The Cultural and Religious Creativity of Ancient Israel: The Collected Essays of George E. Mendenhall

Throughout his long and influential career, George E. Mendenhall published groundbreaking, provocative studies on the history of the biblical tradition, law, and covenant and the Hebrew conquest of Palestine. This volume collects thirty-four of his hardest-to-find essays, many of which originally appeared in journals and other publications with limited circulation.

Mendenhall’s corpus of more than one hundred books, articles, and reviews has stimulated remarkable work by scholars in the twentieth century. Even today, students of the Bible, the ancient Near East, archaeology, Judaism and Christianity, and even theology will find in these essays untapped veins of material for future study and provocative insights about a wide range of still-critical issues, suggesting that Mendenhall’s work can continue to galvanize a rich agenda for the study of biblical faith and history in the twenty-first century. The volume contains critical essays by Gary A. Herion, Herbert B. Huffmon, and Peter Machinist that summarize Mendenhall’s impact on ancient and biblical studies; links for downloading a recent film documentary on Mendenhall’s life and work; and excerpts from Mendenhall’s autobiography, which he was working on at the time of his death.This volume contextualizes and updates the lesser-known work of this well-known and celebrated biblical scholar. It will be welcomed by students and specialists of the ancient Near East, Semitic linguists, theologians, interested clergy and laity, and, in particular, those who study the creative formation of religious traditions.

Gary Herion is Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at Hartwick College.

Herbert B. Huffmon is Professor Emeritus of Old Testament Studies at Drew University.