Book excerpt: This volume comprises studies in the fields of historical geography and historiography in biblical times. Both aspects contribute significant insights into scribal tradition and illuminate modes of literary composition. These are indispensible for any evaluation of the historical information embodied in the ancient compositions. The tangible data of territorial history promote the evaluation of the literary frameworks involved due to the conceptual terminology that may be perceived. Literary complexes and the interrelationship of text-groups may thus be defined by methods that are independent of literary criteria, yet contribute control elements to literary criticism. More than half of the book is new to the English reader, previously unpublished or translated from Hebrew and many papers partly revised.