CONTENTS -- INTRODUCTION -- ONE: THE NAMES OF GOD: THE PROBLEM: A PRELIMINARY REVIEW -- A Meta-literary Address to the Problem: Source-Analysis -- An Essentially Literary Address to the Problem: Cassuto -- The Names of God in Nonnarrativc Texts and the "Evolution" of Biblical Monotheism -- Excursus: On the Names of God in the Psalter -- On the Evolution of Biblical Monotheism -- On Terms for Divinity, Common and Proper -- The names 'Elohim and YHWH -- YHWH Introduces Himself by Name -- The Patriarchs' Use of the Name YHWH -- The Solution to the Problem: A (Literary) Hypothesis -- PART I: STORIES-"THE PRIMEVAL HISTORY" -- TWO: THE CREATION STORY IN GENESIS, CH. I:I-2:4A -- The Bearing of Enuma elish on Genesis I -- The Genesis Creation Story: Translation -- The Genesis Creation Story: Commentary on Days One to Six -- Review of Diction in the Six Days of Creation -- Literalism and Metaphor in Genesis I and Enuma elish -- A Poetic Reading of Enuma elish -- Paganism and Biblical Religion Compared and Contrasted -- Pagan and Biblical Anthropology: A Contrast -- THREE: EDEN AND EDEN'S AFTERMATH -- The Story of Eden -- Sexuality, Sapience, and Civilization -- Sexuality and Death: Their Nexus -- Why Must Man Die? -- The Eden Mythos: Its Kerygma -- Aftermath of Eden: Second Generation, Second Banishment -- Poetical Review of Eden vis-à-vis the Creation Story -- Poetical Review of the Names of God -- The Compound Name: YHWH-Elohim -- Excursus: The Nonliterary Approach to Cain and Abel -- Poetical Review of Genesis 1-5 -- FOUR: THE FLOODS OF NOAH AND UTNAPISHTIM: THEOLOGY STRAIGHT AND THEOLOGY SATIRIC -- On Floods and Birds -- On Literalness and Source Analysis -- The Babylonian Flood Story -- The Babylonian Flood Story as a Critique of Paganism -- The Biblical Flood Story: Text -- On the Sources or Strands in the Flood Story: A Preliminary Discussion.

Poetical Review of the Flood Story -- A Note on the Strands -- Noah's Deluge and Utnapishtim's: A Comparison -- FIVE: FROM NOAH TO ABRAM -- The Drunkenness of Noah -- The Tower of Babel: Text and Preface -- Mesopotamian Connections -- Babel in Its Biblical Setting -- "The Primeval History": An Overview -- SIX: EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF ABRAHAM -- Abram the Noble Warrior -- The Covenant (Concluded) between the (Animal) Parts -- Episode A: Revelation, Promise (and Trust) -- Episode B: How the Covenant. Was Made -- Abram's Other Wife -- The Names of God in Genesis, Chapters 16 and 21 -- The Annunciation of Isaac's Birth - Two Versions -- Annunciation's Aftermath -- YHWH and Abraham in a Dialogue on God's Justice -- The Story of Lot -- The Names of God in Genesis, Chapters 18 and l9 -- Three Domestic Triangles -- Poetical Review of the Names of God -- The Madness of Father Abraham: Genesis 22 -- Comparing the Akeda with Another Binding -- Isaac and Iphigenia, Abraham and Agamemnon: A Comparison -- PART II: STRUCTURES -- SEVEN: STRUCTURES AS A BIBLICAL LITERARY PHENOMENON -- Genealogies and Chronologies of Cain and Seth -- Genealogies Continued: The Line of Shem -- The Chronologies of the Lines of Seth and Shem -- Chronology as Clue to Narrative: The Missing Years in Jacob's Life -- How Four Hundred Years Can Equal Four Generations -- Playing the Bible's Number Game: Another Solution -- Abram's Roots and Uprootings -- Abraham's Revelations and Altars -- Digging Wells in Philistia -- Addendum: Two More Genealogies and Another Numbers Game -- SUPPLEMENTS, CONCLUSIONS, ANTICIPATIONS -- EIGHT: POETICAL ODDS AND ADDENDS -- Apologia -- In re Genesis I: Scripture and the Mythopoeic Imagination -- Paganism, Ancient: and Modern: Metaphysics in Myth and Science -- The Sabbath: Its Meaning -- The Septets of (Social) Morality.

The Sabbath Day in the Two Decalogues: A Poetical Comparison -- Two More Addends -- NOTES -- BIBLIOGRAPHY -- INDEX -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- V -- W -- Y -- Z.