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Title: A frank engagement with oft-neglected biblical texts
Review: In this very readable (but not very comfortable!) book, Penchansky carefully examines five less-frequently-read biblical narratives: God's nocturnal attack on Moses in Exodus 4; God's outbursts against Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10) and Uzzah (2 Samuel 6); King David's fatal census (2 Samuel 24); and Elisha's frightful curse (2 Kings 2). Penchansky also treats Genesis 3, a much more familiar text. In each case, Penchansky squarely faces up to the dark and disturbing images of God portrayed by these texts. He handles these texts with literary skill, theological acumen, and socio-historical imagination. Anyone who is interested in the Hebrew Bible's portrayals of God should read this book. It doesn't tell the whole story (and Penchansky doesn't pretend that it does), but it engages certain biblical ways of imaging God that are often neglected by readers nowadays.
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