How Mesopotamian Myths Shaped the Hebrew Bible with Joshua Bowen

Video Description

What Mesopotamian texts influenced the Hebrew Bible? Dr. Joshua Bowen from@DigitalHammurabi joins us to compare ancient Near Eastern literature—including the Atrahasis, the Code of Hammurabi, and other Mesopotamian myths—with the biblical text. We explore textual dependence, shared motifs, internal tensions, and what these parallels reveal about the Bible’s development. 📺 Check out Digital Hammurabi: https://www.youtube.com/@DigitalHammurabi 👉 Dr. Bowen helps us explore: – How to think about textual dependence – What kinds of Mesopotamian texts influenced the Bible – What questions you should ask about the Bible's use of other texts 🔗 Resources & Links – ETCSL (The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature) https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/ – ORACC (Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus) https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/ – "Learn to Read Ancient Hebrew: An Introduction for Complete Beginners" by Joshua Bowen https://tinyurl.com/4wesyc72 – "Before the Muses: An Anthology of Akkadian Literature" by Benjamin Foster (for Akkadian literature): https://tinyurl.com/5ejcen64 – "The Harps that Once...: Sumerian Poetry in Translation Paperback" by Thorkild Jacobsen https://www.amazon.com/Harps-that-Once-Sumerian-Translation/dp/0300072783 – "The Literature of Ancient Sumer" https://www.amazon.com/Literature-Ancient-Sumer-Jeremy-Black/dp/0199296332 – "Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others" by Stephanie Dalley https://www.amazon.com/Myths-Mesopotamia-Creation-Gilgamesh-Classics/dp/0199538360 ✨Become a Bible & Archaeology patron: http://www.patreon.com/bibleandarch 📚 Check out our 'Cities of the Bible' online class: patreon.com/bibleandarch/shop ✉️ Send us your questions: [email protected] 🌐 Everywhere you can find us: https://linktr.ee/bibleandarchaeology 🎙️ Credits Guest: Dr. Joshua Bowen Hosted and Produced by Dr. Jordan Jones Edited by Mary Kathryn Lichty The Bible & Archaeology podcast is made with support from Amanda Stone 🕒 Timestamps 0:00 Introduction: Mesopotamian texts and the Hebrew Bible 4:22 What does dependence mean? 10:10 Dependence within myths 25:44 Why repurpose myths? 36:25 Differences in textual records 51:54 Resources for further reading