The authors wish to thank, first, the able research assistants who helped make this project come to fruition: Alice Judd and Sydney Ballif. Sydney in particular helped shape the use of graphics throughout the book. We’re very grateful to Julie Frederick, who read the manuscript with great care and made the book much better than it would be. As the director of publications at the Religious Studies Center when this project began, Scott Esplin championed it from the beginning. It owes much to his encouragement. We’re grateful to reviewers of the manuscript throughout the publication process, who gave helpful feedback and valuable suggestions. Jared W. Ludlow, Joany O. Pinegar, Brent R. Nordgren, Julie Newman, Carmen D. Cole, and Myla Parke at the Religious Studies Center did impressive work on bringing the book to life. Their expertise is something we appreciate greatly.

Finally, we wish to thank Frank Judd, our colleague in the Department of Ancient Scripture, for his encouragement to undertake this project. It was due to his excitement that we decided to take what was just an idea and make it a reality.