Includes bibliographical references and index.

Prologue: Orientation to multiple bibles and multiple translations -- Studying the Bible in its ancient context(s) -- The emergence of ancient Israel and its first oral traditions -- The emergence of the monarchy and royal and Zion texts -- Echoes of past empires in biblical wisdom, love poetry, law, and narrative -- Narrative and prophecy amidst the rise and fall of the Northern Kingdom -- Micah, Isaiah, and the southern prophetic encounter with Assyria -- Torah and history in the wake of the Assyrian Empire -- Prophecy in the transition from Assyrian to Babylonian domination -- Laments, history, and prophecies after the destruction of Jerusalem -- The Pentateuch and the exile -- The Torah, the Psalms, and the Persian-sponsored rebuilding of Judah -- Other texts formed in the crucible of post-exilic rebuilding -- Hellenistic empires and the formation of the Hebrew Bible.