by Jonathan Magonet (Author), Gabriel Josipovici (Author), John Barton (Author)
Too often Bible stories are familiar to us in the simplified version we learnt as children, or through the lessons they are supposed to teach us in religious homilies. Yet the actual stories are the products of a highly developed literary culture, narrated in an articulate and expressive Hebrew language, and nested within collections of diverse writings with which they are in constant dialogue. To underestimate the many facets of these narratives, their universal appeal and contemporary significance, is truly our loss. We will examine with adult eyes the dimensions, often overlooked or misunderstood, the wit and even humour, within some familiar and less familiar Biblical narratives, and allow them to surprise us.