World of the Bible

Gods, Goddesses, and the Women Who Serve Them

Susan Ackerman A wide-ranging study of women in ancient Israelite religion.

Susan Ackerman has spent her scholarly career researching underexamined aspects of the world of the Hebrew Bible—particularly those aspects pertaining to women. In this collection drawn from three decades of her work, she describes in fascinating detail the worship of goddesses in ancient Israel, the roles women played as priests and prophets, the cultic signi cance of queen mothers, and the Hebrew Bible’s accounts of women’s religious lives. Speci c topics include: • the “Queen of Heaven,” a goddess whose worship was the object of censure in the book of Jeremiah • Asherah, the great Canaanite mother goddess for whom Judean women were described as weaving in the book of Kings • biblical gures considered as religious function aries, such as Miriam, Deborah, and Zipporah • the lack of women priests in ancient Israel explored against the prevalence of priestesses in the larger ancient Near Eastern world • the cultic signi cance of queen mothers in Israel and throughout the ancient Near East • Israelite women’s participation in the cult of Yahweh and in the cults of various goddesses

Susan Ackerman is the Preston H. Kelsey Professor of Religion and professor of women’s, gender, and sexuality studies at Dartmouth College. She is the author of Women and the Religion of Ancient Israel; When Heroes Love: e Ambiguity of Eros in the Stories of Gilgamesh and David; Warrior, Dancer, Seductress, Queen: Women in Judges and Biblical Israel; and Under Every Green Tree: Popular Religion in Sixth-Century Judah.

978-0-8028-7956-1 • Jacketed Hardcover • 304 pages $59.99 US • $80.99 CAN • £48.99 UK

AVAILABLE SEPTEMBER 2022

An Introduction to Early Judaism

SECOND EDITION James C. VanderKam

is accessible introduction to early Judaism surveys the history and literature of the Second Temple period, summarizes major archaeological discoveries, and describes the leadership positions, groups, and institutions of Judaism during this era. Now in its second edition, with additional material and updated throughout, this book remains the preeminent guide to early Judaism for anyone looking for a volume that is concise and accessible while still comprehensive—and wri en by one of the foremost experts in the eld.

“ e second edition of James VanderKam’s Introduction to Early Judaism undoubtedly will enhance the impact of his rst edition. His emphasis on archaeological discoveries and inclusion of more ancient literature are welcome additions, and the overall readability and organization of this work still makes it the most comprehensive and useful introduction to Second Temple studies.”

— PATRICIA D. AHEARNE-KROLL

University of Minnesota

“VanderKam’s Introduction to Early Judaism is a standard in the eld—a wide-ranging, popular, informative, and accessible volume. A newly revised and expanded edition of it is a welcome addition, for students and teachers alike.”

— MA HEW GOFF

Florida State University

James C. VanderKam is the John A. O’Brien Professor of Hebrew Scriptures Emeritus at the University of Notre Dame. Among his many other books are e Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible, e Dead Sea Scrolls Today, and the two-volume commentary on the book of Jubilees in the Hermeneia series. He also served as an editor for thirteen volumes in the Discoveries in the Judaean Desert series and was editor of the Journal of Biblical Literature from 2006 to 2012.

978-0-8028-8016-1 • Paperback • 253 pages $28.99 US • $38.99 CAN • £22.99 UK

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Ancient Wisdom

An Introduction to Sayings Collections Walter T. Wilson A survey of all major extant collections of wisdom sayings om antiquity across the Near East and the Greco-Roman world.

“At a time when there is lively debate about the category ‘wisdom literature,’ Walter Wilson expands the debate by pu ing proverbial and gnomic texts of the Jewish and Christian traditions in conversation with a wide corpus of Greco-Roman and Near Eastern sayings collections. While he does not simply repeat traditional categorizations, he shows that there is much to be gained by a generic approach to wisdom literature, especially when it is informed by all the relevant comparative material om the ancient world.”

— JOHN J. COLLINS

Yale University

“ is wide-ranging volume o ers students at all levels an authoritative guide to a complex and fascinating genre. It will become an indispensable companion for anyone interested in ancient wisdom literature and its social context.”

— TERESA MORGAN

University of Oxford

“Walter T. Wilson introduces readers to the world of intellectual elites who wrote or collected gnomic sayings long ago: their ideals, their aspirations, their realities, their fears. Anyone who values ancient wisdom will treasure this analysis focusing on the origin, themes, structure, and style of texts spanning millennia.”

— JAMES L. CRENSHAW

Duke University

Walter T. Wilson is the Charles Howard Candler Professor of New Testament at Candler School of eology, Emory University. His other books include a critical edition of e Sentences of Sextus and a commentary on Philo of Alexandria’s On Virtues.

978-0-8028-7543-3 • Jacketed Hardcover • 335 pages $34.99 US • $46.99 CAN • £28.99 UK

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