My vote for the "best paper" I heard yesterday does not go to the session I presented in, though (naturally) I thought "we" had some good stuff, but to one from the Genesis section. The presenter was a Francophone Belgian (a Walloon) from Louvain-la-Neuve and Arizona State.

Françoise Mirguet's topic was "The divine monologues in Genesis: An interrupted sequence". She presented the monologues, noted that the cease at 18:17-18, and explored their function in the telling of Genesis, arguing that the reason they cease is that the last monologue represents the moment when God elects a dialogue partner in Abraham.

I am not quite convinced by the case she argued, but convinced enough that I look forward to reading the published version to see if I am then convinced - at least I think there is a "case to answer"...