intertextual.bible was created to highlight and explore the literary relationships and links within and between the traditional collections in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament.

This necessarily extends beyond the boundaries of these traditional canons, as well, as there are significant intertextual links with other collections of texts: Deuterocanonical writings like Sirach and Tobit, the Dead Sea Scrolls, pseudepigraphal texts such as 1 Enoch, the Aramaic Targums, and other ancient near eastern literature predating the biblical era. Sources like the Epic of Gilgamesh and other ancient near eastern literature shed light on the contextual background of several Hebrew texts such as Genesis and the Psalms. Greco-Roman classics, like those of Virgil and Aesop, were cultural touchpoints for Deuterocanonical and New Testament writers. Later readers and interpreters of these texts, including within Rabbinic and Christian patristic literature, show how these texts, traditions, and literary relationships were incorporated into new communities of faith.

By expanding this analysis across traditional canon boundaries, intertextuality provides a clearer picture of these texts and traditions within their historical and literary settings. Tracing the progress of themes and narratives across centuries reveals the organic development of these foundational stories, ideas, and beliefs. This website serves as a guide to these diverse intertextual links, promoting a holistic understanding of the Bible and derivative literature within a network of ancient voices that still speak today.

Along with these primary sources, it is a goal of this website to highlight academic analysis of this literature from theological, philosophical, and historical perspectives and to provide insight from a broad range of voices including Jewish, Christian, non-confessional, and others.