This book argues that the only historical thing in the Bible is the Bible itself; that what is narrated in the Bible is only myth. But this myth was still built with written traditions that were different from those in the text, and obviously more ancient.

These essays combine detailed research with a wide knowledge of ancient Near Eastern literature and biblical archaeology - and a radical way of understanding what the biblical text is really telling us.

This is an erudite and thought-provoking book for anyone who finds the origin of the Bible a fascinating and still largely unknown phenomenon.