Includes bibliographical references and index.

The Bible as literature -- Literary forms and strategies in the Bible -- Ancient near eastern literature and the Bible -- The Bible and history -- The physical setting of the the Bible -- The formation of the canon -- The composition of the Pentateuch -- The prophetic writings -- The wisdom literature -- The apocalyptic literature -- The intertestamental period -- Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha: the outside books -- The gospels -- Acts and the Letters -- The text of the Bible -- Translating the Bible -- The religious use and interpretation of the Bible.

As in the widely popular Second Edition, this comprehensive and systematic text approaches the Bible from a literary/historical perspective, and studies the work as a body of writing produced by real people who intended to convey messages to a real audience. Avoiding assessments of the Bible's truth or authority, the authors maintain a rigorously objective tone as they discuss such major issues as the forms and strategies found in biblical writing, the actual historical and physical settings of that writing, the process of canon formation, the sources of the Pentateuch, and the nature of such literary biblical genres as prophecy, apocalypse, and gospel. Each chapter is an independent yet related essay, and the Third Edition has been updated and enhanced by two new chapters: "Ancient Near Eastern Literature and the Bible" and "The Text of the Bible." In addition, the reading lists following each chapter have been completely updated in order to reflect the most recent scholarship. The result is an easy-to-use, exciting presentation of the art of the Bible that is indispensable to students and accessible to readers of all kinds.