THIS HIS IS A COMPANION TO THE BIBLE like no other. Leading us chapter by chapter through key biblical stories-from Creation and the Tree of Knowledge through the Exodus from Egypt and journey to the Promised Land-James Kugel shows how a group of anonymous ancient interpreters radically transformed the Bible and made it into the book that has come down to us today. Here, for the first time, we can witness the devel-opment of the Bible "As It Was" at the start of the common era- the Bible as we know it.

"James Kugel is one of the great scholars of biblical interpretation in our time, and from the day of its publication this book will become the indis-pensable classic in the field. The relationship between the formation of texts and the development of their interpretive traditions in the evolution of the Hebrew Bible has been given a treatment both authoritative and innovative, altogether a singular contribution to the realm of biblical study."

-PETER J. GOMES, author of The Good Book