This book attempts to build a new understanding of the biblical text based on the book's original cultural context and the purposes for which the Bible's authors wrote their texts. The book draws strongly on post-glacial climate evidence, archaeology, ancient historical texts, and ancient religious texts. The book is equally about the Bible and about the ancient world. It seeks possible historical settings for biblical events. It draws on holy mountain imagery, vassal treaty concepts, and glory theophany motifs. The book assumes that the voices of both science and tradition should be heard in the debate. It is a highly innovative and controversial approach to the biblical text. It is fairly easy to read, and it is at home more at the grass roots level of the religious community than the academia.