“Kugel goes through the Hebrew Bible alternating a discussion of how ancient interpreters understood key passages with what modern scholarship can tell us about the origins and accuracy of the text. This is wonderfully interesting stuff, extremely well presented. . . . Kugel’s lucid explanation is a major contribution to popular understanding.”
—The Washington Post
“Kugel has a fine ear for narrative, a lifelong scholar’s discipline, and a wonder and confidence fed by his beliefs. His gathering up of a life’s work gives readers a chance to brush up against genius, and perhaps examine those beliefs we claim for ourselves.”
—The Seattle Times
“Propounds a stark and challenging thesis.”
—Peter Steinfels, The New York Times
“Who should we believe about the Bible—our Sunday-school teachers or our university professors? James Kugel cuts through this dilemma with a breathtaking new look at the world’s most popular book. . . . No writer on the Bible has wrestled so profoundly with the most basic, important questions raised by our conflicting knowledge and desires.”
—“The Best Books We Read in 2007,” The Onion
“Kugel has written a wonderful book, one that lays bare the worlds both of modern biblical scholarship and of ancient biblical interpretation with wit and erudition.”
—Commentary
Published by Simon & Schuster New York
Cover design by Eric Fuentecilla
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