New insights on how the Torah took on its final form In this fascinating book, Knohl shares his understanding of how the Torah was edited into its final form. He bridges the gap between ancient Israel (c.1400-586 B.C.E.) and Second Temple times (c, 536 B.C.E. to 70 C.E.) by showing the continuity between these eras and the gradual evolution of the biblical worldview. Knohl's interpretation of biblical composition challenges a popular trend in contemporary biblical scholarship: the idea that ancient Israel never existed as a historical reality, but was invented and "retrojected" back in time by later Israelite priests as part of their national myth. He interprets the textual evidence in the Torah itself, to expand on the notion that the Torah expresses a pluralistic view of God; that there is continuity between ancient Jewish texts and Rabbinic Judaism, and that the Dead Sea Scrolls reveal much about biblical theology.