Includes bibliographical references and index.

PROLOGUE: a personal testament -- Environment and culture: a premise and its implications -- Ecological context: a region of disparate domains -- First riverine domain: influence of Mesopotamia -- Pastoral domain: legacy of the Bedouin Patriarchs -- Second riverine domain: sojourn and slavery in Egypt -- Desert domain: wanderings in Sinai and the Negev -- Rainfed domain: settlement in the hill district of Canaan -- Maritime domain: interactions with Philistines and Phoenicians -- Urban domain: convergence of king and cult in Jerusalem -- Exile domain: expulsion, survival, revival, and return -- Overarching unity: culmination of ethical monotheism -- EPILOGUE: the lasting relevance of early ecological influences.