Revised versions of papers read at the 2006 and 2007 meetings of the European Association of Biblical Studies (EABS) on "Israel and the production and reception of authoritative books in the Persian and Hellenistic periods."

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

An introduction and an invitation / Ehud Ben Zvi -- Towards an integrative study of the production of authoritative books in ancient Israel / Ehud Ben Zvi -- From prophets to prophetic books : the fixing of the divine Word / Diana Edelman -- Why do we know about Amos? / Philip R. Davies -- The concept of prophetic books and its historical setting / Ehud Ben Zvi -- Public recitation of prophetical books? : the case of the first edition of Deutero-Isaiah (Isa. 40:1; 52:12) / Rainer Albertz -- Persian-empire spirituality and the genesis of prophetic books / Gerhard S. Gerstenberger -- Kings among the prophets / Axel Knauf -- Jonah among the twelve in the MT : the triumph of Torah over prophecy / Diana Edelman -- The formation of the book of Jeremiah as a supplement to the so-called Deuteronomistic history / Thomas Römer -- Jeremiah MT : reflections of a discourse on prophecy in the Persian period / Rannfrid I. Thelle.