“While introductory textbooks on the Old Testament are a dime a dozen, John Kaltner has succeeded in creating something fresh and new. Most textbooks provide broad summaries of biblical texts and the various scholarly theories developed to interpret them. But Kaltner, by contrast, provides a detailed close reading of selected texts, showing how and why scholarly approaches have grown organically out of the critical issues encountered in a detailed engagement with biblical narratives. Kaltner does not just tell the reader what scholars say about these ancient texts. He instead shows the reader why the scholars say what they do and why this is important for how we interpret these texts in our contemporary context. This book will go a long way towards getting students of the Bible to critically engage with the Old Testament literature rather than just learn information about it. I highly recommend it.”