“[First Edition] This seems like a real winner. I’m anxious to try it with my students. The scholarship of this manuscript goes far beyond being ‘sound.’ What this author is sharing with her audience is the best of most recent scholarship. And it is explained with such clarity. . . In a very few words, the author gives students access to the ancient near eastern world and the world of the Bible.  .  .  It will help students to understand what they are reading in the Bible (but they will still have to and want to read the Bible).”