The Scripture quotations contained herein, when not the translation of the author or otherwise designated, are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Acknowledgments
The author wishes to thank Hope College for the support it has provided through its computing facility and faculty development funds.
Outside readers were very helpful in shaping the book and I owe them a debt of gratitude. Reading the first edition were Bernhard F. Batto, DePauw University; Rosalie Beck, Baylor University; Peter J. Haas, Vanderbilt University; Ralph Neall, Union College; John Priest, Florida State University; and Sharon Pace Jeansonne, Marquette University. Reading the second edition were John Barclay Burns, George Mason University; Marilyn Lundberg, University of Southern California; and John Modschiedler, College of DuPage.
The editorial staff at Wadsworth Publishing Company was entirely supportive. Peter Adams, senior editor, is not only a discerning critic and benevolent taskmaster, he is also a dear friend. Thank you, Peter, for many things and especially for encouraging me to develop the CD version. The project team of Jennifer Burke, Thomas E. Dorsaneo, Cathy Linberg, and Patti Picardi was outstanding.
Special thanks go to Daniel Bandstra for helping to complete the CD version of RTOT, and to Greg Maybury for helping debug it. I could never have survived the ordeal of authorship without the faithful support of family and friends. Needless to say, all shortcomings of the CD and the print edition of RTOT are solely the responsibility of the author.
Dedication
Lastly comes the most pleasant task of all--thanking those who were closest to me from beginning to end. The work would never have been finished without the loving support and active contributions of Debra, Adam, Jonathan, and Daniel. Each of you helped in specific ways, but most importantly you loved me in spite of the project. For that you have my enduring gratitude, and to you I dedicate this book.
Figure Credits
Cover Cult mask from Hazor, 14-13th century B.C.E. Israel Museum IDAM 67.1195 See Treasures of the Holy Land: Ancient Art from the Israel Museum. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1986. Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
Introduction Figure 1 David by Donatello, 1440. Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, Italy. Photo by Barry Bandstra, July 1998.
Biblical Story Figure 1 Ishtar Gate, Babylon. Istanbul Archaeological Museum, Istanbul. Photo by Barry Bandstra, April 1998.
Part 1 Figure 1 Studying Torah. Western wall, Jerusalem. Photo by Barry Bandstra, May 1996.
Chapter 1 Figure 1.1 Ea in the Apsu. Line drawing by Barry Bandstra, after a cylinder seal of the Akkadian period found at Ur. See Jeremy Black and Anthony Green, Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia. An Illustrated Dictionary. London: British Museum, 1992; page 27, no. 19.
Chapter 1 Figure 1.4 The Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu. From Leonard Woolley, Ur Excavations, Volume V: The Ziggurat and its Surroundings. New York, 1939; plate 86.
Chapter 2 Figure 2.1 Asiatic Semites Arrive in Egypt. From C. R. Lepsius, Denkm”ler aus Ÿgypten und Ÿthiopien. Berlin, 1849-1859; volume 2, plate 133.
Chapter 2 Figure 2.4 Circumcision. Line drawing by Barry Bandstra, after a Saqqara tomb painting from the Sixth Dynasty (2350-2000 B.C.E.).
Chapter 2 Page 101 Ann Landers column, February 21, 1993, "Experts Divided over Circumcision." Courtesy of Ann Landers and Creators Syndicate.
Chapter 3 Figure 3.1 Photo of the Sinai peninsula from the Gemini II spacecraft, 1966. Courtesy of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Chapter 3 Figure 3.3 Brickmaking in Egypt. Line drawing by Barry Bandstra after Norman de Garis Davies, The Tomb of Rekh-mi-Ré at Thebes. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art Egyptian Expedition, 1943; plate 58.
Chapter 3 Figure 3.5 Stele of Hammurabi. The Louvre, Paris. Courtesy of Gianni Dagli Orti/Corbis.
Chapter 4 Figure 4.1 Mount Sinai Range. View from the top of Jebel Musa, Sinai, Egypt. Photo by Barry Bandstra, May 1996.
Chapter 5 Figure 5.1 Moses by Michelangelo, 1515. San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome, Italy. Photo by Barry Bandstra, July 1998.
Chapter 5 Figure 5.2 Arad Sanctuary, Arad, Israel. Photo by Barry Bandstra, May 1996.
Part 2 Figure 1 Isaiah Scroll from Qumran. See John C. Trever, Scrolls from Qumran Cave I. Jerusalem: Albright Institute of Archaeological Research, 1972. Courtesy of John C. Trever.
Chapter 6 Figure 6.1 Jericho Neolithic Tower, Jericho, West Bank. Photo by Barry Bandstra, May 1987.
Chapter 6 Figure 6.6 Merneptah Stele, First Historical Mention of the Name Israel. The Egyptian Museum, Cairo, Egypt. Photo by Barry Bandstra, May 1987.
Chapter 7 Figure 7.1 Portrait of a Captured Philistine. Relief from the main temple of Ramses III (1193-1162 B.C.E.), south tower, 2nd pylon, 20th Dynasty (1196-1080 B.C.E.), New Kingdom. Medinet Habu, West Thebes, Thebes, Egypt. Courtesy of Art Resource, New York.
Chapter 7 Figure 7.4 Megiddo Ivory. Line drawing by Barry Bandstra after G. Loud, The Megiddo Ivories. Oriental Institute Publications, 52. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1939; page 13, plate 4. Also see Treasures of the Holy Land: Ancient Art from the Israel Museum. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1986; pages 148-149, no. 69. Israel Museum, IDAM 38.780.
Chapter 8 Figure 8.1 David by Michelangelo, 1501.1504 Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence, Italy. Photo by Barry Bandstra, July 1998.
Chapter 8 Figure 8.5 Philistine Anthropoid Coffin, Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem, Israel. Photo by Barry Bandstra, June 1979.
Chapter 9 Figure 9.1 Assyrian Relief of the Siege of Lachish. ©Werner Forman/Corbis. Courtesy of Corbis.
Chapter 9 Figure 9.3 Horned Altar, Beersheba, Israel. Photo by Barry Bandstra, May 1996.
Chapter 9 Figure 9.4 Solomon's Temple. Line drawing by Barry Bandstra after Volkmar Fritz, "Temple Architecture: What Can Archaeology Tell Us About Solomon's Temple?" Biblical Archaeology Review July/August 1987, p. 41.
Chapter 9 Figure 9.5 House of David Inscription. Line drawing by Barry Bandstra after Avraham Biran and Joseph Naveh, "An Aramaic Stele Fragment from Tel Dan." Israel Exploration Journal 43/2-3 (1993): 81.98
Chapter 9 Figure 9.6 Shalmaneser III and Jehu, Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser, British Museum, London, Great Britain. Photo by Barry Bandstra, March 1998.
Chapter 10 Figure 10.1 Seven-headed Serpent. Line drawing by Barry Bandstra after Rivka Merhav (ed.), Treasures of Bible Lands. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv Museum, Modan Publishers; no. 16.
Chapter 10 Figure 10.4 Ivory Plaque of a Winged Protector, from Samaria. Israel Museum IDAM 33.2572. Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority. See Treasures of the Holy Land: Ancient Art from the Israel Museum. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1986; pages 166-168, no. 82.
Chapter 11 Figure11.1 Jeremiah by Donatello, 1423.1425 Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Florence, Italy. Photo by Barry Bandstra, July 1998.
Chapter 11 Figure 11.4 Lachish Letter III. Line drawing by Barry Bandstra after Harry Torczyner, Lachish I (Tell ed Duweir): The Lachish Letters. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1938.
Chapter 12 Figure 12.1 Valley of Dry Bones, Dura-Europos Synagogue. C. H. Kraeling, ed., The Excavations at Dura-Europos, Final Report VIII, Part 1. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1956. Plate LXIX. Panel NC1, Ezekiel, the Destruction and Restoration of National Life, Section A. Courtesy of Yale University Press.
Chapter 13 Figure 1 Martin Luther King, Jr. Speaking from Lincoln Memorial, August 28, 1963. Courtesy of Flip Schulke/Corbis.
Part 3 Figure 1 Nespekasuti, Scribe of Karnak. Courtesy of Archivo Iconografico, S.A./Corbis.
Chapter 14 Figure 14.1 Plaque of a musician, Old Babylonian period from Ischali, Iraq. Courtesy of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. See H. Frankfort, The Art and Architecture of the Ancient Orient. London: Penguin, 1954. Plate 59b.
Chapter 14 Figure 14.2 Three captive lyrists. Assyrian relief. British Museum, London, Great Britain. Courtesy of Art Resource, New York.
Chapter 15 Figure 15.1 Cover of Life's Little Instruction Book by H. Jackson Brown. Courtesy of Rutledge Hill Press, Inc.
Chapter 15 Hagar the Horrible, 12/13/83. Courtesy of King Features Syndicate.
Chapter 15 Figure 15.2 Woman at the Window. From A Guide to the Babylonian and Assyrian Antiquities. London: British Museum, 1922; plate 41, no. 13.
Chapter 16 Figure 16.1 Love and Death. Line drawing by Barry Bandstra after the sculpture of a wedded couple on the lid of an Etruscan sarcophagus. See Axel BoÎthius, et al. (eds.), Etruscan Culture, Land, and People. New York: Columbia University Press, 1963; figure 476.
Chapter 16 Figure 16.3 Threshing Floor, on the road between Bethlehem and Beit-Sahur, West Bank. Photo by Barry Bandstra, May 1996.
Chapter 17 Figure 17.1 Atomic Cloud. Courtesy of The National Archives/Corbis.
Chapter 17 "Once By The Pacific" by Robert Frost. From The Poetry of Robert Frost. Copyright © 1956 by Robert Frost. Copyright © 1928, 1969 by Henry Holt & Co., Inc. Reprinted by permission of Henry Holt & Co., Inc.
Chapter 17 Figure 17.3 Ishtar Gate, Babylon. From Eckhard Unger, Babylon: Die Heilige Stadt nach der Beschreibung der Babylonier. Berlin: deGruyter, 1931; plate opposite title page.
Chapter 18 Figure 18.1 A Mede Officer and Two Persian Guards before Darius the Great, Persepolis. Courtesy of Gianni Dagli Orti/Corbis.
Conclusion Figure 1 Model of Jerusalem in the first century C.E., including the Herodian Temple. Holyland Hotel, Jerusalem, Israel. Photo by Barry Bandstra, July 1987.
Conclusion Figure 3 Qumran Cave 4, Qumran, West Bank. Photo by Barry Bandstra, May 1984.
Note: all time lines, maps, and other diagrams are by Barry Bandstra.
