Context > Social World

Calendar Systems

• Jubilee Calendar Rescued from the Flood Narrative - by S. Najm and Ph. Guillaume, Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 5 (2004)
• New Year - by David J. A. Clines, published in On the Way to the Postmodern: Old Testament Essays 1967-1998, Volume 1 (JSOTSup, 292; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1998), pp. 426-35
• Regnal Year Reckoning in the Last Years of the Kingdom of Judah - by David J. A. Clines, published in On the Way to the Postmodern: Old Testament Essays 1967-1998, Volume 1 (JSOTSup, 292; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1998), pp. 395-425
• The Evidence for an Autumnal New Year in Pre-Exilic Israel Reconsidered - by David J. A. Clines, published in On the Way to the Postmodern: Old Testament Essays 1967-1998, Volume 1 (JSOTSup, 292; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1998), pp. 3365-88
• Tracing the Origin of the Sabbatical Calendar in the Priestly Narrative (Genesis 1 to Joshua 5) - by Phillipe Guillaume, Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 5.13 (2005)

Children

• Infant Mortality and Family Religion in the Biblical Periods - by Elizabeth Ann R. Willett, DavarLogos 1.1 (2002); abstract only
• Kinderbetreuung im 9.-7. Jahrhundert: Eine Untersuchung anhand der Darstellungen auf neuassyrischen Reliefs - by Irène Schwyn, lectio difficilior 1 (2000)

Economics

• Ancient Economies - devoted to the consideration of unsettled or disputed aspects of ancient economies, including the entire Mediterranean world; maintained by Morris Silver
• The Enigma of the Shekel Weights of the Judean Kingdom - by Yigal Ronen, Biblical Archaeologist 59:2 (1996) 122-125
• Weights, Money, Measures, and Time - by Robert G. Bratcher, The Bible Translator 10 (1959) 165-174

Ethnicities

• Israelite Ethnicity in Iron I: Archaeology Preserves What Is Remembered and What Is Forgotten in Israel's History - by Elizabeth Bloch-Smith, Journal of Biblical Literature 122.3 (2003) 401-425
• The Ha-BI-ru: Kin or Foe of Israel? - by Meredith Kline, Westminster Theological Journal 10 (1957) 46-70
• The People, from the Paleolithic to the Chalcolithic Periods - chapter 6 of Gerald A. Larue, Old Testament Life and Literature (1968)
• The People, from the Late Bronze to the Early Iron Ages - chapter 7 of Gerald A. Larue, Old Testament Life and Literature (1968)
• What do Samaritans and Jews have in Common? Recent Trends in Samaritan Studies - by Ingrid Hjelm, Currents in Biblical Research (2004) 9-59
• Who Was a Jew? Jewish Ethnicity During the Achaemenid Period - by Mark Hamilton, Restoration Quarterly 37.2 (1995)
• Who Were the Hebrews? - chapter 8 of Gerald A. Larue, Old Testament Life and Literature (1968)

Family Structures

• Israelite Kinship Terminology and Social Structures - by Francis I. Andersen, The Bible Translator 20 (1969) 29-39
• Marriage and Divorce Papyri of the Ancient Greek, Roman, and Jewish World - comprehensive collection of 4th century BCE to 4th century CE papyri
• Manumission and Bridewealth Document - from 14th-century Ugarit?; description and translation
• The Family in the Old Testament - by Cyril S. Rodd, The Bible Translator 18 (1967) 19-26
• The Widow: Homeless and Post-Menopausal - The Term "Widow" in the Bible - by Carolyn S. Leeb, Biblical Theology Bulletin (Winter 2002)
• When Is a Widow Not a Widow? - by John Rook, Biblical Theology Bulletin 28.1 (1998); abstract only
• Widow's Petition Ostracon - 9th-7th century BCE, written in Hebrew; description, transcription, and translation

Games and Recreation

• Les jeux d'enfants dans la Palestine antique - by Ulrich Hübner, Revue Biblique 107.2 (2000); abstract

Gender

• Häusliche und außerhäusliche religiöse Kompetenzen israelitischer Frauen - am Beispiel von Totenklage und Totenbefragung - by Silvia Schroer, lectio difficilior (1/2002)
• The Roots of Restriction: Women in Early Israel - by Carol Meyers

Honor and Shame

• The Mediterranean concepts of honour and shame as seen in the depiction of the biblical women - by Renata Rabichev, Religion & Theology 3/1 (1996)

Literacy

• Orality and Literacy in Ancient Israel - by William M. Schniedewind, Religious Studies Review 26/4 (2000) 327-332
• Sociolinguistic Reflections on the Letter of a ‘Literate’ Soldier (Lachish 3) - by William M. Schniedewind, Zeitschrift für Althbraistik 13 (2000) 157-167

Refugees

• Graves, Caves, and Refugees: An Essay in Microhistory - by S. B. Parker, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 27 (2003) 259-288; abstract with full text options

Slavery

• Manumission and Bridewealth Document - from 14th-century Ugarit?; description and translation

War

• The Conquest and Ancient Near Eastern Warfare: The Element of Fear - by Jeffrey J. Niehaus, Contact 35.2 (2005/2006) 26

Book Reviews

• Abusch, T. and Karel van der Toorn, eds., Mesopotamian Magic: Textual, Historical, and Interpretive Perspectives - reviewed by Scott Noegel, Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 3 (2000-2001)
• Ackerman, Susan, Warrior, Dancer, Seductress, Queen: Women in Judges and Biblical Israel (Doubleday, 2002) - reviewed by Amelia Devin Freedman, Review of Biblical Literature (2003)
• Aufrecht, Walter E., Neil A. Mirau, and Steven W. Gauley, eds., Aspects of Urbanism in Antiquity: From Mesopotamia to Crete (Sheffield Academic Press, 1997) - reviewed by Gary N. Knoppers, Review of Biblical Literature (2001)
• Davies, Philip R. and John M. Halligan, eds., Second Temple Studies III: Studies in Politics, Class and Material Culture (Sheffield Academic Press, 2002) - reviewed by Charles E. Carter, Review of Biblical Literature (2003)
• Deist, Ferdinand E., The Material Culture of the Bible: An Introduction (Sheffield Academic Press, 2000) - reviewed by James F. Strange, Review of Biblical Literature (2001)
• Gottwald, Norman K., The Politics of Ancient Israel (Westminster John Knox, 2001)
  • Reviewed by Ronald S. Hendel, Review of Biblical Literature (2003)
  • Reviewed by Gary Herion, Review of Biblical Literature (2003)
  • Reviewed by Michael H. Floyd, Review of Biblical Literature (2003)
  • Reviewed by Lowell K. Handy, Review of Biblical Literature (2003)
• Grabbe, Lester L. and Robert D. Haak, eds., Every City shall be Forsaken: Urbanism and Prophecy in Ancient Israel and the Near East (Sheffield, 2001) - reviewed by Bruce A. Power, Review of Biblical Literature (2002)
• Gunn, David M. and Paula M. McNutt, eds., Imagining Biblical Worlds: Studies in Spatial, Social, and Historical Constructs in Honor of James W. Flanagan (Sheffield, 2002) - reviewed by Tom Craig, Review of Biblical Literature (2004)
• Lafont, Sophie, Femmes, Droit et Justice dans l'Antiquité orientale: Contribution à l'étude du droit pénal au Proche-Orient ancien (Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 1999) - reviewed by Sarah J. Melcher, Review of Biblical Literature (2000)
• Launderville, Dale, Piety and Politics; The Dynamics of Royal Authority in Homeric Greece, Biblical Israel, and Old Babylonian Mesopotamia (Eerdmans, 2003)
  • Reviewed by Norman K. Gottwald, Review of Biblical Literature (2004)
  • Reviewed by Robert Gnuse, Biblical Theology Bulletin (Winter 2003)
• Matthews, Victor H., Bernard M. Levinson, and Tikva Frymer-Kensky, eds., Gender and Law in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East (Sheffield Academic Press, 1998) - reviewed by Gary N. Knoppers, Review of Biblical Literature (2001)
• McNutt, Paula, Reconstructing the Society of Ancient Israel (Library of Ancient Israel; Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1999)
  • Reviewed by James. W. Flanagan, Biblical Theology Bulletin (Fall 2000)
  • Reviewed by Victor H. Matthews, Review of Biblical Literature (2004)
  • Reviewed by Timothy David Finlay, Review of Biblical Literature (2004)
  • Reviewed by Stephen Reed, Review of Biblical Literature (2004)
• Nemet-Nejat, Karen Rhea, Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia (Hendrickson, 2002) - reviewed by Bruce A. Power, Review of Biblical Literature (2003)
• Pleins, David J., The Social Visions of the Hebrew Bible: A Theological Introduction (Westminster John Knox, 2001)
  • Reviewed by Carol J. Dempsey, Review of Biblical Literature (2003)
  • Reviewed by Mark Boda, Review of Biblical Literature (2004)
• Prosecky, Jiri, ed., Intellectual Life in the Ancient Near East: Papers Presented at the 43rd Rencontre assyriologique internationale, Prague, July 1-5, 1996 - reviewed by Scott B. Noegel, Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 3 (2000-2001)
• Schams, Christine, Jewish Scribes in the Second-Temple Period (Sheffield Academic Press, 1998)
  • Reviewed by Judith H. Newman, Review of Biblical Literature (2001)
  • Reviewed by John W. Wright, Review of Biblical Literature (2001)
• Van de Mieroop, Marc, Cuneiform Texts and the Writing of History - reviewed by Scott Noegel, Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 3 (2000-2001)
• Vartejanu-Joubert, Madaline, Folie et Société dans l’israël antique (L’Hartmattan, 2004) - reviewed by Walter Vogels, Review of Biblical Literature (2005)