are located in its waters. Regardless of our diverse ways of thinking, we are all in the cultural river and its currents are familiar to us. In the ancient world, a very different cultural river flowed through all the neighboring cultures: Egyptians, Phoenicians, Assyrians—and Israelites. Despite important variations between cultures and across the centuries, certain elements remained largely static. Continual course adjustments have little effect on the most persistent currents. People from various