Dr. Heiser at times refers listeners to books, articles, and other resources. They are listed below, by episode.
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Episode 017: Taking the Context of the Bible Seriously (series on Bible Study Advice, Tools, and Techniques)
Guides to the Literature of the Biblical Context and Worldview:
Old Testament (informed by the Literature of the Ancient Near East)
John Walton, Ancient Israelite Literature in its Cultural Context
Victor Matthews, Old Testament Parallels: Laws And Stories from the Ancient Near East
Kenton Sparks, Ancient Texts for the Study of the Hebrew Bible: A Guide to the Background Literature
New Testament (informed by the literature of Second Temple / “Intertestamental” Judaism)
Larry Helyer, Exploring Jewish Literature of the Second Temple Period: A Guide for New Testament Students (Christian Classics Bible Studies)
Craig Evans, Ancient Texts for New Testament Studies: A Guide to the Background Literature
D. deSilva, Introducing the Apocrypha: Message, Context, and Significance
Episode 018: Taking the Context of the Bible Seriously (series on Bible Study Advice, Tools, and Techniques)
Ancient Texts in English Translation: Ancient Near East
Books: General Collections
The Context of Scripture (COS); 3 volumes
digital version
Ancient Near Eastern Texts (ANET) by Pritchard (one volume hardcover; split into two volumes paperback; vol. 1 and vol. 2)
digital version
Writings from the Ancient World set (amazon link to volumes in the series)
digital version
Egyptian Literature:
Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature (3 vols)
digital version
Foster, Ancient Egyptian Literature
The Literature of Ancient Egypt: An Anthology of Stories, Instructions, Stelae, Autobiographies, and Poetry; Third Edition by Professor William Kelley Simpson, Professor Robert K. Ritner, The Reverent Dr. Vincent A. Tobin and Professor Edward Wente Jr.
W. Moran, The Amarna Letters
digital version
Mesopotamia (Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian)
Foster, Before the Muses: An Anthology of Akkadian Literature
Foster, From Distant Days: Myths, Tales, and Poetry of Ancient Mesopotamia
Dalley, Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others
Jacobsen, The Harps that Once … Sumerian Poetry in Translation
Ugaritic Texts:
N. Wyatt, Religious Texts from Ugarit
digital version
Gibson, Canaanite Myths and Legends
digital version
M. Coogan and M. Smith, Stories from Ancient Canaan
Websites
ETANA (Electronic Tools Ancient Near East Archives)
Episode 019: Taking the Context of the Bible Seriously (series on Bible Study Advice, Tools, and Techniques)
Ancient Texts in English Translation: Second Temple Period of Judaism (5th century BC – 1st century AD)
Books:
Old Testament Apocrypha
King James Version of the Apocrypha
digital version
The New Oxford Annotated Apocrypha: New Revised Standard Version
digital version
R.H. Charles’ edition: The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament: Apocrypha
digital version (Logos has Charles’ Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha in one set)
New Testament Apocrypha (less relevant, as these come from after the apostolic period):
one-volume edition of M. R. James: The New Testament Apocrypha
two-volume scholarly compendium by Schneemelcher
New Testament Apocrypha, Vol. 1: Gospels and Related Writings Revised Edition
New Testament Apocrypha, Vol. 2: Writings Relating to the Apostles Apocalypses and Related Subjects
Old Testament Pseudepigrapha
R. H. Charles’ edition: The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, Pseudepigrapha
digital version (Logos has Charles’ Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha in one set)
James H. Charleworth’s two-volume edition (with introductions to each book): The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ( 2 Volume set)
digital version
Dead Sea Scrolls (non-biblical texts)
Wise, Abegg, & Cook: The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation
digital version
Geza Vermes: The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English (Penguin Classics)
Garcia-Martinez: The Dead Sea Scrolls Translated: The Qumran Texts in English
digital version (English translations are included in the two volume Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition, which also has the Hebrew texts)
Dead Sea Scrolls (the biblical scrolls in the Hebrew Bible, in English translation)
Abegg, Ulrich, Flint: The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible: The Oldest Known Bible Translated for the First Time into English
digital version
Josephus
Whiston edition: The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition
digital version
Paul Maier: The New Complete Works of Josephus
Philo
Yonge, updated by Scholer: The Works of Philo
digital version
Websites (free material, but dated translations from old, public domain sources)
Old Testament Apocrypha
Sacred Texts Archive
Biblos / Apocrypha.org
Pseudepigrapha.com (includes links to OT Apocrypha)
Old Testament Pseudepigrapha
Sacred Texts archive (labels the Pseudepigrapha “other apocrypha”)
New Testament Apocrypha
Philo
Josephus
Episode 020: Taking the Context of the Bible Seriously (series on Bible Study Advice, Tools, and Techniques)
Books and Reference Works on Ancient Near Eastern Texts and Worldview
Most Recommended Reference Works for OT Study in Ancient Near Eastern Context
Sasson (ed.), Civilizations of the Ancient Near East/4 Volumes Bound in 2 Books (v. 1 & 2)
Baker (ed.), Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch (The IVP Bible Dictionary Series)
digital version
Williamson (ed.), Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books (The IVP Bible Dictionary Series)
digital version
Enns (ed.), Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings (The IVP Bible Dictionary Series)
Boda (ed.), Dictionary of the Old Testament: Prophets (IVP Bible Dictionary)
van der Toorn, Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, Second Edition
digital version
Monographs
Ancient Near East
History and Culture:
Hoerth, Mattingly, Yamauchi (eds), Peoples of the Old Testament World
White, Everyday Life in Ancient Egypt
von Soden, The Ancient Orient: An Introduction to the Study of the Ancient Near East
Bertman, Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia
Mertz, Red Land, Black Land: Daily Life in Ancient Egypt
Van de Mieroop, A History of Ancient Egypt (Blackwell History of the Ancient World)
Van de Mieroop, A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000 – 323 BC [Blackwell History of the Ancient World Ser.]
Ancient Mesopotamian Religion (Sumer, Assyria, Babylon):
Schneider, An Introduction to Ancient Mesopotamian Religion (History of Religion)
Bottero, Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia
Jacobsen, The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion
Black, Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary
Ancient Egyptian Religion:
Pinch, Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt
Pinch, Egyptian Myth: A Very Short Introduction
Teeter, Religion and Ritual in Ancient Egypt
Assmann, The Search for God in Ancient Egypt
Old Testament Israel:
The Old Testament Worldview in Ancient Near Eastern Context (General):
digital version
Walton, The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate
Israelite Religion:
Miller, The Religion of Ancient Israel (Library of Ancient Israel)
Smith, The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel (Biblical Resource Series)
digital version
Hess, Israelite Religions: An Archaeological and Biblical Survey
digital version
Mettinger, In Search of God: The Meaning and Message of the Everlasting Names
Culture and Life in Ancient Israel:
Wells, Everyday Law in Biblical Israel: An Introduction
de Vaux, Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions (Biblical Resource)
Dever, The Lives of Ordinary People in Ancient Israel: When Archaeology and the Bible Intersect
Ebeling, Women’s Lives in Biblical Times
Episode 021: Taking the Context of the Bible Seriously (series on Bible Study Advice, Tools, and Techniques)
Books and Reference Works on Second Temple Texts and Worldview
Most Recommended Reference Works for NT Study in the Context of both the Old Testament and Second Temple Judaism
Green, Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (The IVP Bible Dictionary Series)
digital version
Hawthorne (ed.), Dictionary of Paul and His Letters (The IVP Bible Dictionary Series)
digital version
Laansma (ed.), Dictionary of the Later New Testament & Its Developments (The IVP Bible Dictionary Series)
digital version
Evans (ed.), Dictionary of New Testament Background (The IVP Bible Dictionary Series)
digital version
van der Toorn, Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, Second Edition
digital version
Levine (ed.), The Jewish Annotated New Testament
Simmons, Peoples of the New Testament World: An Illustrated Guide
Monographs
General Works on Second Temple Context
O. Skarsaune, Jewish Believers in Jesus: The Early Centuries
O. Skarsaune, In the Shadow of the Temple: Jewish Influences on Early Christianity
digital version
D. Flusser, Judaism of the Second Temple Period: Volume 1, Qumran and Apocalypticism
digital version
D. Flusser, Judaism of the Second Temple Period: Sages and Literature, vol. 2
C. Evans, The World of Jesus and the Early Church: Identity and Interpretation in Early Communities of Faith
Interpretation of Scripture in New Testament Times
Beale, Handbook on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament: Exegesis and Interpretation
Moyise, Jesus and Scripture: Studying the New Testament Use of the Old Testament
digital version
Moyise, Paul and Scripture: Studying the New Testament Use of the Old Testament
Greco-Roman / Hellenistic Context
Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity
Jeffers, The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era: Exploring the Background of Early Christianity
D. deSilva, Honor, Patronage, Kinship & Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture
digital version
History of the Second Temple Period
Schiffman, From Text to Tradition, A History of Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism
Sacchi, The History of the Second Temple Period (Academic Paperback)
Dead Sea Scrolls & Christianity
P. Flint and J. VanderKam, The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls: Their Significance For Understanding the Bible, Judaism, Jesus, and Christianity
digital version
C. Evans, Christian Beginnings and the Dead Sea Scrolls (Acadia Studies in Bible and Theology)
digital version
J. Fitzmyer, The Dead Sea Scrolls and Christian Origins (Studies in the Dead Sea Scrolls & Related Literature)
digital version
J. Collins, Religion in the Dead Sea Scrolls
digital version
J. Collins, The Scepter and the Star: Messianism in Light of the Dead Sea Scrolls
digital version
Pseudepigrapha, Apocrypha, and the New Testament
Charlesworth, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha & the New Testament
Contextualized New Testament Theology
N. T. Wright, The New Testament and the People of God Volume 1 (Christian Origins and the Question of God)
N. T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God (Christian Origins and the Question of God, Volume 2)
N. T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God (Christian Origins and the Question of God, Vol. 3)
all three in digital version
Yinger, The New Perspective on Paul
Episode 022: Studying the Bible: Introducing Genres: Reading Bible Stories Like Fiction
Shimeon bar-Efrat, Narrative Art in the Bible [Understanding the Bible and Its World
Episode 024: The Bible’s Literary Context: The Genre of Historical-Military Annals-Inscriptions
David L. Fouts, “A Defense of the Hyperbolic Interpretation of Large Numbers in the Old Testament,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 40 (1997): 377-387
Episode 025: The Bible’s Literary Context: The Greco-Roman Genre of Ghost Stories and Post-Mortem Appearances and Gospel Material About Jesus
Jason Robert Combs, “A Ghost on the Water? Understanding an Absurdity in Mark 6:49–50,” JBL 127:2 (2008): 345-358
Deborah Thompson Prince, “The ‘Ghost’ of Jesus: Luke 24 in Light of Ancient Narratives of Post-Mortem Apparitions,” JSNT 29:3 (2007): 287-301
Episode 028: The Bible in Its Literary Context: The Comedic Genre and the New Testament
The book referenced by Dr. Sam Lamerson in his interview with Mike was Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale, by Frederick Buechner.
Episode 029: The Bible in Its Literary Context: The Genres of Prophecy and Apocalyptic
Episode 032: Studying the Original Languages of the Bible: Word Study Techniques, Part 1
Greek-English Lexicons cited in the episode:
BDAG
A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd Edition
older edition of the above (1979, now out-of-date, but useful):
A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Second Edition
Digital edition of BDAG
Liddell-Scott (abridged hard copy edition)
Liddell-Scott in digital: full 9th edition
