ON THE COVER: The walls of Jericho fall before the Israelite soldiers as Rahab the harlot stands in her house in the wall and awaits rescue. Reconnaissance conducted by Joshua’s spies with Rahab’s help led to successful penetration of the city. This mosaic (c. 435 A.D.) is in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. (See Yigael Yadin and Abraham Malamat on the Israelite Conquest, “Two Prominent Israeli Scholars Assess One of the Most Controversial Aspects of Biblical History.”)