Old Testament Parallels (Fully Revised and Expanded Third Edition): Laws and Stories from the Ancient Near East

by Victor H. Matthews, Don C. Benjamin

Old Testament Parallels has been, since its first edition, one of Paulist Press's best regarded and best selling titles. It has brought fresh and reader friendly translation of the most important near east documents that share parallel themes and issues with biblical stores. Now, this third edition has been completely revised in light of the ongoing and exciting discoveries of more and more ancient Near Eastern texts, and includes selections that have not yet appeared in the SBL Writings from the Ancient World and which were not included in the three-volume Context of Scripture by Hallo and Younger. Many of the parallels from the first two editions have been expanded to provide more coverage of larger texts like the "Stories of Gilgamesh" and the "Code of Hammurabi." New parallels have been added, enlarging the anthology to sixty-three selections. †

Genres: Religion, History, Theology, Biblical Studies, Reference, Old Testament, Christian

448 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1991

About the author

Victor Harold Matthews (PhD, Brandeis University) is dean of the College of Humanities and Public Affairs and professor of religious studies at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. He is the author of numerous books, including Manners and Customs in the Bible, Studying the Ancient Israelites, Old Testament Turning Points, and The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Genesis–Deuteronomy.

Reviews

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mathews and Benjamin provide a wide variety of near eastern literature, establishing parallels to the biblical text along the way. The selection is very interesting and engaging for all. The strength of the work lies in this breadth of near eastern selection providing a broader parallel rather than its verse to verse parallels. It does help one understand the writing style and form of the Hebrew Scriptures in the larger understanding of the near East and provides excellent background for each selection of literature. For example, the commonality of Proverbs or Song of Solomon type literature. Its weakness lies in overdrawn parallels between particular verse to verse correlations. Some references stated to be direct parallels seem to be overstated.

Overall, a great read which provides a broader understanding of the the style of the Old Testament scripture.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone who has both scholarly interests and an abiding respect and honor for the scriptures is used to the claims that the Bible largely copies what is extant in the literature of the Ancient Near East, whether one looks at the laws or the history or poetry or prophecy that one finds in scripture.  This book is a useful one in that it demonstrates that while there are parallels between the writings of the Bible and those of other ancient Near East peoples, some of those parallels amount to writing about the same kinds of things and the same genres rather than being the sort of parallels that demonstrate influence.  And even a great deal of those that demonstrate influence show the polemical purposes of the Bible writers as well as the superiority of the Biblical accounts to their contemporary equivalents from the ancient world.  A book like this is a useful book to read for context to understand what it is that the ancient world had to deal with and make laws for and how people behaved and sought social change in an environment of rulers who made divine claims about themselves, but does not in any way diminish the respect that one should have for the Bible.

This book is between 350 and 400 pages long and is divided into sections based on the part of the Bible where the parallels exist in the minds of the book's editors between the Bible (broadly defined) and a judicious selection of the massive body of ancient texts from the Near East.  The author begins with hymns and stories from Egypt and Mesopotamia that apparently mirror the Genesis accounts, as well as various Egyptian and Assyrian stories and the Hittite-Egyptian treaty that shed light on Exodus.  After that there are various law codes from Sumer, the HItties, and the Assyrians as well as stories of Balaam that shed light on Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.  The author looks at Egyptian and Canaanite texts that show the context of Joshua and Judges as well as an archive of Babatha that mirrors some parts of Ruth.  There are various annals, mostly Assyrian and Chaldean, as well as the Arad and Lachish Letters and the Siloam story and a Moabite source, that detail the period of history covered by Samuel and Kings.  A Persian degree and some Elephantine Letters provide context for Ezra and Nehemiah, some Egyptian and a Babylonian source mirror Job and Ecclesiastes, and various hymns and stories and laments provide something to compare with Psalms and Lamentations.  Various wisdom literature from Egypt provides a parallel with biblical and apocryphal wisdom literature, and a mercifully short collection of Egyptian erotica is seen as a parallel to the Song of Solomon.  Various letters and prophecies and stories are viewed as being similar in some way to Biblical prophecies (with of course more focus on divination).  Finally, the authors provide an outline of Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Israelite history as well as a bibliography for critical editions of text as well as pictures, abbreviations, a list of biblical citations and parallels, and a subject index.

Thankfully, this book consists mainly of the authors attempting to provide excerpts from the large body of extant writings from the ancient world that they judge as being at least somewhat paralleled in scripture.  To be sure, they have a broader view of scripture that includes the apocryphal works, so writings like Tobit and Sirach and Ecclesiasticus appear here where they would not normally be thought of scripture by a great many Christians (or Jews).  Aside from this problem, the authors do a very good job in the main of getting out of the Bible's way, and while they post a lot of dodgy parallels that are at best slight between the Bible and the non-biblical writings of ancient literature in the Middle East, there is mercifully little commentary or editorializing and a great deal of simply providing the ancient texts and letting the reader draw the parallels (or not) for themselves.  In the main I recommend this approach.  If it is not a replacement of the trusty ANET for the bookshelves of those who wish to put the Bible in the context of ancient history and literature, this volume is certainly a worthwhile supplement to it and a well put together resource book of its own.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very useful collection of OT parallels. Legal texts, poems, stories, wisdom literature from the cultures around ancient Israel. Each passage that parallels an OT passage is noted. Helpful bibliographies and indices. Recommended for those looking for an accessible collection of Ancient Near Eastern literature.

[Rick Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good, albeit very selective, collection of documents from various civilizations in the Old Testament world. Everything in the book is interesting, and the translations are lively and easy to read. However, I don't think this book would escape the charge of parallelomania. The parallels drawn by the authors between the documents and the Biblical text are sometimes a huge stretch either chronologically, geographically, or just in terms of content.

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First read in 2004.

[Scott Law · Rating 3 out of 5]

The parallels provided were a bit weak, in my opinion. On the other hand, if you want a book that provides a good look into the culture of the area, this one has an amazing amount of documents from the period with descriptions about each one.

[Lu Tsun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great editing and translation. Very useful for research.

[Krystle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the parallels notated by the author did not make sense; otherwise, a fantastic resource.

[Abby Epplett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few months ago, I received a perfect gift, the revised and expanded second edition of Old Testament Parallels: Laws and Stories from the Ancient Near East. Few other readers will be quite so pleased by the book as I was, but for those who are interested in mythology from Egypt, the Akkadians, and other ancient cultures, this is an easy-to-read primer. Authors Dr. Victor H. Matthews of Missouri State University and Dr. Don C. Benjamin of the Kino Institute of Theology wrote the book with the intention of creating “a readable, affordable, and portable anthology of ancient Near Eastern law and stories”.
I knew a considerable amount about the ancient Near East prior to reading this book but continued to learn plenty about the laws, customs, and beliefs from that region. The illustrated replicas of Sumerian cylinder seals, Egyptian paintings, and Assyrian stone reliefs; diagrams of Phoenician and Babylonian cities; and maps of how ancient people understood the world were fascinating additions to my knowledge. The authors wisely chose to create chapters paralleling a specific book or a group of books in the Old Testament, as this is the most familiar reference point for the intended audience. For example, the first chapter on Genesis demonstrated similarities between the creation stories found in the first chapters of the Bible and the Egyptian worship of Ptah and Ra, while the story of Noah and the flood parallels the story of Utnapishtim within the Epic of Gilgamesh. At the beginning of each chapter, the authors describe the discovery of the artifact containing the text and its current location.
Timelines of several ancient Near Eastern cultures, including the whole of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Israel, appear at the end of the book. Bibliographies of texts and illustrations provide additional sources to learn more about the topics in the book. The most unique section at the end is an index of every parallel between the Bible and another ancient text with a number code describing if the parallel is based on genre, identical word or phrase, literary motif, social or scientific belief, plot point, or historic event. The index is useful for crafting an academic paper but difficult to navigate for a casual reader. Interestingly, the index contained parallels to the Apocrypha and New Testament, not just the Old Testament.
The format and writing of the book make its material accessible to college students and mature high school students. The graphic descriptions from myths and criminal punishment may upset some students. Concerned professors and teachers, especially those who work with younger children, could easily copy a few short sections to share rather than providing the entire book. Overall, Old Testament Parallels is an excellent resource. History buffs, museum nerds, Bible geeks, and generalist autodidacts will all love this fact-filled book for its methodical formatting, “plain English” translation, and carefully constructed transliteration combining ancient text and illustrations with stories of artifact preservation.

[Christopher G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Archeology uncovers many artifacts from all of the societies that occupied Canaan and the surrounding regions. Victor Matthews and Don Benjamin have combed through these artifacts and selected the texts that are similar in some aspect to the Old Testament. These similarities include literature genre, events, documents, customs, laws, literary style, and people. Their compilation of these texts in Old Testament Parallels span the entire Old Testament from the narratives, psalms, wisdom, and prophetic books and come from every region around Canaan including Egypt, Moab, Babylon, Assyria, Mesopotamia, Turkey, and Persia.
The translations supplied in this book are very easy to read and do not contain archaic vocabulary or awkward sentence structures. When there are especially long translations the authors did a nice job of condensing the material without losing the impact of the parallel account and where able to keep the material flowing smoothly. Although each text contained notations for the parallel location in the Old Testament, there where very few instances where the authors expounded on the significance of the parallel.
The authors stated on page xiii that they did not want to destroy the uniqueness of the Bible by overstating the similarities with the surrounding cultures; however, the more I read the book, the more I questioned the Bible's uniqueness. The Bible and its God, YHWH, are often presented and easily accepted as unique in western culture but when it is compared with other texts of similar culture, its content is not that unique after all. The presentation of this material must ultimately stress the uniqueness of the Bible’s message otherwise the similarities of content with other cultures may reduce the scriptures to another product of mankind.

I gave the book three stars primarily due to the fact that the authors stated objective was not to destroy the uniqueness of the Bible and that is precisely what struck me in reading this book. The other drawback being the lack of assessment on the parallel accounts. If these guys study this material as much as it appears than I would have liked some input from them, even if it were a paragraph or two.

[Neil Harmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a text book from a class, "Interpreting the Hebrew Bible I." This was a great book. It is not actually about the Bible but is about non-Biblical archeological finds that are from the same time and that sometimes mention some of the same people or events that occurred in the Bible. It is fascinating to read the account of King Cyrus of Persia telling the Israelites they could go back to Jerusalem and then read a stela (stone engraving) produced by King Cyrus discussing the same events. IT is also interesting to compare the laws contained in the Bible with those of nearby civilizations. It was especially cool to read about one of these tablets and then literally bump into one (well brush it while walking down a narrow hallway) at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. It reminds us that (at least in parts of the text) these were real historical people telling their story. Perhaps with a slant, but still, telling their truth. (it is especially interesting when one can read both side's account of an event)

[Bill Huizer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating read. I feared it may become dull as it went on, but it was continuously absorbing. I especially liked the structure of the book, as it lined up ancient Near East texts with their matching Old Testament books. I grew up in evangelical (and sometimes fundamentalist) churches, and this book has been helpful in the continual process of ungluing myself from unhelpful assumptions about scriptural texts. I highly recommend this!

[Joseph Schrock · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was less interesting to me than I'd hoped it would be. Yet, it contained numerous stories and teachings that were rather similar to some that are discussed in the Old Testament. I would likely not have bought the book if I'd known what it's really like. It was, however, rather informative concerning ancient Near Eastern cultures, many of them concurrent with biblical times.

[Marissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have liked a few fewer texts and a little more analysis, I think. This is essentially an anthology of Egyptian and Mesopotamian literature annotated with Bible references which you can look up and cross reference on your own. Which is fine and no doubt of great value. :) I just wanted a little more to be obtainable via skimming than was there.

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting stories from ancient civilizations near Israel. Helps to understand the background ancient Jewish readers would have probably known. Some of the parallels are a bit of a stretch, but most are pretty similar. Good for serious students of the Old Testament.

[Ste · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been a very useful source of information for the tour of the British Museum that I'm about to lead.

[cindy]

Read chapters for Intro to the Old Testament.

[Danny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the type of book that is probably best used as a reference book, but worth reading through in its entirety. I thoroughly enjoyed reading through the “parallels”, although in the majority of instances that word is used very loosely. As the authors make clear in their introduction: “There are genre parallels, motif parallels, social institution parallels, plot parallels, and parallels in historical events.”

As you read through the text you will be treated to an introduction to each ancient document that usually discusses it’s origin, date, and reason for its inclusion in the book. In addition to this, as you read through each selection you will be treated to referenced biblical texts for comparisons. Although the referenced biblical texts strewn throughout each ancient selection often seemed quite awkward when presented as parallels. I flipped open up the book randomly and pulled up an example of this. This particular ancient text reads as follows:
“Then I will travel with you to safe harbor, Then we shall live together forever” pg229
The parallel text is Psalm 94:19 which reads as follows: “In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.” KJV.

As you can see, I was left scratching my head as to how this was a parallel, but others are slightly more applicable, dealing with similar topics(ie: food, life, oxen, etc.) as we see in the biblical texts.

Now to the primary topic, the stories/texts themselves! Many of these stories are thematically similar(ie: laments, poems, stories about brothers, laws against crimes, stories about barren women, etc.) to the biblical narratives, but often strikingly different in actual content and intent. The most notable exception to this is the flood story of Gilgamesh. However, this is difficult to determine if this is due to a common tradition of a real event, a borrowed tradition from one culture to another, or something else entirely. As the authors themselves make clear: “Establishing the correct connection between related biblical and non-biblical traditions is never easy. Simple solutions are generally misleading solutions.” (Forward xiii).

The most enjoyable parallels were those that demonstrated grammatical and stylistic similarities of the texts – it is a beautiful reminder that the Hebrew people were a real people, in the real world, who interacted with their cultural peers.

That said, I learned quite a bit from this volume and I have accumulated a few pages of notes for further study.

[Joseph Atinsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun Bible study resource. Ancient secular writings that parallel with Biblical scripture. Extend your personal study.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting collection of primary sources useful for understanding ancient history.

[James Chappell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very simple but exhaustive reference book for parallels between the Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern religious and political literature.