PREFACEI. POETICS AND INTERPRETATIONII. CHARACTER AND CHARACTERIZATIONCharacter TypesMichalBathsheba in 2 Samuel 11Bathsheba and Abishag in 1 Kings 1-2AbigailSummary of Character TypesDavid and His WomenCharacterizationDescriptionInner LifeSpeech and ActionsContrastCombining Characterization TechniquesIII. POINT OF VIEWNarrative with Multiple Points of ViewThe Poetics of Point of ViewThe Narrator’s VoiceCharacters’ Point of View1. Naming2. Inner Life3. The Term hinneh4. Circumstantial Clauses5. Direct Disourse and Narration6. Alternative ExpressionsCombining Points of ViewIV. POETICS IN THE BOOK OF RUTHCharactersTypes of CharactersNamingThe Uses of the Word hinnehQuoting Previously Unreported SpeechThe Narrator’s PresenceNarrative Structure1. The Abstract2. Orientation3. Complicating Action4. Evaluation5. Result or Resolution6. CodaV. POETIC INTERPRETATION AND HISTORICAL-CRITICAL METHODSSource CriticismForm CriticismThe Gilgamesh EpicVI. THE ART OF BIBLICAL NARRATIVEABBREVIATIONSNOTESNotes to Chapter INotes to Chapter IINotes to Chapter IIINotes to Chapter IVNotes to Chapter VNotes to Chapter VIBIBLIOGRAPHYINDEXESIndex of Biblical PassagesIndex of AuthorsIndex of Subjects