Systematic engagement with biblical literature is the only way to discovery the unexpected ground beyond the familiar territory of confessional reading. The methods that Fokkelman promotes and explains have become part of the standard scholarly discourse in biblical studies. An early practitioner of close reading, Fokkelman is adept in their application. Readings are always supported by extensive detail in the text. As an introduction to the methods of close reading the book is a success.
Readers are more likely to come away with an ability to work with the tools of close reading.
Though aimed at a broad readership, Fokkelman's analysis tends toward the technical. The book seems ideally suited to senior classes in biblical narrative or as an interpretive framework for readings in second year classical Hebrew.