ABSTRACT
There are many issues presented, touched on, and presupposed in the chapters in this volume—issues that have, in some cases, ancient historical roots and many variants and complexities. In searching for a framework within which I felt I could approach these chapters in some integrated way, I was forced back to these historical roots. This volume is a moment in a very long conversation (Melchert, 1991), and it cannot be understood outside of the context of that conversation. Consequently, I elaborate on the general historical issues, commenting on and criticizing them as well as their instances herein.
