Detail of a huge relief carving, from 9th century BCE Assyria. The inscriptions boast of the successes of king Ashurnasirpal II. From the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore.

Akkadian is a Semitic language that was in use in what is now modern day Iraq from roughly 2500 BCE to 100 CE. It was written by combining syllables (i.e. pa, bu, lam, etc.) instead of individual letters as in an aphabetic language like English. These syllables were written with wedges impressed into clay tablets or incised in rocks.

Akkadian is significant for biblical scholars because it enables one to compare cultural practices and the worldviews of peoples in the region of Mesopotamia with those of ancient Israel and the Bible. There are many Akkadian texts that have a bearing on biblical studies such as commerical transactions, laws, creation myths, prayers, religious texts, administrative documents, military correspondence, etc. Also, two Akkadian speaking Mesopotamian empires had direct contact with the ancient Israelites–Assyrians and Babylonians.

Since Mesopotamian societies were so powerful both militarily and commercially, Akkadian was the diplomatic language for most of the ancient Near East from around 2500 BCE to 1000 BCE. Cultures such as Egypt had scribes that could write and translate Akkadian correspondence during this time. Therefore, Akkadian texts have been found outside of Mesopotamia proper.

If you are interested in an introduction of the structure of the Akkadian language click here. John Heise has a much more detailed presentation of the language. Omniglot has a quick and consise summary of the language along with links for free Akkadian fonts.