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Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible is unavailable, but you can change that!

This volume provides a thoughtful introduction to the literature of the ancient Near East and a well-considered apology for its importance to exegetical work. John Walton suggests that there are three important roles comparative studies can play in biblical interpretation: critical analysis, defense of the biblical text, and exegesis. He focuses particularly on the third aspect and its importance...

to discern the meaning of the text. The aid of comparative study might sometimes be needed to help with a minor detail. For instance, when Sennacherib sends his representatives to present terms to Hezekiah after Jerusalem has been besieged by the Assyrians, the officers are referred to as Tartan, Rab-saris, and Rabshakeh. In the American Standard Version, for one, these are treated as proper names. Comparative study has been able to clarify that these are titles of important officers, thus resulting
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