I find it exciting to get any historical material from the ground. As you know, I love to put ancient Israel and its literature into their ancient contexts. And to rebuild - that is, to me, a very exciting historical task.

The Garden of Eden presents the same story: If you want to make yourself gods, you'll find you're akin to the animals.

Israel defined its God and its relation to that God in existential, relational terms. They did not, until quite late, approach the question of one God in an abstract philosophical way.

What is public for you, Elie [Wiesel], is private for Frank [Moore Cross], and the reverse.

With the Hebrew Bible, you're living in an austere world.

If I ever write a book on "How True Is the Bible?" I'll have to start out by saying that archaeology is not the way to find out; that it has very little to say.

I think we may very well, in many areas, get likelihood, but not certitude. We don't want certitude anyway, do we?