Leading Hebrew language scholars outline various views on the phenomenon of variation in biblical Hebrew and its significance for biblical studies. An important question that is addressed is whether "e;late biblical Hebrew"e; is a distinct chronological phase within the history of biblical Hebrew. Articles explore both chronological and non-chronological interpretations of the differences between "e;early biblical Hebrew"e; and "e;late biblical Hebrew"e;. These discussions have an important contribution to make to the wider field of biblical studies, not only to the history of the Hebrew language.