In the beginning

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What is it that has appealed to readers through centuries of reading The Old Testament? Is it epic events, conflict between characters, life-changing drama? We can conjure up pictures of the serpent and God's anger in the garden of Eden, Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed in a ball of fire or trumpets signalling the collapse of the walls of Jericho! Yet although the pictures in our imagination are spectacular, like those in Children's Bible stories, for adult readers they must be brought to life in words and the Bible text provides only a plain narrative. ''In the Beginning …'' employs a new range of story-telling to give the tales vivid reality. The characters, expressing themselves in language, come to life and find new identities, new selves, when they speak their feelings openly. So, Eve, in The Beginning of History, finds a personal liberation when she voices her feelings. In Sodom and Gomorrah there is a sense of individual assertion, for good or bad. Capital and Labour deals with a political environment while the Joseph story explores different cultures and the seer priest makes a choice to follow his human conscience. That theme of self-discovery, self-realisation is echoed in Rahab the Harlot and Jephthah's daughter. Through all the stories articulateness in language leads to self-understanding, unlocking the characters' freedom as they find themselves in test situations.