The purpose of this book is to illustrate that reading is a subjective process which results in multivalent interpretations. This is the case whether one looks at a text in its historical contexts (the diachronic approach) or its literary contexts (the synchronic approach). Three representative texts are chosen from the Law (Genesis 2-3), the Writings (Isaiah 23) and the Prophets (Amos 5), and each is read first by way of historical analysis and then by literary analysis. Each text provides a number of variant interpretations and raises the question--is any one interpretation superior? What criteria do we use to measure this? Or is there value in the complementary nature of many approaches and many results?

Susan Gillingham is Fellow and Tutor in Theology, Worcester College, Oxford and University Lecturer in Old Testament at Oxford University.