"Time and history have occupied a privileged position in social science for at least the past century. In contrast, a number of human geographers have asserted that space, more than time, provides the most revealing insights into behavior. By giving priority to the geographical perspective in her study of Ezekiel 40-48, the author both clarifies aspects of the text which scholars have found problematic and demonstrates a provocative new methodology for biblical studies more generally. Ezekiel 40-48, according to the argument of this book, articulates a vision and rhetorical strategy for organizing a society according to a new set of spatial rules, in response to the experience of exile. "Territoriality," as here defined, is an effort to control access to social space in order to prevent a recurrence of the boundary violations that led to exile. This study will be of interest to students of Ezekiel, human geography, critical methodology, and rhetoric alike."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved