This rich set of essays in honour of Professor John Healey FBA represents both his wide-ranging interests and those of the Journal of Semitic Studies of which he has been editor for thirty years. The studies by leaders in their respective disciplines cover texts and languages, history and archaeology. Amongst other topics the essays pay attention to the Jewish Targums, to Biblical Studies, to Nabataean matters, to Early Aramaic and Neo-Aramaic, to Syriac sources, to Islamic traditions, and to aspects of Near Eastern archaeology. Though disparate in subject matter, as a whole the essays offer a significant cross-section of what is at the forefront in Semitic Studies and of how the various methods used to analyse and assess such sources are being continuously adapted and honed.