Hebrew Bible in the Ancient Near Eastern Context

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue, ‘Hebrew Bible in the Ancient Near Eastern Context’, which will be dedicated to exploring the Hebrew Bible within the broader cultural, religious, and literary landscape of the Ancient Near-East (ANE). In recent decades, comparative studies have become an essential methodological tool for biblical scholarship. Discoveries of Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Anatolian, and Levantine sources have expanded our understanding of the cultural and religions world in which biblical traditions developed. By examining the Hebrew Bible alongside its ANE counterparts—whether legal, historical, mythological, ritual, or sapiential texts—scholars can shed new light on long-standing debates regarding composition, transmission, genre, intertextuality, theology, and social practices.

Given the significant growth of archaeological data and the increasing sophistication of philological and literary analyses, there is a renewed need for interdisciplinary approaches that integrate textual, historical, epigraphic, and material evidence. This Special Issue seeks to foster new conversations and revisit established paradigms regarding the Hebrew Bible’s relationship to the cultures and traditions of its ancient environment.

This Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive platform for studies that situate the Hebrew Bible within its Ancient Near-Eastern milieu, encouraging contributions that deepen our understanding of biblical texts through comparative, contextual, and interdisciplinary analysis. Fully aligned with the journal’s aims and scope, this Special Issue promotes rigorous scholarship on textual interpretation, cultural interactions, historical backgrounds, and literary traditions. We invites contributions that enhance academic dialogue in fields such as biblical studies, ancient history, Near-Eastern studies, philology, archaeology, and religious studies. The scope is designed to be focused enough to ensure thematic cohesion while remaining broad enough to welcome diverse methodologies and perspectives, including theoretical, historical, literary, linguistic, archaeological, and theological approaches.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and review papers are welcome. Research areas may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Comparative analysis of biblical and ANE legal, ritual, or literary traditions;
• Intertextuality between the Hebrew Bible and Mesopotamian, Egyptian, or Levantine sources;
• Cosmologies, mythologies, and theological concepts across ANE cultures;
• Archaeological and epigraphic contributions to understanding biblical texts;
• Sociopolitical structures and cultural practices reflected in biblical and ANE materials;
• Wisdom and prophetic literature in their ancient contexts;
• Reception and reinterpretation of ANE motifs within biblical literature;
• Methodological reflections on comparative approaches.

We anticipate that this Special Issue will stimulate new research on the complex and dynamic relationships between the Hebrew Bible and the wider Ancient Near-Eastern world. By gathering cutting-edge studies from diverse disciplinary perspectives, this Special Issue aims to reshape current debates, highlight emerging evidence, refine comparative methodologies, and inspire renewed scholarly engagement. Ultimately, this Special Issue seeks to advance the field by offering a richer and more integrated understanding of the Hebrew Bible’s origins, development, and significance.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 150–200 words summarising their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editor, Prof. Dr. José Andrés Sánchez Abarrio (joseandres@lasallecampus.es), and CC the Special Issue Editor of Religions, Ms. Joyce Xi (joyce.xi@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editor for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of this Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Jose Andrés Sánchez Abarrio
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.