Shimeon Bar-Efrat

This is a well written and engaging presentation of the application of the tools of literary analysis to Old Testament texts. Bar-Efrat clearly expounds the key literary categories of narrator, characters, plot, time and space, and style. The various facets of these are illuminated with several examples from the OT narratives. The book concludes with a chapter bringing together the tools presented to work through a challenging scriptural narrative. The author has obviously thought about his readers and writes in the expectation that they will be inspired to use these tools to deepen their knowledge of scripture and their engagement with God. This is exemplified by the fact that he avoids taking examples from some of the most well known narratives, so that his readers can go and practice their new found skills on them.… (mere)

This is a solid introduction to the way narrative is used in the Hebrew Bible to communicate the meaning of the text. The concrete, specific examples Bar-Efrat uses make his narrative theory easy for the reader to comprehend -- particularly in contrast to more theoretical works such as Bal's Narratology. If anything, at times his statements seem to be oversimplified. Certain sections seem to me to be longer than necessary to communicate the idea, but overall this is a specific and easy to comprehend study.… (mere)