The Bible area seeks to understand and interpret the Jewish and Christian scriptures and related texts in their historical and cultural settings as well as in their subsequent roles as canonical texts for Judaism and Christianity. Contributing to these goals are four interrelated areas of research: the historical contexts of these scriptures from ancient Israel to the Roman empire, the history and transmission of biblical and post-biblical literature, the history and methods of exegesis, and biblical and post-biblical theology.Students in the Bible Area choose one of four concentrations for their academic program in research and teaching: 1. Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East, 2. Hebrew Bible and Early Jewish Literature, 3. Jewish and Christian Bible, and 4. New Testament and Early Christian Literature. The progress (or pre-exam) conference is normally held in the spring quarter of the second year, or the fall of the third year. In Bible, the progress conference is held with the student's panel of examiners for the qualifying examinations, and will normally include assessment of coursework to date, cogency of the course of study petition, readiness for qualifying examinations, and development of the dissertation project. A report from the advisor and a timeline for the qualifying examinations is submitted to the Dean of Students following the conference.