The Great Shift: Encountering God in Biblical Times

“Mr. Kugel’s enormous undertaking [The Bible As It Was], is likely to be seen as a milestone in the long critical history of Bible studies. . . But while Mr. Kugel’s book is deeply grounded in scholarship, it is written with a straightforwardness and even an occasional wryness that makes it widely accessible, a pleasure to read.” —Richard Bernstein, The New York Times  

“Mr. Kugel’s enormous undertaking [The Bible As It Was], is likely to be seen as a milestone in the long critical history of Bible studies. . . But while Mr. Kugel’s book is deeply grounded in scholarship, it is written with a straightforwardness and even an occasional wryness that makes it widely accessible, a pleasure to read.” —Richard Bernstein, The New York Times [On How to Read the Bible]: “Awesome, thrilling. . . Kugel aims to prove that you can read the Bible rationally without losing God. A magisterial, erudite, but remarkably witty tour.” —New York Times Book Review  

"Biblical scholarship has reached considerable agreement for most scholars in the last 75 years, and The Great Shift is the culmination of its maturity. Readers of all stripes who want to make sense of God’s Word will find this landmark book written with great erudition, clarity and, dare I say it, a humor that seems to be God’s peeking through." —Michael D. Langan, NBC-2.com

"Lively, inviting account . . . the author is at home in every era from that of the ancient texts to our own, and he makes for an excellent guide. Biblical exegesis at its best: a brilliant and sensitive reading of ancient texts, all with an eye to making them meaningful to our time by making sense of what they meant in their own." —Kirkus Reviews, STARRED “Provocative . . . likely to interest both believers and nonbelievers with some familiarity with the Old Testament.” —Booklist

"Biblical scholarship has reached considerable agreement for most scholars in the last 75 years, and “The Great Shift” is the culmination of its maturity. Readers of all stripes who want to make sense of God’s Word will find this landmark book written with great erudition, clarity and, dare I say it, a humor that seems to be God’s peeking through." —Michael D. Langan, NBC-2.com

"Lively, inviting account...the author is at home in every era from that of the ancient texts to our own, and he makes for an excellent guide. Biblical exegesis at its best: a brilliant and sensitive reading of ancient texts, all with an eye to making them meaningful to our time by making sense of what they meant in their own." — Kirkus Reviews, STARRED “Provocative... likely to interest both believers and nonbelievers with some familiarity with the Old Testament.” — Booklist

"Fascinating."—The New York Times

"A magnificent job of bringing important ideas from the academy to a broad readership...Kugel gives readers a sense of history’s convoluted texture, its ironies, and thus its beauty."—The Jewish Review of Books "The Great Shift is a carefully crafted literary work that is both an indictment of modernity and a hope that tightly closed modern people can regain the unique “semipermeable” qualities that defined spiritual lives of long ago."—Reform Judaism "Biblical scholarship has reached considerable agreement for most scholars in the last 75 years, and The Great Shift is the culmination of its maturity. Readers of all stripes who want to make sense of God’s Word will find this landmark book written with great erudition, clarity and, dare I say it, a humor that seems to be God’s peeking through." —Michael D. Langan, NBC-2.com "Lively, inviting account . . . the author is at home in every era from that of the ancient texts to our own, and he makes for an excellent guide. Biblical exegesis at its best: a brilliant and sensitive reading of ancient texts, all with an eye to making them meaningful to our time by making sense of what they meant in their own." —Kirkus Reviews, STARRED “Provocative . . . likely to interest both believers and nonbelievers with some familiarity with the Old Testament.” —Booklist

"Lively, inviting account...the author is at home in every era from that of the ancient texts to our own, and he makes for an excellent guide. Biblical exegesis at its best: a brilliant and sensitive reading of ancient texts, all with an eye to making them meaningful to our time by making sense of what they meant in their own." — Kirkus Reviews, STARRED  

"Lively, inviting account...the author is at home in every era from that of the ancient texts to our own, and he makes for an excellent guide. Biblical exegesis at its best: a brilliant and sensitive reading of ancient texts, all with an eye to making them meaningful to our time by making sense of what they meant in their own." — Kirkus Reviews, STARRED “Provocative... likely to interest both believers and nonbelievers with some familiarity with the Old Testament.” —Booklist

"Biblical scholarship has reached considerable agreement for most scholars in the last 75 years, and “The Great Shift” is the culmination of its maturity. Readers of all stripes who want to make sense of God’s Word will find this landmark book written with great erudition, clarity and, dare I say it, a humor that seems to be God’s peeking through." —Michael D. Langan, NBC-2.com

"Lively, inviting account...the author is at home in every era from that of the ancient texts to our own, and he makes for an excellent guide. Biblical exegesis at its best: a brilliant and sensitive reading of ancient texts, all with an eye to making them meaningful to our time by making sense of what they meant in their own." — Kirkus Reviews, STARRED “Provocative... likely to interest both believers and nonbelievers with some familiarity with the Old Testament.” —Booklist