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Ancient Texts Related to the Old Testament
Audience: Individuals Youth Adult
Format: Web
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Ancient Document and Date |
Language | Chief Enemy |
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Gilgamesh Epic around 1700 B.C.; some versions circulated as early as 2100 B.C. |
Akkadian | Gilgamesh, the ruler of Uruk, has many adventures and meets Utnapishtim, the only survivor of the great flood. |
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Enuma Elish around 1200 B.C. |
Akkadian | A story written on seven stone tablets which tells of the Babylonian god Marduk and how the world was created. |
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Code of Hammurabi around 1750 B.C. |
Akkadian | A listing of laws for the people of the kingdom of Babylonia. It has many laws similar to the Law of Moses in the Bible. Moses lived about 400 years after Hammurabi. |
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Ras-Shamra Tablets around 1450 B.C. |
Ugaritic | Tells of the adventures of Canaanite gods and rulers which helps biblical scholars to better understand Canaanite religion and Old Testament poetry. |
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Amarna Letters around 1350 B.C. |
Canaanite Akkadian |
Hundreds of letters written by Canaanite scribes give information about political, social, and religious relationships between Canaan and Egypt during the rule of Egyptian Pharaohs, Amenhotep III and Akhenaton. |
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Merneptah Stele around 1210 B.C. |
Egyptian | Also known as the "Israel Stele," it describes the victory of Egyptian king Merneptah over peoples from the west, including "Israel." Shows that by this time a people known as "Israel" existed in Canaan. |
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Gezer Calendar around 925 B.C. |
Hebrew | A student from Israel (northern kingdom) describes the seasons, the crops, and the yearly farm work done in Israel. |
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Moabite Stone around 850 B.C. |
Moabite | Describes how Mesha, king of Moab, rebelled against one of the kings of Israel from King Omri's line (see 2 Kings 3.4). |
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Clay Prism of Sennacherib around 690 B.C. |
Akkadian | The Annals of Sennacherib describe how Sennacherib of Assyria surrounded Jerusalem and made King Hezekiah of Judah a prisoner in his own city. |
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Lachish Letters around 590 B.C. |
Hebrew | Writings on pottery fragments tell about the difficult days in Jerusalem before the Babylonians surrounded the city. |
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Cyrus Cylinder around 539 B.C. |
Akkadian | Describes how King Cyrus of Persia defeated the Babylonians, tells of his policies toward the peoples he ruled, and describes their gods. |
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Dead Sea Scrolls some as early as 250 B.C., others as late as A.D. 70 |
Hebrew Aramaic Greek |
Hundreds of scrolls and scroll fragments, including the oldest existing copies of Old Testament books and passages. Some documents describe the religious community, possibly Essenes, who wrote and collected these documents. |
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Related Resources
Audience: Adult Youth Individuals
Format: Web
The “Pentateuch” is a term used to describe the first five books of the Old Testament (Genesis—Deuteronomy). In the Jewish Scriptures these books are referred to as the Law, or Torah, a Hebrew word that means “guide” or “instruction”.
Audience: Adult Youth Individuals Small Group Leaders
Format: Web
What is the basis for the curse in Genesis 9? Learn about the context and meaning of this passage.
Audience: Youth Individuals Adult
Format: Web
Before Israel was ruled by a king, a series of judges controlled Israel. Check out this list of judges and their accomplishments.
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