The Ancient Near East: An Anthology of Texts and Pictures

Published by Princeton University Press 2011

The Ancient Near East

An Anthology of Texts and Pictures

Edited by: James B. Pritchard
Preface by: Daniel E. Fleming

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400836215

Overview
Contents

About this book

James Pritchard's classic anthologies of the ancient Near East have introduced generations of readers to texts essential for understanding the peoples and cultures of this important region. Now these two enduring works have been combined and integrated into one convenient and richly illustrated volume, with a new foreword that puts the translations in context.

With more than 130 reading selections and 300 photographs of ancient art, architecture, and artifacts, this volume provides a stimulating introduction to some of the most significant and widely studied texts of the ancient Near East, including the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Creation Epic (Enuma elish), the Code of Hammurabi, and the Baal Cycle. For students of history, religion, the Bible, archaeology, and anthropology, this anthology provides a wealth of material for understanding the ancient Near East.

Represents the diverse cultures and languages of the ancient Near East--Sumerian, Akkadian, Egyptian, Hittite, Ugaritic, Canaanite, and Aramaic--in a wide range of genres:

Historical texts

Legal texts and treaties

Inscriptions

Hymns

Didactic and wisdom literature

Oracles and prophecies

Love poetry and other literary texts

Letters

New foreword puts the classic translations in context
More than 300 photographs document ancient art, architecture, and artifacts related to the texts
Fully indexed

Author / Editor information

James B. Pritchard (1909-1997) was professor of religious thought at the University of Pennsylvania and curator of Syro-Palestinian archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Daniel E. Fleming is professor of Hebrew and Judaic studies at New York University.

Reviews

"There is no other anthology on the ancient Near East with this breadth of geographical and linguistic coverage, or with this variety of genres, from the literary and historical to the legal, epistolary, and religious."—Francesca Rochberg, University of California, Berkeley

"I recommend the new edition to all academic libraries in light of the quantity of primary source material. . . . [I]t would make an excellent classroom resource."---Tyler Mayfield, Religious Studies Review

"While there are other collections of texts published more recently with some more current translations, there is no extant, modestly priced volume that includes both texts and pictures tor the many cultures this one includes. . . . [T]his volume can serve well in personal, public, school, and small college libraries with its modest price and collected materials. It provides a wealth of material useful for understanding the ancient Near East."---Susan Tower Hollis, American Reference Books Annual

"Pritchard enlisted some of the best scholars of his day to translate myths from Mesopotamia, novellas from Egypt, and calendars from Palestine. They provide an amazing backdrop to reread, and in some cases reinterpret, the Bible. Furthermore, the translations themselves are works of art. . . . These translations have staying power. Not only do they convey the cultural environment of the biblical world but they do so with elegance and timeliness. The translators achieved an admirable balance of fidelity to the original compositions and imaginative creativity."

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
List of Illustrations Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Foreword Daniel E. Fleming Publicly Available Download PDF	xxiii
Preface to the 1975 Edition Publicly Available Download PDF	xxvii
Preface to the 1958 Edition Publicly Available Download PDF	xxix
I. Egyptian Myths and Tales John A. Wilson Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
II. Myths and Epics from Mesopotamia E. A. Speiser, S. N. Kramer and A. K. Grayson Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	25
III. Hittite Myths Albrecht Goetze Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	101
IV. Ugaritic Myths and Epics H. L. Ginsberg Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	107
V. Legal Texts Albrecht Goetze, Theophile J. Meek, J. J. Finkelstein and H. L. Ginsberg Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	150
VI. Treaties Albrecht Goetze and Erica Reiner Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	205
VII. Egyptian Historical Texts John A. Wilson Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	226
VIII. Assyrian and Babylonian Historical Texts A. Leo Oppenheim Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	246
IX. Palestinian Inscriptions W. F. Albright Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	287
X. Canaanite and Aramaic Inscriptions Franz Rosenthal Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	294
XI. South-Arabian Inscriptions A. Jamme Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	313
XII. Egyptian Execration Texts John A. Wilson Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	322
XIII. Egyptian Hymns John A. Wilson Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	324
XIV. Mesopotamian Hymns S. N. Kramer and Ferris J. Stephens Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	330
XV. Didactic and Wisdom Literature John A. Wilson, S. N. Kramer, Robert H. Pfeiffer, Robert D. Biggs and H. L. Ginsberg Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	343
XVI. Oracles and Prophecies John A. Wilson, William L. Moran and Robert D. Biggs Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	384
XVII. Love Poetry John A. Wilson and S. N. Kramer Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	403
XVIII. Other Literary Texts John A. Wilson and S. N. Kramer Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	413
XIX. Letters W. F. Albright, William L. Moran and H. L. Ginsberg Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	427
Illustration Credits Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	455
Index to Biblical References Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	457
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	461
Plates Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	475