According to Fields, biblical narrative is didactic socio-religious commentary on human experience, reflected in 'history', and that such 'history' is a way of describing the conceptual universe of the ancient authors. Biblical narrative is strikingly free of abstract formulations but encapsulates abstract reflections, within recurring literary motifs, and by the reporting of 'historical information'. This perception of biblical narrative is strikingly illustrated by an analysis of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19). The motifs of the Sodom tradition are compared with those in the stories about the concubine in Gibeah (Judges 19) and about the destruction of Jericho (Joshua 2).

Offered in celebration of Talmon’s half-century of life and study in Israel, the essays in this Festschrift reflect Talmon’s lifelong interest in all phases of biblical and related study. Also included is a comprehensive listing of Talmon’s published writings.