Focusing on the Old Testament and the history of Israel, this book brings together aspects of controversy about the Bible at the end of the millennium. Author James Barr examines the nature of biblical narrative, asking whether the Bible expresses actual historical events or the ideological and religious aspirations of writers in much later times.

"The book contains many profound observations...[and] it is both interesting and worth reading."

James Barr, Emeritus Regius Professor of Hebrew, Oxford University, and Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Hebrew Bible, Vanderbilt University