Bookstore

For some time to come, I'll be planning and writing something on the history of religious ritual & practice, & both for my own sanity & the possible interest of others, I'll post here those books (translations, studies, reference works) that have come to my attention. To keep the lists manageable and focused on religion and ritual, only books pertaining to those will be listed, obviously overlooking many historical studies and the like. Please email me if you know of a book not on this list--there must be hundreds of them, as these have been gleaned from the bibliographies of only two dozen or so books. The date of publication, page count, & (where necessary) the most recent edition will be cited, when any of these are known.

RELIGION IN MESOPOTAMIA

TRANSLATIONS OF TEXTS

Alster, Bendt: Dumuzi’s Dream: Aspects of Oral Poetry in a Sumerian Myth (1972)

———: The Instructions of Suruppak (1974)

———: Proverbs of Ancient Sumer: The World's Earliest Proverb Collections, 2 vols. (1997)

———: Wisdom of Ancient Sumer (2005, 426pp)

Biggs, R. D.: Inscriptions from Tell Abu Salabikh (1974)

Cohen, Mark E.: The Canonical Lamentations of Ancient Mesopotamia, 2 vols (1988)

———: The Cultic Calendars of the Ancient Near East (1993, 504pp)

———: Sumerian Hymnology: The Ersemma (1981)

Cooper, Jerrold S.: The Curse of Agade (1983, 304pp)

Dalley, Stephanie: Myths from Mesopotamia (2^nd ed., 2000, 342pp)

Foster, Benjamin: Before the Muses: An Anthology of Akkadian Literature (3^rd ed., 2005, 1044pp)

———: The Epic of Gilgamesh, Norton Critical Edition (2001, 256pp)

———: From Distant Days: Myths, Tales and Poetry of Ancient Mesopotamia (1995, 438pp), originally intended as a smaller selection from an earlier edition of Foster’s Before the Muses. This is still a good starter if you’re not ready for the heft of Before the Muses.

Gardner, John & John Maier: Gilgamesh: Translated from the Sin-leqi-unninni version (1984, 304pp)

George, Andrew: The Epic of Gilgamesh: The Babylonian Epic Poem and Other Texts in Akkadian and Sumerian (1999, 228pp)

Glassner, Jean-Jacques: Mesopotamian Chronicles (2005, 386pp)

Grayson, A. K.: Assyrian Royal Inscriptions, 2 vols:

I: (1972)

II: (1976)

Gurney, O. & P. Hulin: The Sultantepe Tablets (2 vols, 1964)

Hallo, W. W. (ed.): The Context of Scripture, 3 vols. (Click here for the table of contents for each volume, & to buy an electronic version of this set) Already praised as replacing Pritchard’s Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament:

I: Canonical Compositions from the Biblical World (2^nd ed., 1997, 599pp)

II: Monumental Inscriptions from the Biblical World (2001, 300pp)

III: Archival Documents from the Biblical World (2002, 300pp)

Harper, R. F.: Assyrian and Babylonian Literature: Selected Translations (1904)

Heidel, Alexander: The Babylonian Genesis: The Story of Creation (2^nd ed., 1951, 153pp)

Jacobsen, Thorkild: The Harps that Once… Sumerian Poetry in Translation (1987, 498pp)

———: The Sumerian King List (1939)

King, L. W.: The Babylonian Boundary Stones (1912)

———: The Code of Hammurabi

———: Enuma Elish: The Seven Tablets of the History of Creation

———: The Letters and Inscriptions of Hammurabi, and Other Kings of the First Dynasty of Babylon

Klein, J: The Royal Hymns of Shulgi, King of Ur (1981, 48pp)

———: Three Shulgi Hymns (1981, 265pp)

Kovacs, Maureen Gallery: The Epic of Gilgamesh (1989, 122pp)

Kramer, S. N.: From the Poetry of Sumer: Creation, Glorification, Adoration (1979)

———: The Sacred Marriage Rite: Aspects of Faith, Myth, and Ritual in Ancient Sumer (1969)

Lambert, W. G.: Atrahasis: The Babylonian Story of the Flood

———: Babylonian Wisdom Literature (1960)

Michalowski, Piotr.: The Lamentation Over the Destruction of Sumer and Ur (1989, 219pp)

———: Letters from Early Mesopotamia (1993, 160pp)

Nissinen, Martti: Prophets and Prophecy in the Ancient Near East (2003, 296pp)

Parpola, Simo: Letters from Assyrian Scholars to the Kings Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal, 2vols. (1983)

Pettinato, G.: The Archives of Ebla (1981, 347pp)

Pfeiffer, R. H.: State Letters of Assyria (1935, 265pp)

Pritchard, J. B. (ed.): Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament (3^rd ed., 1969, 710pp), the great anthology ANE literature that’s held the field for more than fifty years now, with dozens of familiar translators and authors contributing (E. A. Speiser, A. Leo Oppenheim, John Wilson, Erica Reiner, S. N. Kramer, etc.)

Radau, Hugo: Sumerian Hymns and Prayers to God Nin-Ib From the Temple Library of Nippur (1911, 88pp)

Reiner, Erica: Your Thwarts in Pieces, Your Mooring Rope Cut: Poetry from Babylon and Assyria (1985, 120pp)

Roth, Martha T.: Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor (2^nd ed., 1997, 304pp)

Sachs, A. J. & H. Hunger: Astronomical Diaries and Related Texts from Babylonia, 2 vols:

I: Diaries from 652 BC to 262 BC (1988)

II: Diaries from 261 BC to 165 BC (1989)

Sjöberg, A. W. & S. J. Bergmann: The Collection of Sumerian Temple Hymns (1969)

Vanstiphout, Herman: Epics of the Sumerian Kings: The Matter of Aratta (2003, 208pp)

Westenholz, J. G.: Legends of the Kings of Akkade: The Texts (1997, 410pp)

Wiggermann, F. A. M.: Mesopotamian Protective Spirits: The Ritual Texts (1992, 240pp)

Wilson, E.: Babylonian and Assyrian Literature (1901, 280pp)

Wolkstein, Diane & S. N. Kramer: Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer (1983, 227pp)

STUDIES & REFERENCE WORKS

Barton, G.: Archaeology and the Bible (1916)

Black, Jeremy & Anthony Green: Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia (1992, 192pp)

Bottero, Jean: Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia (English tr. 2001, 246pp)

Brandon, S. G. E.: Creation Legends of the Ancient Near East (1963, 241pp)

Cohen, Mark E.: The Cultic Calendars of the Ancient Near East (1993, 504pp)

Collon, Dominque: First Impressions: Cylinder Seals in the Ancient Near East (1987, 208pp)

Ferris, Paul Wayne: The Genre of the Communal Lament in the Bible and the Ancient Near East (1992, 250pp)

Fiore, S.: Voices from the Clay: The Development of Assyro-Babylonian Literature (1965, 254pp)

Frankfort, Henri: Cylinder Seals: A Documentary Essay on the Art and Religion of the Ancient Near East

George, Andrew: House Most High: The Temple in Ancient Mesopotamia (1993, 209pp)

Gray, John: Near Eastern Mythology: Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine (1969)

Heidel, Alexander: The Gilgamesh Epic and Old Testament Parallels (2^nd ed., 1954, 269pp)

Hooke, S. H.: Babylonian and Assyrian Religion (1953, 128pp)

Horowitz, W.: Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography (1998, 410pp)

Jacobsen, Thorkild: The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion (1976, 273pp)

James, E. O.: The Ancient Gods: The History and Diffusion of Religion in the Ancient Near East and the Eastern Mediterranean (1960, 359pp)

———: Myth and Ritual in the Ancient Near East (1958, 352pp)

Kramer, S. N.: Sumerian Mythology (1972)

Kutscher, Raphael: Oh Angry Sea: The History of a Sumerian Congregational Lament (1975)

Leick, Gwendolyn: A Dictionary of Ancient Near Eastern Mythology (1991,199pp)

Murray, Gilbert: Thespis: Ritual, Myth and Drama in the Ancient Near East (2^nd ed., 1961, 515pp)

Porada, Edith: Demons in the Ancient and Medieval World (1987)

Rogers, R. W.: Cuneiform Parallels to the Old Testament (1912, 1916, 567pp)

Sasson, J. M. (ed.): Civilizations of the Ancient Near East (4 vols, 1995, 2,966pp--this set with all four volumes bound in two books), an absolutely wonderful set of books, with more than a hundred essays by dozens of contributors on all areas of life in the ANE, from Egypt to Mesopotamian, Israel to Anatolia, etc.

Starr, I.: Queries to the Sungod: Divination and Politics in Sargonid Assyria (1990, 409pp)

Tigay, J. H.: The Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic (1982, 384pp)

Van Buren, Elizabeth Douglas: Symbols of the Gods in Mesopotamian Art (1945, 191pp)

Vad Der Toorn, K.: Sin and Sanction in Israel and Mesopotamia: A Comparative Study (1985, 274pp)

Van Driel, G.: The Cult of Assur (1969, 240pp)

Wantanabe, K. (ed.): Priests and Officials in the Ancient Near East (1999, 366pp)

HISTORIANS OF RELIGION

Mircea Eliade:

Australian Religions

Autobiography 1: 1907-1937 (Journey East, Journey West) (347pp)

Autobiography 2: 1937-1960 (Exile's Odyssey) (248pp)

Birth and Rebirth: The Religious Meanings of Initiation in Human Culture (175pp)