The Social Groups behind the Pentateuch

The ten essays in this collection advance the discussion of pentateuchal sources and redaction layers by shifting the focus of study from the literary stratification of the texts in Genesis to Deuteronomy to the social, economic, religious, and political agendas behind them. Contributors draw on community groups within and beyond Persian Yehud to the Judahite communities in the diaspora, establishing a proper academic context for placing the diverse voices of the Pentateuch.