While history, literature, and theology are important in biblical studies, it is fundamental to recognize that the biblical texts convey meanings derived through a specific culture with distinctive values and particular social arrangements. Ancient documents like the Bible refer to their contemporary social systems only indirectly for the most part. They assume that their readers share their world and know what they mean by "tribute," what sort of marriage arrangements were employed, or how peasants fit into their social hierarchy. Our difficulty as modern, Western readers is to relate meaningfully to documents that are the products of a radically different world in terms of institutions, traditions, and values. We do not share important social understandings with the writers of these texts. Because our social and cultural experiences do not match those of the biblical authors, we can be seriously misled concerning the meaning of social institutions, values, and conflicts. This volume introduces readers to cultural anthropology and macrosociology as methods that open up the distinctive character of the societies in ancient Israel and Judah. Specifically, models are constructed to facilitate understanding of key institutions and relationships. In addition, the contextual approach employed here introduces readers to material from ancient Ugarit and the Neo-Assyrian empire.
