Before and after Babel: Writing as Resistance in Ancient Near Eastern Empires

The Tower of Babel story explains why the world's people communicate in countless languages, but this book argues that the biblical confusion really happened in the ancient Near East, not in speech, but in writing. It examines the millennia-long history of writing in the region and shows a radical change from the third and second millennia to the first millennium BC. Scribes from all over the eastern Mediterranean used a profusion of vernacular languages and scripts to express themselves, but they did so in dialogue with the Babylonian cuneiform tradition. Before and after Babel describes and analyzes the Babylonian cosmopolitan system, how ancient Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and other vernacular systems interacted with it in multiple and intricate ways, and their consequences.

Format: Hardback
Length: 360 pages
Publication date: 28 March 2023
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc

The Tower of Babel story in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Genesis provides an explanation for the diverse languages spoken by people around the world today, despite the fact that they all spoke only one language in the past. This book argues that the biblical confusion actually occurred in the ancient Near East, not in speech, but in writing. It explores the millennia-long history of writing in the region and demonstrates a significant shift from the third and second millennia to the first millennium BC.

Before the event known as "Babel," intellectuals who wrote did so as part of a cosmopolitan tradition that originated in Babylonia, with its language and cuneiform script. After "Babel," scribes from all over the eastern Mediterranean, including Greece, used a wide array of vernacular languages and scripts to express themselves. However, they did so in dialogue with the Babylonian cuneiform tradition, which was still upheld by the successive Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian empires that ruled their world. This was often done as acts of resistance, while being aware of cosmopolitan ideas and motifs, but subverting them.

Before and after Babel aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the rich intellectual history of this region in the ancient past. It describes and analyzes the Babylonian cosmopolitan system, how ancient Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and other vernacular systems interacted with it in various and intricate ways, and the consequences of these interactions. By examining the Babylonian cosmopolitan system, this book sheds light on the complex web of cultural, linguistic, and political relationships that shaped the ancient Near East and the world beyond. It also highlights the enduring influence of the Babylonian language and script on the development of writing systems throughout the region and beyond.

Weight: 616g
Dimension: 242 x 165 x 28 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780197634660