If we look to the Bible for historical accounts of ancient life, we make a profound error. So contends Calum Carmichael in this original and incisive reading of some of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament's most famous narratives. Sifting through the imaginative layers of these texts with an uncanny sensitivity and a panoptic critical eye, he unearths patterns connecting disparate passages, providing fascinating insights into how ideas were expressed, received, and transformed in the ancient Near East. Rather than attempting a historical reconstruction, Carmichael brilliantly reveals the profound creativity of the biblical authors. Ranging from Jacob's encounter with Leah to the marriage at Cana to Jesus' encounter with the woman at the well, these readings demonstrate the remarkable subtlety and sophistication of the biblical views on marriage, sexuality, fertility, impurity, creation, and love. In doing so, they also make a compelling case for the integral link between sexual morality and Israelite identity.

Calum Carmichael is a professor of comparative literature and adjunct professor of law at Cornell University.

"Calum Carmichael is one of the most original voices in Biblical scholarship today. This newest book on sex and religion in the Bible continues Carmichael's stellar record of bringing the most traditional of philological methods to bear on matters of contemporary ethical, literary, cultural, and religious interest. A masterpiece of close readings that pull out nuances of theology, lived experience, and literary significance from a series of carefully chosen scenes from the Old and New Testaments."-- Julia Reinhard Lupton, University of California, Irvine--Julia Reinhard Lupton