Yehuda Nevo (1932-1992) was a practicing archaeologist who was Director of Field Research of the Negev Archaeological Project at his untimely death. His previous publications include Pagans and Herders (1991) and Ancient Arabic Inscriptions from the Negev (1993), coauthored with Zemira Cohen and Dalia Heftmann. Judith Koren (Haifa, Israel) is an information specialist who collaborated with Nevo for many years on the historical synthesis elaborated in Crossroads to Islam.