In this book leading Hebrew language scholars outline various views on the phenomenon of variation in biblical Hebrew and its significance for biblical studies. An important question which is addressed is whether late biblical Hebrew is a distinct chronological phase within the history of biblical Hebrew. Articles explore both chronological and non-chronological interpretations of the differences between early biblical Hebrew and late biblical Hebrew. These discussions have an important contribution to make to the wider field of biblical studies, not only to the history of the Hebrew language. Current scholarly debates on the date and origin of the Hebrew bible often emphasize the centrality of the evidence of linguistic stratification in the Hebrew bible.