diff --git a/CHANGES b/CHANGES
index fd7aae48be..c68b27b84a 100644
--- a/CHANGES
+++ b/CHANGES
@@ -1,4 +1,8 @@
 
+2.5-beta-17 | 2016-09-19 15:26:14 -0700
+
+  * Clarified string and fa_file documentation (Moshe Kaplan)
+
 2.5-beta-12 | 2016-09-06 07:35:38 -0700
 
   * Added a missing fclose in scan.l. Addresses BIT-1690.
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 9901bc2c99..65f1666f4b 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-2.5-beta-12
+2.5-beta-17
diff --git a/doc/script-reference/types.rst b/doc/script-reference/types.rst
index d9d306b70b..651ebfb411 100644
--- a/doc/script-reference/types.rst
+++ b/doc/script-reference/types.rst
@@ -150,18 +150,17 @@ Here is a more detailed description of each type:
 
 .. bro:type:: string
 
-    A type used to hold character-string values which represent text, although
-    strings in a Bro script can actually contain any arbitrary binary data.
+    A type used to hold bytes which represent text and also can hold
+    arbitrary binary data.
 
     String constants are created by enclosing text within a pair of double
     quotes (").  A string constant cannot span multiple lines in a Bro script.
-    The backslash character (\\) introduces escape sequences.  The
-    following escape sequences are recognized: ``\n``, ``\t``, ``\v``, ``\b``,
+    The backslash character (\\) introduces escape sequences. Bro recognizes
+    the following escape sequences: ``\\``, ``\n``, ``\t``, ``\v``, ``\b``,
     ``\r``, ``\f``, ``\a``, ``\ooo`` (where each 'o' is an octal digit),
-    ``\xhh`` (where each 'h' is a hexadecimal digit).  For escape sequences
-    that don't match any of these, Bro will just remove the backslash (so
-    to represent a literal backslash in a string constant, you just use
-    two consecutive backslashes).
+    ``\xhh`` (where each 'h' is a hexadecimal digit).  If Bro does not
+    recognize an escape sequence, Bro will ignore the backslash
+    ("\\g" becomes "g").
 
     Strings support concatenation (``+``), and assignment (``=``, ``+=``).
     Strings also support the comparison operators (``==``, ``!=``, ``<``,