This comprehensive and systematic text approaches the Bible from a literary/historical perspective and studies it as a body of writing produced by real people who intended to convey messages to real audiences. Avoiding assessments of the Bible's truth or authority, the authors maintain a rigorously objective tone as they discuss such major issues as the forms and strategies of biblical writing, its actual historical and physical settings, the process of canon formation, the sources of the Pentateuch, and the nature of such biblical genres as prophecy, apocalypse, and gospel. In this edition, David Citino has joined the team of authors, and the new edition includes a new chapter on "Women in the Bible," by contributor Nicola Denzey, and a new appendix on modern approaches to the bible. The new edition also features new maps, timelines, expanded bibliographies, and updated material throughout.