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ix acknowledgments iwould like to express my gratitude to some of the people who have, directly or indirectly, contributed to this book (with apologies to anyone whose name I inadvertently omit). A number of people—many with very busy schedules and lots of other obligations—set time aside to read and comment on a draft of this manuscript, or portions of it. I wish to thank each of the following individuals for investing their time and energy in this way: Terry Brensinger, Julia O’Brien, Doug Miller, Hannah Pratt (who deserves special thanks for compiling the indexes with great care and skill), Morgan Scott, Elisa Seibert, Doug Sider, Louis Stulman, and Darrell Winger. This book is so much better because of your suggestions and input. Thank you! Of course, all remaining imperfections and shortcomings are mine alone, and I take full responsibility for the assumptions I make, the approach I take, and the conclusions I propose. None of these individuals should be held liable for any of the book’s remaining deficiencies. I am very fortunate to be employed at a place like Messiah College and am thankful for the opportunities it provides for teaching and writing. I am especially grateful to the College for the internal grants I received, the scholarship chair I was awarded, and the workload reallocation program in which I participated. These awards helped fund this project and some of them provided valuable release time to complete it. It would have been impossible to finish the book on time without this assistance. I would like to thank Barb Syvertson from Interlibrary Loan at Murray Library for helping me secure many resources for this project along the way. What a wonderful service you render! Thanks also to Michael Rice for helping me locate an online resource when my searching skills faltered. To my colleagues in the Biblical and Religious Studies Department, I owe a special word of thanks for the way you have supported me through some trying times since the publication of my previous book. I value your friendship and camaraderie more than you know. x Acknowledgments I also want to thank John Anderson for pointing me to some important resources. I really hope you like this book! To Elizabeth Sobrevilla, thank you for your good questions and continued interest in the project. You are encouraging. To my parents, to whom this book is dedicated, I want to express my gratitude for the hours of quality childcare you rendered so freely and frequently. Thank you for giving me time and space to work on this book. I am also grateful to the many, many scholars and authors whose works I have utilized in preparing this book. You have taught me a great deal, and I have tried my best to give credit where credit is due. Thanks also to two of my former students, whose work I quote in the book. I want to thank Fortress Press for partnering with me again on another book project. I appreciate the good people there and owe a special word of thanks to Neil Elliott. Thank you for all the help you have given me along the way to see this project through to completion. It is deeply appreciated. Also, to Marissa Wold, thank you for your patience and for your help in the production phase of this project. Words are inadequate to express my thanks to my wife and best friend, Elisa, for enduring endless conversations about the violence of Scripture, which she did with characteristic good grace and real interest. Her very careful reading of this manuscript (some parts more than once!) and very helpful suggestions along the way have improved the book in countless ways. You are a gem! I also want to say thank you to my two young children, Nathan and Rebecca, for being patient with a book-writing Daddy. You bring me such immense joy and remind me of the really important things in life. Thanks for being such wonderful kids! I am hopeful this book will be helpful to many readers who struggle with the violence of Scripture, and with violent readings of Scripture, and yet are not willing to give up on these texts. To you I offer the assurance that there are other ways, and better ways, to read the Bible. I trust this book will be a useful guide for the journey. ...

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