Stories and storytellers

摘要

How do you begin describing the "life" of a document which probably had dozens of human authors and redactors, and whose highly diverse component parts were written down over a period of more than 1,000 years? Throw in the notion that the book's declared purpose is to describe a far longer process-the entire history of God's relationship with man and creation. Finally add in the fact that over the past 2,000 years, the text has been endlessly reread in accordance with human society's ever-changing needs, hopes and fears.