Encyclopedia of the Bible

Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception (EBR)
From the publisher’s description: “a comprehensive and in-depth rendering of the current state of knowledge on the origins and development of the Bible according to its different canonic forms in Judaism and Christianity. At the same time, EBR also documents the history of the Bible’s reception in the Christian churches and the Jewish diaspora…”  A vast resource with many articles relevant to our subject.

Biblical Studies

  • Bible History Online - A very extensive collection of annotated links to both primary and secondary sources on every imaginable aspect of the Biblical and post-Biblical periods with coverage of related fields, such as Greek and Roman studies.  One can spend literally hours exploring its hundreds of links.
  • Demetrios: a Database of Septuagint Greek - For each word it provides: semantic field, grammar, morphological category, morphology, and number of occurrences in the Septuagint.
  • Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception (EBR) - From the publisher’s description: “a comprehensive and in-depth rendering of the current state of knowledge on the origins and development of the Bible according to its different canonic forms in Judaism and Christianity. At the same time, EBR also documents the history of the Bible’s reception in the Christian churches and the Jewish diaspora…”  A vast resource with many articles relevant to our subject.
  • Michael Marlowe’s Bible Research - Provides detailed information on the history of the canon, texts and versions of the Bible with relevant bibliographies. Particularly noteworthy: a web directory of Biblical studies, including links to primary and secondary sources on ancient Judaism.
  • Old Testament Gateway - Relevant sections of this site include the ones for the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. For each it provides text and translation together with secondary resources.
  • R. Christopher Heard’s iTanakh - Comprehensive collection of links on a wide variety of Bible-related subjects. including links to online text versions. Note the sections on Biblical canon, latter Prophets and Writings, apocalyptic and wisdom literature.

Dead Sea Scrolls

Dead Sea Scrolls & Qumran
Extensive background information on the scrolls together with an inventory of finds by cave, timelines, bibliographies, links to web resources and to DSS related projects at a variety of academic institutions.

Temple and Synagogues

  • Donald Binder’s Second Temple Synagogues - Devoted to Second Temple synagogues in the Land of Israel and in the diaspora. Extensive citations in translation from ancient sources with appropriate discussions, arranged by subject.  For eleven synagogues, Binder provides excellent photos, plans, discussion and links.
  • The Temple Mount in Jerusalem - A site devoted to discussing the exact location of the First and Second Temples on Mount Moriah.  Provides links to a variety of secondary resources on this subject and on the history of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount more generally.

Religions

  • Ancient Divination & Astrology on the Web (website may be down) - From the self-description: “an organized, annotated set of more than 215 links to reliable information about ancient (primarily Greek and Roman) astrology and divination.”
  • ETANA: Electronic Tools and Ancient Near East Archives - A vast database of resources on the ancient Near East. It holds a surprising amount of information on the Persian and Hellenistic-Roman periods as well in the form of links to many hundreds of articles which may be searched by author, title, subject or keyword.
  • Gnostic Society Library - Extensive set of resources on ancient Gnosticism , including primary and secondary sources. The former includes translations of the Nag Hammadi codices, the Corpus Hermeticum, and Manichaean and Mandaic writings, each of which is provided with an appropriate introduction.
  • ICL Net: Internet Christian Library - From the self-description: “This hypertext document contains pointers to internet-accessible files relating to the early Church, including documents, creeds, the writings of the Apostolic Fathers and other historical texts relevant to Church history.
  • Iranian Studies at Harvard University - Includes scholarly introductions to a variety of Iranian languages and also Zoroastrianism and Manicheism by Prof. Oktor Skjaervo.

History-Jewish

  • Ancient History Sourcebook: Roman Sources on Jews and Judaism, 1BCE-110CE - Provides the key sources in English translation.
  • Ancient Jewish History - This forms part of a very large portal on many aspects of Jewish life and history.  The portion on Jewish history contains a section on ancient Jewish history subdivided by a long list of subjects.  For each, there is an essay and related bibliography. Example: Academies in Babylonia and Erez Israel. Please note also the many helpful maps included under a separate rubric.
  • Center for Online Judaic Studies - From the self-description:  a compilation of “sources which make up the story of the Jewish people. The material encompasses primary sources, newspaper articles, artifacts, images, maps, videos, bibliographies, secondary sources and websites.”  The sections relevant to our subject include: Dead Sea scrolls (edited by Prof. Lawrence Schiffman), Bible and beyond: archaeology and ancient documents, digging , Jews and Judaism in the Greco-Roman period (edited by Prof. Steven Fine).
  • Clayton Miles Lehmann’s “Palestine” - A comprehensive illustrated article on Palestine in the Roman period. It also discusses the available sources, ethnography, administration and history of Palestine in this period and concludes with a bibliographical essay.
  • Flavius Josephus resources - Apart from links to the text and translation of Josephus’ writings, it also provides links to a lengthy list of online and offline secondary sources on Josephus and his works.
  • Into His Own: Perspectives on the World of Jesus - From the self-description: “designed as a tool for the historical study of Christian scriptures… the bulk of the passages included here have been excerpted from works written by Jewish authors… But there are also selections from non-Jewish sources that help bring the writings of Christian authors into a clearer cultural perspective.”  It provides sources in English translation divided into subjects: political, social, intellectual and cultural climates. Includes helpful genealogical tables of the various dynasties and political figures, maps, sketches of important historical sites, and of Jewish and gentile works of the period.
  • James D. Tabor’s “The Jewish World of Jesus” - Essays on Hellenistic/Roman religion & philosophy, archaeology and the Dead Sea scrolls, ancient Judaism, Christian origins (Tabor is associated with the gentile Noahide movement).
  • Judaea in Ancient Sources @ Attalus.org - Part of the much larger Classics oriented Attalus website. Sources are provided in English translation in chronological order and then by source.
  • LIVIUS: Articles on Ancient History: Judaea - A collection of illustrated articles on a variety of subjects touching on the Land of Israel in the Greco-Roman period, with bibliographies.

History-Iranian

  • Achaemenid Persia: a History Resource - From the self-description: “It is meant to be a resource for those interested in Iran, its people and their history… It contains information on the achievements, the events and the individuals that shaped its [Achaemenid Persia] history.”  It contains essays in sections on history, battles, army, equipment, with interesting illustrations, some in color; links to other sites and a bibliography.
  • Articles & Essays About Ancient Iran, Iranian World & Iranian Peoples - A wide-ranging portal to information about ancient Iran. Of particular interest are links to articles under the subject headings: history and politics-Achaemenid dynasty, post-Achaemenid period, Arsacid/Parthian dynasty and Sassanian dynasty; imperialism, impact & influence on other cultures (here, for example, is an article by Graf on “Palestine under the Persians”); religions & beliefs- the articles collected here may be helpful in addressing the question of Iranian influence on the development of Judaism.
  • Cyrus the Great - Website devoted to information about Cyrus II. Includes a number of interesting photos and essays.
  • Parthia.com - Primary focus is on numismatics but also contains information on Parthian art, history, archaeology and geography (note especially the fascinating maps).  Includes an excellent resource page with links to further information
  • Sasanika: the History and Culture of the Sasanians - The stated aim is “to bring to light the importance of the Sasanian  civilization in the context of late antique and world history.” It has sections on Sasanian history, geography (note the map) and prosopography (helpful genealogical chart of the Sasanian dynasty). Extensive section of primary sources, articles, bibliographies, images, numismatics, links to online resources. In short, most of what you would need to know about the Sasanians is collected here.

History-Greco-Roman

History-Other

  • Da’at - A wide ranging source of information on all things Jewish, which includes much material (mostly in Hebrew) on our subject matter. Links are provided to both primary and (mostly) secondary sources.
  • Introduction to Greek and Latin Epigraphy: an Absolute Beginner’s Guide - A helpful annotated bibliography to help the beginner navigate his way through the thicket of publications, abbreviations, etc.
  • K. C. Hanson’s World Wide Web Sites Relating to the Ancient Mediterranean - A huge collection of links to resources, both primary and secondary, arranged by broad subjects.
  • Virtual Religion Index - from self-description: From the self-description: “analyzes & highlights important content of religion-related websites…Hyperlinks are provided not only to homepages but to major directories & documents within.” Relevant sections include: Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Archaeology & Religious Art, Biblical Studies, Greco-Roman Studies and Jewish Studies.