Conclusion
The Old Testament did not emerge in isolation. Its writers lived among older and more powerful civilisations, including Egypt, Canaan, Assyria, Babylon and Persia. They encountered their myths, laws, prayers, royal ideas, wisdom teachings and beliefs about the gods. In some cases, biblical writers seem to have adapted older stories directly. In other cases, they drew from traditions that were already widely shared across the Ancient Near East. This does not mean that the Jews simply copied other religions without thought or originality. They took familiar ideas and gave them a new direction. A Mesopotamian flood story became a story about human violence, divine judgement and covenant. Ancient law codes became part of a covenantal way of life centred on justice and responsibility. Canaanite images of storm gods and divine councils were reshaped around YHWH as the supreme God. Egyptian wisdom, religious objects and royal imagery were adapted into Israelite stories about liberatio...