Ancient Near Eastern Themes in Biblical Theology [Paperback]

Jeffrey J. Niehaus (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 13, 2008

Traces the many parallels between the Old Testament (and Bible as a whole) and the ancient Near East, including creation and flood narratives, common literary and legal forms, supposed acts of deities and the God of the Bible, and more. Instead of merely studying a random selection of parallels, however, Jeffrey Niehaus proposes that they represent "a shared theological structure of ideas in the ancient Near East, a structure that finds its most complete and true form in the Old and New Testaments." This comprehensive and enlightening resource promises to help students and discerning Bible readers to intellectually grasp and appreciate the overarching story of the Bible within its cultural development.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

“Jeffrey Niehaus’s book is wonderfully helpful in explaining the connections between the thought patterns and religious practices of the ancient biblical world and the way these patterns and practices were used by God to prepare the way for his special revelation to Israel. Even though the concepts shared by ancient pagan peoples only imperfectly and dimly reflected the truth, Niehaus shows how the written expressions of those concepts provide us with a backdrop from which to better understand the Bible itself.  This is a book that any student or pastor ought to read as a prolegomenon to doing biblical theology.”

—Douglas Stuart
Professor of Old Testament
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

Based upon his extensive research into Assyriology and other ancient Near Eastern domains, the author traces the many parallels between the Old Testament (and Bible as a whole) and the ancient Near East, including creation and flood narratives, common literary and legal forms, and the reported acts of deities and the God of the Bible. Moving beyond a simple study of comparison and contrast, the author demonstrates that these parallels cannot be identified as cases of biblical dependence on ancient Near Eastern theology, nor are they just coincidences. Rather, he proposes that they represent “a shared theological structure of ideas in the ancient Near East, a structure that finds its most complete and true form in the Old and New Testaments.”

These truths, embodied in ancient worldviews that both predate and postdate the Bible, provided a matrix of thought, a theological backdrop as it were, so that when God’s revelation did come, it came to a people theologically prepared to receive it. Unlike similar volumes, Ancient Near Eastern Themes in Biblical Theology proposes an understanding that illustrates not just the cultural similarities, but more importantly, the spiritual dimension of biblical parallels with ancient Near Eastern thought and practice. This approach promises to help students and Bible readers more fully comprehend and appreciate the overarching story of the Bible.

Jeffrey J. Niehaus (Ph.D., Harvard University) is professor of Old Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He is the author of God at Sinai: Covenant and Theophany in the Bible and Ancient Near East (Zondervan, 1995) as well as commentaries on Amos and Obadiah (Baker, 1992–93). He has also written articles for JETS, JBL, Tyndale Bulletin,and Vetus Testamentum. 

About the Author

Jeffrey J. Niehaus (Ph.D., Harvard University) is professor of Old Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He is the author of God at Sinai: Covenant and Theophany in the Bible and Ancient Near East (Zondervan, 1995) and commentaries on Amos and Obadiah (Baker, 1992-93). He has written articles for JETS, JBL, and Vetus Testamentum.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Kregel Academic & Professional (March 13, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0825433606
• ISBN-13: 978-0825433603
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #151,935 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jeffrey J. Niehaus (Ph.D., Harvard) is professor of Old Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Helpful Info, October 8, 2010

By 

P. Shirley "P.S." (Tampa, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ancient Near Eastern Themes in Biblical Theology (Paperback)

Ancient Near Eastern Themes in Biblical Theology by Jeffrey J. Niehaus is not a book that most people are going to just pick up and flip through. However, despite the fact that it is filled with quotations from ancient original resources and it deals with highly technical issues, it is quite an interesting book.

In this title Neihaus essentially accomplishes two purposes. First, he points out the common elements that ancient near eastern (ANE) pagan religions have with biblical religion. In my opinion, this was the most valuable aspect of the book. Neihaus copiously details a number of examples of ancient pagan religions paralleling biblical concepts. Neihaus does an excellent job of interacting with original sources, and yet making it accessible to guys like myself who are not Egyptologists.

The second aspect of this book, that was interesting but less helpful, was Neihaus' explanation for why there are so many parallels between the pagan religions of the ANE and the bible. Neihaus' explanation can be summarized in two parts:

1. Men were created in God's image, thus the pagan religions reflect a distortion of the truth in which some elements of truth can still be found.
2. The activity of deceiving spirits (i.e. Demons) were responsible for taking elements of true religion and twisting them so that, at lest in part, they would get praise for themselves.

As I attempted to interact with Neihaus' theories a number of holes seemed to arise. Most of these holes are pointed out in a detailed manner in a recent edition of Themelios (http://thegospelcoalition.org/publications/35-2i). But to summarize it myself, Neihaus seems to push his point too far. At times he uses some examples that stretch the imagination to prove the existence of parallel structures. Additionally, he seems to jump from the OT to the NT without hesitation. Which is strange because he never deals with the pagan religions of the NT times.

With all of this in mind, Neihaus' work, even if his conclusions seem to be "off", is helpful for two reaons:

1. He points out some parallels that clearly exist between the OT and pagan religions of the ANE.
2. He attempts to deal with these parallels in a way that upholds the authority and value of scripture. Too many scholars will demean the integrity of Scripture when dealing with issues like this. Then on the other side too many evangelicals will ignore that the parallels even exists. I appreciated Neihaus dealing with the issue the way that he did-even though I did not agree with all of his conclusions.
Ancient Near Eastern Themes in Biblical Theology by Jeffrey J. Niehaus is not a book that most people are going to just pick up and flip through. However, despite the fact that it is filled with quotations from ancient original resources and it deals with highly technical issues, it is quite an interesting book.

In this title Neihaus essentially accomplishes two purposes. First, he points out the common elements that ancient near eastern (ANE) pagan religions have with biblical religion. In my opinion, this was the most valuable aspect of the book. Neihaus copiously details a number of examples of ancient pagan religions paralleling biblical concepts. Neihaus does an excellent job of interacting with original sources, and yet making it accessible to guys like myself who are not Egyptologists.

The second aspect of this book, that was interesting but less helpful, was Neihaus' explanation for why there are so many parallels between the pagan religions of the ANE and the bible. Neihaus' explanation can be summarized in two parts:

1. Men were created in God's image, thus the pagan religions reflect a distortion of the truth in which some elements of truth can still be found.
2. The activity of deceiving spirits (i.e. Demons) were responsible for taking elements of true religion and twisting them so that, at lest in part, they would get praise for themselves.

As I attempted to interact with Neihaus' theories a number of holes seemed to arise. Most of these holes are pointed out in a detailed manner in a recent edition of Themelios (HERE). But to summarize it myself, Neihaus seems to push his point too far. At times he uses some examples that stretch the imagination to prove the existence of parallel structures. Additionally, he seems to jump from the OT to the NT without hesitation. Which is strange because he never deals with the pagan religions of the NT times.

With all of this in mind, Neihaus' work, even if his conclusions seem to be "off", is helpful for two reaons:

1. He points out some parallels that clearly exist between the OT and pagan religions of the ANE.
2. He attempts to deal with these parallels in a way that upholds the authority and value of scripture. Too many scholars will demean the integrity of Scripture when dealing with issues like this. Then on the other side too many evangelicals will ignore that the parallels even exists. I appreciated Neihaus dealing with the issue the way that he did-even though I did not agree with all of his conclusions.

1 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Be forewarned, September 23, 2010

By 

Al - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ancient Near Eastern Themes in Biblical Theology (Paperback)

I should have read the product description more carefully. I thought I was getting an unbiased scholarly work on near eastern religious parallels. However useful the work may be, I had difficulty reading a book written with such naive bias. Most scholars see the similarities of biblical stories and concepts with those of more ancient cultures and religions as a clear indication that the biblical authors borrowed these themes from Mesopotamia, Egypt, and other cultures. Niehaus, however, sees these parallels as something God did to prepare mankind for "the truth" revealed in the Bible. He says of God, "Somehow, in his sovereignty over history and the development of human cultures, he has allowed a variety of parallels to arise between theological concepts and practices in the ancient Near East and their counterparts in the Bible." And the reason for allowing these parallels was that, "The purpose was to make such ideas somewhat familiar to God's people, so that when he actually broke into the historical plane and acted, his acts would be recognized against a cultural background." On the basis of his book on "truth" he says, "It is, I hope, founded on truth, and more precisely, on biblical truth, because God's revelation of himself in the Bible is the standard of truth par excellence." He also says, "...the Old Testament preserves the true and accurate accounts of major events (Creation, the Flood)." He says that the biblical stories cannot be myth because, "The New Testament actors and writers affirm the historicity of such "legendary" figures as Adam andEve, Abraham, and Moses..."

The book does provide useful material and observations, and I guess those who argue for the literal biblical truth of the Bible (or those who have the patience to deal with this bias) will not have the same reaction as I did. Otherwise, be forewarned.