The Society of Biblical Literature SERIES Archaeology and Biblical Studies
The SBL series Archaeology and Biblical Studies seeks to promote the investigation of the Bible utilizing archaeological, historical, epigraphic and textual studies. Preference is given to monographs or collections of essays that integrate the Bible, ancient Near Eastern texts, and archaeological discoveries from ancient Israel and its neighboring cultures as central to a project’s research agenda.
In 2016, Brian was appointed General Editor of the Archaeology and Biblical Studies series and immediately established the series inaugural Editorial Board which includes the following members:
Aaron Brody, Pacific School of Religion (Berkeley)
Annie Caubet, Musée du Louvre (Paris)
Billie Jean Collins, Emory University (Atlanta)
Israel Finkelstein, Tel Aviv University (Tel Aviv)
André Lemaire, École Pratique des Hautes Études (Paris)
Amihai Mazar, The Hebrew University (Jerusalem)
Herbert Niehr, Eberhard Karls Universität (Tübingen)
Christoph Uehlinger, Universität Zürich (Zürich)
Some Recent Volumes
A Political History of the Arameans: From Their Origins to the End of Their Polities by K. Lawson Younger Jr., 2016, SBLABS 13.
Phoenician Aniconism in Its Mediterranean and Ancient Near Eastern Contexts by Brian R. Doak, 2015, SBLABS 21.
Summaries
A Political History of the Arameans: From Their Origins to the End of Their Polities
by K. Lawson Younger Jr., 2016, SBLABS 13.
An up-to-date analysis of the history of the ancient Near East and the Arameans.
K. Lawson Younger Jr. presents a political history of the Arameans from their earliest origins to the demise of their independent entities. The book investigates their tribal structures, the development of their polities, and their interactions with other groups in the ancient Near East. Younger utilizes all of the available sources to develop a comprehensive picture of this complex, yet highly important, people whose influence and presence spanned the Fertile Crescent.
Features:
- The current understanding of tribal political structures, aspects of mobile pastoralism, and models of migration
- A regional rather than a monolithic approach to the rise of Aramean polities
- Thorough integration of the complex relationships and interactions of the Arameans with the Luwians, the Assyrians, the Israelites, and others
Phoenician Aniconism in Its Mediterranean and Ancient Near Eastern Contexts
by Brian R. Doak, 2015, SBLABS 21.
A close look at Phoenician religion
The Hebrew Bible contains a prohibition against divine images (Exod 20:2-5a). Explanations for this command are legion, usually focusing on the unique status of Israel’s deity within the context of the broader Near Eastern and Mediterranean worlds. Doak explores whether or not Israel was truly alone in its severe stance against idols. This book focuses on one particular aspect of this iconographic context in Israel’s Iron Age world: that of the Phoenicians. The question of whether Phoenicians employed aniconic (as opposed to iconic) representational techniques has significance not only for the many poorly understood aspects of Phoenician religion generally, but also for the question of whether aniconism can be considered a broader trend among the Semitic populations of the ancient Near East.
Features:
- More than fifty images and illustrations
- Examination of textual and archaeological evidence
- Application of art historical methods
