The Bible and the Ancient Near East Roland de Vaux's book, is a collection of academic essays by one of the leading archaeologists and biblical scholars of the 20th century. The book contains 15 articles examining the relationship between the Old Testament and the cultures of the Ancient Near East (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Ugarit, etc.). De Vaux, who was director of the École Biblique et Archéologique Française in Jerusalem, uses his expertise in archaeology and biblical exegesis to demonstrate that Ancient Israel did not exist in isolation but was rooted in a broader cultural and historical context.