The book mixes theory and practive by reading a number of narratives from the Hebrew bible according to a variety of literary approaches. Taking a position of theoretical pluralism, the author applies reading strategies derived from the New Criticism, genre theory, structuralism, reader response theory, and deconstruction to the same and to different narratives, including: the Tower of Babel, the Binding of Isaac, Joseph and his brothers, the plagues in Egypt, the death of Aaron's sons, and the stories of Samson, Ruth, and Esther. The book seeks to demonstrate and illustrate the notions that meaning is made by readers and that reading is a pragmatic activity in which people read texts in certain ways in order to achieve certain results.