Footnote 3 – Picturing Imageless Deities

The Priestly school composed much of the Pentateuch (other than the Book of Deuteronomy) and Joshua. The date of this school’s activity is still the subject of scholarly controversy. Most authorities place it during the Exile or in the early post-Exilic period (sixth to early fifth century B.C.E.), while others date it to the time of Hezekiah (late eighth century B.C.E.). Its main concerns were the proper performance of the cult, the purity of the nation and Land of Israel, and the maintenance of the Temple.