Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament (Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged)

Scarce. Reddish cloth covered boards with gilt lettering against black on the spine. This important standard reference work is xxi-544 pages in length. This impression is a reprint by the Princeton University Press of the 1955 edition. The ancient Egyptian texts are translated and annotated by Professor John A. Wilson. Our copy is clean, with tight binding, free of notes, and is in overall very good+ condition. The dust jacket is somewhat fraying along upper edge, and is a bit soiled. There is a small signature of the former owner. Photographs are available. "This anthology brought together the most important historical, legal, mythological, liturgical, and secular texts of the ancient Near East, with the purpose of providing a rich contextual base for understanding the people, cultures, and literature of the Old Testament. A scholar of religious thought and biblical archaeology, James Pritchard recruited the foremost linguists, historians, and archaeologists to select and translate the texts. The goal, in his words, was "a better understanding of the likenesses and differences which existed between Israel and the surrounding cultures." Before the publication of these volumes, students of the Old Testament found themselves having to search out scattered books and journals in various languages. This anthology brought these invaluable documents together, in one place and in one language, thereby expanding the meaning and significance of the Bible for generations of students and readers. As one reviewer put it, "This great volume is one of the most notable to have appeared in the field of Old Testament scholarship this century".…