“Full of useful information, clearly and cleverly presented, Encountering Ancient Voices is a wonderful tool around which to build an introductory class in the Hebrew Bible. I find it to be the most useful and engaging among the introductions I have assigned. Finally, Professor Carvalho has a great sense of humor, making the book fun to read.”

“Encountering Ancient Voices makes an invaluable contribution to undergraduate biblical studies, especially for students who are studying the Bible as part of their core curriculum. The book’s format is exceptionally helpful, especially the discussions of biblical passages, but also the charts, sidebars, overviews, and summaries. The writing style is engaging: I find students regularly ‘interacting’ with Carvalho, whom I consider something of a ‘co-teacher’ in the course. I appreciate the range of Carvalho’s discussions, especially on biblical methodologies, themes, or issues, as well as on current issues related to Bible interpretation or to specific texts. This book helped me achieve my best effort ever in teaching this course.”

“Carvalho’s text includes everything I want in terms of content and substantive issues, and it provides wonderful guided readings of numerous biblical texts. Students have been responding very well to it; they appreciate the insight it offers and the things it brings to their attention that they never noticed before. I have used several different texts since I started teaching our new ‘History and Literature of the Old Testament’ course, but I haven’t used the same one for more than one semester. Now I think I have found the book I’m going to stick with!

“Many of my students express how much they enjoy reading this book. At the same time, it is filled with new interpretive insights which the author guides us through in such inviting ways. Combined with both up-to-date scholarship and ecumenical sensitivity, the book is indeed a remarkable accomplishment.””

“[First Edition] This work’s greatest strength is its combination of a sophisticated approach to the biblical text and a style and format that will appeal to college undergraduates. The work’s focus on the biblical text itself is admirable, and the author has managed to bring together a solid grounding in modern biblical scholarship with a sure feel for her intended audience.”

“[First Edition] This seems like a real winner. I’m anxious to try it with my students. The scholarship of this manuscript goes far beyond being ‘sound.’ What this author is sharing with her audience is the best of most recent scholarship. And it is explained with such clarity. . . In a very few words, the author gives students access to the ancient near eastern world and the world of the Bible.  .  .  It will help students to understand what they are reading in the Bible (but they will still have to and want to read the Bible).”