"The Bible as Literature is quite broad in its approach and unique in its scope. I haven't found the same breadth in other recent introductions to the Bible as literature. [It is] concise but thorough, an excellent introduction."--Annalisa Azzoni, Vanderbilt University"The text directly addresses fundamental concepts essential to a scholarly approach to the Bible as literature. My students are quite interested in the study of the Bible as literature, and they think of this study as essential to their lives and beliefs. By using this text, I can be a much better and more credible teacher for them."--Bené Scanlon Cox, Middle Tennessee State University"The Bible as Literature is quite broad in its approach and unique in its scope. I haven't found the same breadth in other recent introductions to the Bible as literature. [It is] concise but thorough, an excellent introduction."--Annalisa Azzoni, Vanderbilt University"The text directly addresses fundamental concepts essential to a scholarly approach to the Bible as literature. My students are quite interested in the study of the Bible as literature, and they think of this study as essential to their lives and beliefs. By using this text, I can be a much better and more credible teacher for them."--Bené Scanlon Cox, Middle Tennessee State University

• To the Reader 1. The Bible as Literature 2. Literary Forms and Strategies in the Bible 3. Ancient Near Eastern Literature and the Bible 4. The Bible and History 5. The Physical Setting of the Bible 6. The Formation of the Canon 7. The Composition of the Pentateuch 8. The Prophetic Writings 9. The Wisdom Literature 10. The Apocalyptic Literature 11. Judaism in the Intertestamental Period 12. The Hellenistic Background of the New Testament 13. Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha: The Outside Books 14. The Gospels 15. Acts and the Letters 16. The Text of the Bible 17. Translating the Bible 18. The Religious Use and Interpretation of the Bible 19. Women and the Bible Appendix 1: The Name of Israel's God Appendix 2: Writing in Biblical Times Appendix 3: Palestine in the Intertestamental Period Appendix 4: Varieties of Biblical Criticism Glossary of Literary Terms Timeline: 1000 B.C.E.-1611 C.E. Maps Index