"Opening the Books of Moses presents an introduction to the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. It is written for any student engaged in the scholarly study of these most central of biblical texts. The aim throughout is to examine the books with a view to illuminating the ideas, beliefs and experiences of their times. The broad overview provides a survey of the current state of Pentateuchal research and an analysis of how the texts were shaped by their time and audience. The study concludes with an analysis of key concerns in the study of the Pentateuch, notably the Torah, geography, ethnicity, the nature of Yahweh and other deities, theories of cult, treaties and oaths, and Moses himself."--Page 4 of cover.