On Stone and Scroll

Book excerpt: The volume On Stone and Scroll addresses biblical exegesis from the historical, archaeological, theological, and linguistic perspectives, and discusses many of the issues central to the interpretation of the Bible. It is written by colleagues and former students of Graham Davies in his honour on his retirement. It covers three main areas central to his work: inscriptional and archaeological, including socio-historical, studies; theological and exegetical studies, especially of Exodus and the Prophets; and semantic studies. A lasting focus of Graham’s work has been the combination of sources that he has utilised in the interpretation of the biblical text. His approach has been distinctive in biblical studies in his combining of archaeological, inscriptional, linguistic and theological evidence for a deeper understanding of text. His work has ranged from archaeological studies, through an edition of Hebrew inscriptions, contributions to Hebrew semantics and biblical theology, to exegesis of the Pentateuch and Prophets. The essays in this volume reflect that broad view of Old Testament study.