Martin Amis reminded me recently that good reviews stand on their own. You do not have to read Harold Bloom on the Jahwist before you can appreciate Chris Seitz's response. Pacy frequently points to superficiality, but not always, as Seitz gives us occasion to observe:

The disturbing superficiality of the discussion here and at other points gives the book a kind of "sound-bite" quality, like a half-hour TV program on how to perform brain surgery.

Read (and enjoy) the full review to find out how complex questions of theological exegesis can be as much as to see how The Book of J, "at the cost of slaying both Moses and God," purchases "a Yahwist who turns out to be nothing more than the mirror image of two clever 20th-century readers."

Tags: PhD