In recent years the critical approach to biblical 'Ancient Israel' and to the Bible as ancient text has undergone considerable change. This collection of essays, inspired by the work of Professor Giovanni Garbini, showcases scholarship which characterizes the new approach. The papers collected in this volume on methodological and historical topics related to the study of the history of ancient Israel. They represent biblical and historical studies, or present the joining of the two fields together, with the aim of shedding new light on biblical material. The contributions by leading scholars in the field of Biblical Studies offer new readings of disputed texts, new methodological tools for study of the ancient world inhabited by an entity called 'Israel', and a variety of reinterpretations of biblical texts. -- Provided by publisher.