This work examines the lives of four female characters in the Bible: Naomi, Ruth, Tamar and Esther. Their stories differ significantly from those of most female Biblical characters in that each woman is depicted without a dominant male companion and each is featured in the Bibles more secular texts. The author evaluates each characters role as a female protagonist, and demonstrates how each story represents an innovative view of religion and a revisionist evaluation of womens roles.

This book, Volume II of II, presents a comprehensive analysis of the Biblical Book of Samuel. Usually taken as a socio-political history of ancient Israel during a century of change, this book contends that, at a deeper level, Samuel is a profound appraisal of the appeal and limitations of power.

This book, Volume I of II, presents a comprehensive analysis of the Biblical Book of Samuel. Usually taken as a socio-political history of ancient Israel during a century of change, this book contends that, at a deeper level, Samuel is a profound appraisal of the appeal and limitations of power.

An accessible interpretation of the Joseph story, this book is a reader-friendly treatment of one of the most popular tales in the Bible. Instead of its usual reading as an Horatio Alger success story, the text proposes that we are presented with a cautionary tale of high achievement and the pursuit of success. In the context of the larger biblical narrative, Joseph's short-term success leads to the enslavement of his descendants and the centuries-long derailment of the destiny of the Children of Israel. The self-limiting nature of the pursuit of power is just one of the themes illuminated in...

An analysis of the intertwining tales of Elijah and Ahab - mercurial prophet and Machiavellian king - this book is an accessible and reader-friendly treatment of some of the most dramatic and well-known episodes in the Bible. In contrast to the popular image of Elijah as a courageous wonder-worker who calls down fire from heaven and ascends to heaven in a fiery chariot, this book contends that the prophet was a deeply conflicted man, torn between a burning idealism and a deep disillusionment over his failure to achieve his ideals. Despite his profound sense of failure, Elijah's struggle...