Leading Captivity Captive 'The Exile' as History and Ideology

The entity known as 'the Exile' has had an extremely forceful influence in Old Testament scholarship, both as an event and as a symbol. But was there an 'Exile'? And if so, how did it fit into the pattern of population deportations that characterized the imperial strategies of the ancient Near East? In a methodological discussion of this issue, the contributors cover a range of topics, from ancient politics to modern ideology. In probing the meaning and implication of 'Exile' they also reflect a spectrum of opinions and conclusions.