It was first published from 1960 to 1964 in three volumes by the German orientalists Herbert Donner and Wolfgang Röllig, and has been updated in numerous subsequent editions.
"[2] Röllig and Donner had the support of William F. Albright in Baltimore, James Germain Février in Paris and Giorgio Levi Della Vida in Rome during the compilation of the first edition.
[4] The first edition was intended to represent all the known texts of significant importance, but not to be a complete collection to replace the Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum.
The included papyri and ostraca were chosen in order to provide and objective rounding of the picture, such as if they were published in a remote location.
[8] Byblos Sidon Tyre Umm al-Amad Masub Roueisseh Sarafand Tel Miqne Sam'al Karatepe Arslan Tash Çebel Ires Daǧı Cyprus Rhodes Sardinia Malta Crete Kos Carthage Cirta Bureij Tell Afis Sam'al As-Safira Tayma Al-Nayrab Tell Fekheriye Tel Dan Samos Deir Alla