"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