P1:
Monica, I am confused about the focus of this conference. Exploring the Palms, Ezekiel, and mercy in the Hebrew scriptures strikes me as a very different theme than exploring the "roots of Yahwism;" unless, of course, this is a huge gathering with multiple sections?

I can certainly see how discussion of current research on the origin of Yahwism could be conceived as threatening by many, both Christians and Jews. I presume you mean, and presenters will be exploring, challenging new ideas largely from archeologists suggesting that the Hebrews did not enter Palestine in huge numbers as invaders, conquering the Canaanites and destroying their cities (as the scriptures, taken literally, would have it), but rather smaller groups drifted into Palestine from the east bringing a devotion to Yahweh picked up from the Midianites, and these small groups of Hebrew immigrants made common cause with rural Canaanites overthrowing without particular violence the culture of urban Canaanites.

cont.