148 - The Bible and the Ancient Near East: Essays In Honor Of William Foxwell Albright

The Bible and the Ancient Near East:
Essays In Honor Of William Foxwell Albright
Edited by G. Ernest Wright
409 pp. Garden City, Doubleday and Company, 1961. $7.50.

This significant volume is a collection of essays by fourteen eminent scholars, with an appendix by Professor Albright, and a bibliography of his works to 1958. That the recipient of a Festschrift should himself De a contributor may appear, at first glance, a bit unusual, but no serious compendium of modem Biblical research can be complete, today, without some contribution by Albright! This volume is also faced with the fact that no other contributor can be found to match the scope and erudition of that author and that no bibliographical presentation of his works can hope to be up to date.

The contents of the volume may be set into four major categories: Near Eastern religion, culture and literature, with contributions by Bright,

149 - The Bible and the Ancient Near East: Essays In Honor Of William Foxwell Albright

Kramer, Jacobsen, Lambdin, Wilson, and Goetze in their respective areas of specialization; history and chronology, with Albright supplementing the works of Mendenhall, Freedman, and Campbell; archaeology, represented by the essays of Wright and Van Beek; and Hebrew linguistics, with offerings by Moran, Orlinsky, and Cross.

It would be both presumptuous and unrealistic to attempt to comment in depth in these varied fields, but the high points of the essays may be noted. Bright begins the volume with an excellent summary of documentary criticism to the present, including its current tides, although he is perhaps too convinced of the essential stability of certain conclusions. His presentation of the formgeschichte and Uppsalian schools is well done, and his treatment of the position of Noth seems to indicate less distance than formerly. Kramer presents a most valuable historical resumé and statement of current problems in Sumerian literature. His bibliography alone represents a major contribution, in both content and corrected readings. As a supplement, Jacobsen introduces an intriguing approach to early Mesopotamian religion, as viewed from the "numinous" concepts of Rudolph Otto. He opens up a number of interesting areas, regrettably not able to be pursued in the compass of his short essay. Studies in Egyptian language, religion, and culture are brought up to date by Lambdin and Wilson in their respective articles. Lambdin provides an especial aid to the non-Egyptologist in his evaluation of the bibliographical materials. He also, quite rightly, stresses the place of the newly discovered Coptic documents, somewhat overshadowed by the more spectacular Dead Sea materials. Wilson's presentation of the known cultural relationships of Egypt, as well as the complexity of the yet unresolved problems, is likewise most helpful. Goetze rounds out the cultural discussion by his coverage of Anatolian chronology and related matters, along with definitive comments on the terms "Hittite" and "Phrygian," which will be of interest to art historians and classical archaeologists, as well as to Biblical scholars.

In the area of Biblical history and chronology, Mendenhall and Freedman offer a more general discussion of the over-all situation, the problems, and their current resolutions, fittingly capped by bibliographical and diagrammatic data assembled by Campbell. Although one may raise questions of interpretation concerning certain specific items involved, the details are clearly set forth and represent a firm basis for continuing research and debate.

It is no chance event that the editor of this work has, himself, made one of the most significant contributions to its content. The synthesis of archaeological sites and periods presented by Wright is one of the finest tributes he could have given in honor of his teacher whose own contribu-

150 - The Bible and the Ancient Near East: Essays In Honor Of William Foxwell Albright

tions in this field have been monumental. The correlations and charts, along with the footnotes and bibliography, are themselves a new textbook for the field. The re-evaluation of the Samarian ceramic chronology is of special importance. Van Beek's summary of the South Arabian materials is not designed to be on the same scale as Wright's synthesis, but represents a basis for further exploring this relatively new field of study.

Moran's technical paper on Hebrew in its philological context sets the tenor for the contributions of Orlinsky and Cross. Although Moran's scope is restricted by the necessary limits of an essay, he surveys the literature, the new light shed by Ugarit and Mari, and the problems Involved in the field today. Orlinsky candidly points up the low state of textual criticism (and of Semitic studies, as a whole), at the present time, and dwells upon the uncritical reliance upon "critical" tools which has dominated the field in recent years. Confusions introduced in and by the Qumran materials are also noted. The epigraphic study of Cross is the longest single essay of the volume, and in this reviewer's opinion, ranks with that of Wright in importance. The analytical and chronological conclusions made there constitute, in effect, a handbook of epigraphic development and identification, and point up the need for the same detailed study of other Semitic areas and periods of epigraphic history.

This volume is not a book for layman or beginner, but will greatly enrich the reference shelf of the serious scholar.

Philip C. Hammond
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton, New Jersey