In Creation, Covenant, and the Beginnings of Judaism, Ari Mermelstein examines Second Temple writers who described creation, rather than a historical event, as the beginning of Jewish history in order to resolve a perceived sense of temporal rupture with Israel's covenantal past.

Ari Mermelstein, Ph.D. (2011), New York University, is Assistant Professor of Bible at Yeshiva University. His research focuses on the Dead Sea Scrolls and Second Temple literature.