William W. Hallo

Extremely eclectic in style and content, and a bit skewed towards Akkad/Sumer and Israel (this, however, can be easily justified).

Here is a sample:
The chameleon, with its improbable Greek etymology as the "on-the-ground lion," is more likely related to Akkadian hulamēšu and to the "lion of the ground" (nēšu sa qaqqarì) in Gilgamesh XI 296 with which hulamēšu is equated in a commentary text. A. Sjöberg has even suggested a relationship to the Hebrew nāhàš (= Akkadian nēšu, show more Eblaite na'isu?) in the story of Eden. This daring suggestion receives a curious sort of support from an unexpected quarter: the autobiography of an English physician's wife who spent many years in Kenya records the local belief that the snake of Eden was in fact a chameleon.

Greek etymology is swept away as "improbable", then its exact equivalent in Akkadian is given as a fact, then there is an unsubstantiated suggestion of Semitic cognates (maybe substantiated in the article mentioned), and then an absolutely fantastic "support" from a very solid source. This kind of argumentation (which might of course be a projection of something more serious but very well hidden from view) permeates the book. show less

A particularly poetic work that not only praises a favored diety, but also serves as a lamentation of the author for being expelled from her temple and a desire to return to service. A concise yet elegant statement of an individual's place in the world, and the difficulties they face in it.

This was a textbook of mine in college (circa 1998). I seem to recall it being a good and relatively concise overview and chronology of the earliest civilizations in the Middle East.

- Peter K.

Quite a long eulogy to the Sumerian primordial goddess Inanna, that is attributed to the high priestess Enheduanna, although this is controversial. The oldest preserved fragments of this poem date from about 1800 BCE. See my review in my History Account on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4856299593