Birth annunciations in the Hebrew Bible and ancient Near East : a literary analysis of the forms and functions of the heavenly foretelling of the destiny of a special child / Scott A. Ashmon ; with a foreword by Nili S. Fox
Title Page; Copyright Page; Table of Contents; Abstract; Commendatory Foreword; Acknowledgments; Chapter 1: Statement of the Problem; Chapter 2: Explanation of Methodology; Chapter 3: Synchronic Examination of ANE Birth Annunciations; Chapter 4: Synchronic Examination of HB Birth Annunciations; Chapter 5: Comparison of ANE and HB Birth Annunciations' Forms and Functions; Chapter 6: Examination of Diachronic Issues; Chapter 7: Conclusion; Bibliography; Index of Names; Index of Topics
Summary
Ashmon puts forth a structural analysis of birth annunciations in the Hebrew Bible, and Ancient Near Eastern texts. By studying the topic in this way, the author shows a shared culture between Egyptian Hittite, Sumerian, Ugarit cultures and Biblical narratives. It explores an aspect of the Bible that has yet to be the subject of an extensive study. There have been numerous accounts of the birth annunciations of Jesus in the New Testament, but this is the first book to do a scholarly examination of the way prophecies about the birth of special children occur prior to Christ