The Biography of Ancient Isræl: National Narratives in the Bible (Contraversions: Critical Studies in Jewish Literature, Culture, and Society)
The Biography of Ancient Israelby Ilana Pardes is  based on a  reading of the nation as a collective character, not an abstract  concept.  Particularly in Exodus and Numbers ("where the primary questions  about the  origin and singularity of the nation are raised"), Pardes argues,  Israel is  "personified; it is a character with a distinct voice ... it  moans and groans,  is euphoric at times, complains frequently, and rebels  against Moses and God  time and again."The Biography of Ancient Israelconsiders its subject a  "male character who is God's first-born son"  (though Pardes acknowledges that  the Hebrew Scriptures are also full of  female metaphors for Israel). Following  Israel through its birth,  youth, and young adulthood, and ending at Mt. Nebo,  where the Scriptures' personification of Israel as God's son ends, this book is  preoccupied with  understanding the ways in which individual and national lives  influence one  another. "The biography of the nation seeps into the lives of  individuals and  shapes their desires and destinies, wittingly and unwittingly,"  Pardes  writes. Although many readers may find it hard getting through parts of  this  academic biography, their work will be amply rewarded by such  insights.--Michael Joseph Gross