Originally a two-part publication, geographer Wilhelm Tomaschek’s study on the historic topography of Persia is here published in one volume. Beginning with the street layout of the Tabula Peutingerana, the author describes the major routes of the Persian realm as reflected in antiquity. Although reflecting the period of the Qajar Dynasty prior to the developments during the World Wars, this guide still provides historic information concerning the mapping of one of the great empires of the ancient world.

Originally published in two small volumes of Semitic ephemera written in German, this collection of observations of Paul de Lagarde still contains his cogent insights into the world of Semitic linguistics. Critical remarks on the book of Isaiah introduce his characteristic detail on a number of verses in the prophetic book. The second selection concerns the clarification of Akkadian (Chaldean) words occurring in the Hebrew Bible. In the second major section of the work, de Lagarde presents the leaves of the Septuagint of Codex Sarravianus found in Paris. This annotated Greek material comes from the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers.

As the title of the volume ably indicates, this historical catalogue is a record of the Oriental codices in the library of the Royal University of Lund. After a brief introduction in Latin he divides the materials into different religious or language groups, beginning with Islamic materials, the largest category. Hebrew, Syriac, and Sabaean codices complete the collection.

This monograph examines the manuscript variants of the Peshitta (the standard Syriac translation) of Kings, with special attention to the manuscript 9a1. Manuscript 9a1 is of critical importance for the textual history of Kings, and Walter argues that there is overwhelming evidence that the non-9a1 Mss attest to an extensive revision. This monograph also discusses translation features of the Peshitta of Kings with special attention paid to harmonization and the leveling and dissimulation of vocabulary. Walter also treats the vorlage for the translation and treats its relation to the LXX and the Targumim.

This edition of Mar Jacob of Sarug's (d. 521) homily on the Tower of Babel develops an extended word-play between “morduto” ‘rebellion’ and “marduto” ‘discipline.’ As is characteristic of Jacob, the characters, their personalities, and their motivations are developed far more than they are in the biblical narrative. The volume constitutes a fascicle of The Metrical Homilies of Mar Jacob of Sarug, which, when complete, will contain the original Syriac text of Jacob's surviving sermons, fully vocalized, alongside an annotated English translation.

Were issues like economic and political oppression, holy wars, resistance literature, hate-speech, xenophobia and other 21st-century realities already present among the civilizations of the ancient Near East? Prophetic literature and specifically the Book of Nahum in the Old Testament provide a unique perspective on these issues. Through Nahum’s moving poetry and disturbing imagery, oppression is verbalised, deep emotion is uncovered and we are given a glimpse of liberation and new hope in times of darkness. This book will sensitize the reader to a better understanding of the identity and dynamics of oppressed groups, both ancient and modern.