Between the end of the first millennium bce and the beginning of the medieval age, the Hebrew Bible experienced one of the most profound transformations in literary history. Originally a collection of traditions created by and for the people of a small Levantine kingdom, the Bible had by the fifth century ce become a pan-Mediterranean phenomenon. Carried onwards by the Jewish diaspora, the rapid expansion of Christianity, and eventually the conversion of much of the Roman Empire to a biblical faith, biblical traditions spread and spread. By the early medieval period, they were poised to spread much further still. With them, the search for Israel spread too, and changed nearly as much. New audiences saw new things in Israel and wanted new things from it; “Israel” changed to meet them. A new era, or new eras, understood Israel in new ways.