating to the Old Testament, 2d ed. (1969), is still useful, although much new material has come to light since its publication. There is an abridged edition of both, The Ancient Near East: An Anthology of Texts and Pictures (2 vols., 1958; 1975).
Vermes, Geza. The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English. New York: Allen Lane, 1997. Recently updated, this is the best translation available.
HISTORICAL SURVEYS
Ahlström, Gösta. The History of Ancient Palestine. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993. An idiosyncratic yet stimulating survey from earliest times to the Hellenistic period.
Ben-Sasson, Haim H., ed. A History of the Jewish People. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1976. Parts 1–4 give a comprehensive survey from the origins of biblical Israel through the compilation of the Mishnah and the Talmud, with emphasis on source analysis.
Grabbe, Lester L. Judaism from Cyrus to Hadrian: Sources, History, Synthesis. 2 vols. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1991, 1992. An extremely helpful survey, with judicious summaries of the primary sources, specific critiques of recent scholarly work, and extensive bibliographies.
Grant, Michael, and Rachel Kitzinger, eds. Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean: Greece and Rome. 3 vols. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1988. Essays on all aspects of life in the Greco-Roman world.
Edwards, I. E. S., et al. The Cambridge Ancient History. 3d ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 19 70-. Although earlier volumes are dated, the fullest account of ancient Mediterranean civilizations.
Hallo, William W., and William Kelly Simpson. The Ancient Near East: A History. 2d ed. Fort Worth, Tex.: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1998. Recently revised, this useful survey treats Mesopotamia and Egypt separately.
Kee, Howard C., et al. The Cambridge Companion to the Bible. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997. A discursive treatment that sets the biblical traditions in their historical and social contexts.
Koester, Helmut. Introduction to the New Testament. 2d ed. Vol. 1, History, Culture, and Religion of the Hellenistic Age; vol., History and Literature of Early Christianity. New York: de Gruyter, 1995; 2000. A comprehensive re-construction of the development of the Jesus movement, and a detailed description of the broader world in which that development took place.
Kuhrt, Amélie. The Ancient Near East, c. 3000–330 EC. New York: Routledge, 1996. A detailed and masterful treatment.
Millar, Fergus. The Roman Near East 31 BCAD 337. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1993. A political and cultural history of the peoples and provinces of the Roman Near East through the reign of Constantine, based on a wide array of literary and archaeological sources.
Miller, J. Maxwell, and John H. Hayes. A History of Ancient Israel and Judah. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1986. An excellent history of Israel and Judah through the Persian period, with careful attention to historiographical issues.
Safrai, S., and M. Stern, eds. The Jewish People in the First Century: Historical Geography, Political History, Social, Cultural and Religious Life and Institutions. 2 vols. Assen, The Netherlands: Van Gorcum; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1974–76. A landmark anthology of essays concerning formative Judaism.
Sasson, Jack M., ed. Civilizations of the Ancient East. 4 vols. New York: Simon & Schuster/Macmillan, 1995. A compendium of essays on all aspects of life in the ancient Near East.
Schürer, Emil. The History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ (175 B.C.-A.D. 135). Rev. by Geza Vermes et al. 3 vols. Edinburgh: T. &T. Clark, 1973–87. Substantially updated version of a classic work.
Soggin, J. Alberto. An Introduction to the History of Israel and Judah. 2d ed. Valley Forge, Pa.: Trinity, 1993. A valuable survey, with special attention to historiography.
Vaux, Roland de. The Early History of Israel. Trans. David Smith. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1978. A detailed treatment of nonbiblical and biblical evidence for the history of Israel before the monarchy.
SOCIAL HISTORY AND INSTITUTIONS
Albertz, Rainer. A History of Israelite Religion in the Old Testament Period. Trans. John Bowden. 2 vols. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox, 1994. A detailed survey with special focus on social history.
Dearman, J. Andrew. Religion and Culture in Ancient Israel. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1992. A useful discussion of biblical and non-biblical evidence.
Matthews, Victor H., and Don C. Benjamin. Social World of Ancient Israel, 1250–587 BCE. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1993. An accessible survey, organized by social roles.
Vaux, Roland de. Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions. Trans. John McHugh. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1961. A valuable and detailed survey of the biblical data that also refers to archaeological evidence and nonbiblical sources.
ATLASES
Aharoni, Yohanan, et al. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. 3d ed. New York: Macmillan, 1993. The handiest historical atlas, with 271 maps covering from prehistoric times to the second century CE.
Bahat, Dan. The Illustrated Atlas of Jerusalem. Trans. Shlomo Ketko. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990.
Baines, John, and Jaromír Malék. Cultural Atlas of Ancient Egypt. Rev. ed. New York: Facts on File, 2000.
Cornell, Tim. Atlas of the Roman World. New York: Facts on File, 1982.
Day, John. The Oxford Bible Atlas. 3d ed. Ox-ford: Oxford University Press, 1984.
Levi, Peter. Atlas of the Greek World. New York: Facts on File, 1980.
Roaf, Michael. Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East. New York: Facts on File, 1990.
Rogerson, John. Atlas of the Bible. Oxford: Phaidon, 1989.
Contributors
THE EDITOR
MICHAEL D. COOGAN is Professor of Religious Studies at Stonehill College and Director of Publications for the Semitic Museum at Harvard University. He has participated in and directed archaeological excavations in Israel, Jordan, Cyprus, and Egypt. A frequent contributor to scholarly journals, he is also the editor of The Illustrated Guide to World Religions, coeditor of The Oxford Companion to the Bible and Scripture and Other Artifacts, and editor and translator of Stories from Ancient Canaan.
THE AUTHORS
EDWARD F. CAMPBELL JR. is Professor Emeritus of Old Testament at McCormick Theo-logical Seminary. He directed the Joint Archaeological Expedition to Tell Balatah/Shechem and serves as publication director of the final report series. The author of The Chronology of the Amarna Letters, Ruth (in the Anchor Bible), and Shechem II: Portrait of a Hill Country Vale, he is completing a volume on Shechem’s architecture and stratigraphy.
MORDECHAI COGAN teaches the history of the biblical period at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In addition to numerous scholarly articles and book reviews, he has written commentaries on the biblical books of Joel and Obadiah (in Hebrew), is coauthor of II Kings, and is completing/Kings (both in the Anchor Bible).
BARBARA GELLER is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Religion at Wellesley College. Her publications have focused on Jewish women in the Roman Empire and the impact of the Christianization of the empire on the Jewish, Christian, and pagan communities of fourth- through sixth-century Palestine.
LEONARD J. GREENSPOON is Philip M. and Ethel Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization and Chair of the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Studies at Creighton University. He has written or edited a half dozen books and more than one hundred scholarly articles on topics ranging from ancient translations to the Bible in comic strips. In addition to working on a biography of Jewish scholar Harry M. Orlinsky and a popular history of Bible translating, he is editing the book of Joshua for Biblia Hebraica Quinta (the definitive edition of the Hebrew Bible) and translating the same book for the New English Translation of the Septuagint.
JO ANN HACKETT is Professor of the Practice of Biblical Hebrew and Northwest Semitic Epigraphy at Harvard University. She is the author of The Balaam Text from Tell Deir ‘Alia and has also written extensively on epigraphy, child sacrifice, and women in the books of Judges and 1 and 2 Samuel. She is curre
ntly working on a book of translations of Phoenician and Punic inscriptions and on a project to develop a digital edition of Ugaritic texts.
MARY JOAN WINN LEITH is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Stonehill College. She is the author of Wadi Daliyeh I: The Wadi Daliyeh Seal Impressions and a contributor to the Macmillan Encyclopedia of Women in Religion and to the forthcoming revised edition of the New Oxford Annotated Bible. She is currently at work on a reference text titled People of the Bible.
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