In her innovative exploration of national imagination in the Bible, Pardes highlights the many anthropomorphisms by which a collective character named "Israel" springs to life. She explores the representa-tion of collective murmurs, hidden desires, conflicting memories, the drama and ambivalence embedded in each phase of the nation's life.

"Pardes has a remarkable gift for asking new questions about familiar texts and providing fresh insights into old problems. By looking closely at the key metaphors and the narrative details of the biblical story of the formation of the Israelite nation, she has teased out of the text a compelling biography."