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This article examines two types of foundation narrative prevalent in the biblical literature in light of as-yet-undiscussed parallels from ancient Greek and Mediterranean texts. The first type, embodied in the Genesis narratives and Greek genealogical traditions, portrays the founders as leaving a distant land to settle peacefully in a new land. The second is exemplified by the central hexateuchal theme of the Israelites' migration to Canaan by dispossessing the native population as well as the Dorian migration traditions. Several factors indicate that the foundation story genre also became central and foundational in other small kingdoms around the Mediterranean--as indicated, for example, by the Phoenician--Luwian inscriptions referring to bt Mpš/Mopsus and related classical sources. The popularity of the genre in the ancient Mediterranean is striking in light of the fact that, while experiencing tribal migrations and wanderings, the great Mesopotamian and Egyptian kingdoms never represented themselves as "immigrants." It is suggested that this genre may have emerged with the rise of the new, small-scale kingdoms in the Mediterranean basin toward the end of the second millennium b.c.e. The Phoenician and Greek colonization enterprises of the first third of the first millennium b.c.e. in particular increased awareness of the newly emerging states and focused attention on ethnic identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Decalogue in Exodus was composed and strategically embedded in its literary context in order to reflect the discourse of Northwest Semitic monumental inscriptions. Monument making in the ancient Near [...]

In this article I argue that the term [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] in Amos 4:13 is related to the West Semitic term for 'winged sun disk' found, inter alia, [...]

This paper proposes a new interpretation of Job 5:7 (traditionally translated 'For man is born to trouble, as sparks fly upward'), one that would eliminate the fatalistic aphorism viewed by [...]

The book of Job offers a rare opportunity to view the response to death in ancient Israel and early Judaism. This response, which encompasses attitudes toward burial and concepts of [...]

Many fascinating issues of interpretation surround Isaiah 11:10. It reads, [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] On that day, as for the root of Jesse who stands as a signal to [...]

The evil eye--the belief that spiteful looks can damage one's health, fertility, or property--is common in many cultures even today. (1) It was prevalent throughout the ancient Near East (2) [...]

That the language of the poetic core of the book of Job is both rich and complex is a commonplace of scholarship. (1) One encounters in Job a greater diversity [...]

In scholarly criticism of the Chronicler's work it has become almost axiomatic to say that the composition of Chronicles bears no signs of either Hellenic or Hellenistic influence. (1) Indeed, [...]

The portrait of a Woman of Substance ([TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]) (1) hangs on the end of the book of Proverbs. Its frame, that of an alphabetic acrostic, is [...]

The seventeenth-century Dutch scholar Hugo Grotius is usually credited with being the first person to recognize that the language of Qohelet precludes the possibility of Solomonic authorship.1 Since that time, [...]

The latter part of the Psalm of Hezekiah (Isa 38:9-20) contains a prayer (w. 16-17b) the poet addresses to God in his distress. (1) The degree of corruption in these [...]

A Reassessment of Biblical Elohim, by Joel S. Burnett. SBLDS 183. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2001. Pp. xv + 172. $39.95. In keeping with the stated purpose of the [...]