Why the Bible Began: An Alternative History of Scripture and Its Origins

Includes bibliographical references and index.

PART I THE RISE AND FALL
1 Abraham and Sarah: From One to the Many
2 Miriam: Empire and Exodus
3 Deborah: A New Dawn
4 King David: Between North and South.
5 Ahab and Jezebel: Putting Israel on the Map
6 Jehu and Elisha: Israel's Downfall and Judah's Jubilation.
7 Hezekiah and Isaiah: Putting Judah on the Map.
8 Josiah and Huldah: Judah's Downfall and Deportation
PART II ADMITTING DEFEAT
9 Daughter Zion: Finding One's Voice.
10 The Creator: Comforting the Afflicted.
11 Haggai the Prophet: Laying the Foundation.
12 Nehemiah the Builder: Restoring Judean Pride.
13 Ezra the Educator: Forming a People of the Book
14 Hoshayahu the Soldier: Peoplehood as a Pedagogical Project
PART III A NEW NARRATIVE
15 Jeremiah and Baruch: A Monument to Defeat
16 Isaac and Rebekah: The Family Story.
17 Moses and Joshua: The People's History.
18 Hannah and Samuel: The Palace History.
19 Solomon and the Queen of Sheba: The National Narrative
20 Jonah and the Whale: The Prophets as Survival Literature
21 Yhwh and His People: Codes, Covenant, and Kinship
PART IV A PEOPLE OF PROTEST
22 The Matriarch: Women and the Biblical Agenda
23 The Hero: Redefining Gender Roles.
24 The Other: Tales of War, Outsiders, and Allegiance
25 The Soldier: Sacrificial Death and Eternal Life.
26 The Prophet and the Priest: Open Access, Public Transparency,
and Separation of Powers
27 The Sage: Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes.
28 The Poet: The Song of Songs and Psalms.
29 The Queen: Peoplehood without Piety.
30 Conclusions: Nations, Nationalism, and New Bibles.

Demonstrating how the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible represents the first, and one of the most elaborate, projects of peoplehood, Wright tells the dramatic story of the Bible's origins in relation to 1, a longstanding political division between North and South (Israel and Judah) and 2 the traumatic experience of defeat" -- Provided by publisher.