This study examines how the cultures of Egypt, Mesopotamia and Greece, with their highly developed senses of religion and spirituality, provide a useful and even crucial context for a fuller study and understanding of the Bible. The beliefs and practices of these ancient civilizations embodied in such important literary works as the Egyptian Book of the Dead, the Sumerian/Akkadian Epic of Gilgamesh, and Homer's perennially sublime Iliad and Odyssey, as well as the great Hellenic tragedies, are major cultural legacies that have enriched civilization and indubitably deepen our understanding of the Biblical Books, their cultural location, and their enduring moral authority.