About the Book:”This . . . is a brilliant work.” –Choice”[Sternberg] has written a very important book, both for his comprehensiveness and for the clearly-avowed faith stance from which he understands and interprets the strategies of the biblical narratives. . . . a superb overview . . . ” –Theological Studies” . . . rated very highly indeed. It is a book to read and then reread.” –Modern Language Review” . . . Sternberg has accomplished an enormous task, enriching our understanding of the theoretical basis of biblical narrative and giving us insight into a remarkable number of particular texts.” –Journal of the American Academy of Religion” . . . an important book for those who seek to take the Bible seriously as a literary work because it shows, more clearly and emphatically than any book I know, that the Bible is a serious literary work–a text manifesting a highly sophisticated and successful narrative poetics.” –Adele Berlin, Prooftexts