There is no book more important for our culture than the Bible, and it is fundamental to the study of English literature and language. But the Bible is actually little read and its resonances in poetry, plays, and fiction are becoming forgotten and lost. This book is designed primarily, though not exclusively, for students of English, giving a collection of some of the most important passages from the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, with introductions and commentaries, and selections of texts from literature which use and incorporate these passages in different ways. It explores how closely the Bible is linked with some of the great imaginative literature in English, beginning with the creation stories in Genesis and moving through to the visions of the End in Revelation. There are extensive introductory essays and full reading lists.

David Jasper is Professor in Theology at Glasgow University, Director of the Centre for the Study of Literature and Theology at Glasgow, and general editor of Literature and Theology and International Journal of Theory, Criticism and Culture. He has published widely in the fields of theology and literature.

Stephen Prickett is Regius Professor of English Literature at Glasgow University. Co-editor of the World's Classics Bible, his books include Reading the Text: Biblical Criticism and Literature (1991), Words and 'The Word': Language, poetics and biblical interpretation (1986), Origins of Narrative: The Romantic Appropriation of the Bible (1996). He is a member of the editorial board of Literature and Theology.