Why the Bible began: an alternative history of scripture and its origins

Part I : The Rise and Fall

1. Abraham and Sarah : From One to the Many

2. Miriam : Empire and Exodus

3. Deborah : A New Dawn

4. King David : Between North and South

5. Ahab and Jezebel : Putting Israel on the Map

6. Jehu and Elisha : Israel's Downfall and Judah's Jubilation

7. Hezekiah and Isaiah : Putting Judah on the Map

8. Josiah and Huldah : Judah's Downfall and Deportation

Part II. Admitting Defeat

9. Daughter Zion : Finding One's Voice

10. The Creator : Comforting the Afflicted

11. Haggai the Prophet : Laying the Foundation

12. Nehemiah the Builder : Restoring Judean Pride

13. Ezra the Educator : Forming a People of the Book

14. Hoshayahu the Soldier : Peoplehood as a Pedagogical Project

Part III : A New Narrative

15. Jeremiah and Baruch : A Monument to Defeat

16. Isaac and Rebekah : The Family Story

17. Moses and Joshua : The People's History

18. Hannah and Samuel : The Palace History

19. Solomon and the Queen of Sheba : The National Narrative

20. Jonah and the Whale : The Prophets as Survival Literature

21. Yhwh and His People : Codes, Covenant, and Kinship

Part IV : A People of Protest

22. Matriarch : Women and the Biblical Agenda

23. The Hero : Redefining Gender Roles

24. The Other : Tales of War, Outsiders, and Allegiance

25. The Soldier : Sacrificial Death and Eternal Life

26. Prophet and Priest : Open Access and Separation of Powers

27. The Sage : Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes

28. The Poet : The Song of Songs and Psalms

29. The Queen : Peoplehood without Piety - -Conclusions: Nations, Nationalism, and New Bibles.