Context is important. Find out how the social, religious and political context of Israel influenced biblical events and literature.

Ancient Document
and Date

Language Chief Enemy
Gilgamesh Epic
around 1700 B.C.; some versions circulated as early as 2100 B.C.
Akkadian Gilgamesh, the ruler of Uruk, has many adventures and meets Utnapishtim, the only survivor of the great flood.
Enuma Elish
around 1200 B.C.
Akkadian A story written on seven stone tablets which tells of the Babylonian god Marduk and how the world was created.
Code of Hammurabi
around 1750 B.C.
Akkadian A listing of laws for the people of the kingdom of Babylonia. It has many laws similar to the Law of Moses in the Bible. Moses lived about 400 years after Hammurabi.
Ras-Shamra Tablets
around 1450 B.C.
Ugaritic Tells of the adventures of Canaanite gods and rulers which helps biblical scholars to better understand Canaanite religion and Old Testament poetry.
Amarna Letters
around 1350 B.C.
Canaanite
Akkadian
Hundreds of letters written by Canaanite scribes give information about political, social, and religious relationships between Canaan and Egypt during the rule of Egyptian Pharaohs, Amenhotep III and Akhenaton.
Merneptah Stele
around 1210 B.C.
Egyptian Also known as the “Israel Stele,” it describes the victory of Egyptian king Merneptah over peoples from the west, including “Israel.” Shows that by this time a people known as “Israel” existed in Canaan.
Gezer Calendar
around 925 B.C.
Hebrew A student from Israel (northern kingdom) describes the seasons, the crops, and the yearly farm work done in Israel.
Moabite Stone
around 850 B.C.
Moabite Describes how Mesha, king of Moab, rebelled against one of the kings of Israel from King Omri’s line (see 2 Kings 3.4).
Clay Prism of Sennacherib
around 690 B.C.
Akkadian The Annals of Sennacherib describe how Sennacherib of Assyria surrounded Jerusalem and made King Hezekiah of Judah a prisoner in his own city.
Lachish Letters
around 590 B.C.
Hebrew Writings on pottery fragments tell about the difficult days in Jerusalem before the Babylonians surrounded the city.
Cyrus Cylinder
around 539 B.C.
Akkadian Describes how King Cyrus of Persia defeated the Babylonians, tells of his policies toward the peoples he ruled, and describes their gods.
Dead Sea Scrolls
some as early as 250 B.C., others as late as A.D. 70
Hebrew
Aramaic
Greek
Hundreds of scrolls and scroll fragments, including the oldest existing copies of Old Testament books and passages. Some documents describe the religious community, possibly Essenes, who wrote and collected these documents.