Table of Contents
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
PART I: THE BEGINNING
ACT ONE: ADAM AND EVE, BUT MOSTLY EVE
1 AS LINE LEADER, YOU MAKE A RATHER STARTLING ENTRY
2 ANOTHER CREATURE—ONE LIKE YOU, SORT OF—SHOWS UP
3 IT’S ENTIRELY POSSIBLE THAT NONE OF THIS IS WHAT YOU’VE ASSUMED IT TO BE!
4 ABOUT THE WOMAN
5 WHO ARE WE? THE RISE OF THE INTERPRETERS
6 THE FRUIT OF THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF…EXACTLY WHAT?
7 ENTER THE SERPENT, CHOICES & CONSEQUENCES
8 EVE TAKES THE RAP
9 ANOTHER EVE
10 JUST IN CASE YOU ARE WONDERING WHAT THIS HAS TO DO WITH YOU: ORIGINAL SIN, MY GRANDMOTHER, ME, AND THEE
11 A FEW FINAL IRONIES. ADAM AND EVE GET THE BOOT
ACT TWO: CAIN AND ABEL, BUT MOSTLY CAIN
12 THE FIRST BIRTH IS A CO-CREATION. SO IS THE FIRST MURDER— THEN AGAIN, MAYBE NOT
13 SWIMMING IN ABEL’S POND
14 IRONICALLY, CAIN’S RULE DOES BRING A TOUCH OF CLARITY
15 WITH THE UNIVERSE AS MY CAUSE, I LEAD A QUIET, VERY SMALL, INSURRECTION
16 THE PLAYWRIGHT TAKES A SHOT
17 CAIN’S ALL-TOO-FAMILIAR BEHAVIOR. YAHWEH AS THERAPIST. A CHANCE NOT TAKEN. SIN AS A THING WITH ITS OWN EXISTENCE
18 THE BEAST AND I COME NEAR TO TOUCHING, OR, HOW ONE CAN DO SUCH A THING
19 ANOTHER SORT OF DEATH
20 CAIN’S QUESTION, RICHARD WRIGHT, AND A MATTER OF LUCK
21 GRIEF
22 THE MATTER OF CAIN’S WIFE, THEIR SON, AND THE FOUNDING OF URBAN CULTURE
23 ADAM AND EVE HAVE MORE CHILDREN. A GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT GRANDSON WHO DOES NOT DIE, WHOSE GREAT-GRANDSON WAS NOAH
24 A MATTER OF EVIL?
NOAH: IN THREE ACTS, A STORY FAR MORE INVOLVED THAN YOU MIGHT THINK
ACT ONE: BEFORE THE FLOOD
25 GODLINGS AND WOMEN MAKE GIANTS IN THE EARTH. PLANS ARE MADE FOR A MAKEOVER
26 ON REFLECTION, I BEGIN TO SUSPECT HOW MADE-IN-THE-IMAGE-OF MAY WELL BE AN ONTOLOGICAL TRAP
27 MUSING ON SAID TRAP, I DISCOVER THAT MAKING THE PERFECT HUMAN BEING AND BUILDING THE PERFECT MODEL AIRPLANE ARE ENTERPRISES WITH SURPRISING PARALLELS
28 WHO IS NOAH? IT’S A QUESTION OF CHARACTER. OR SANITY. OR BOTH. BUT, WHOSE?
ACT TWO: THE FLOOD
29 FIRST, ABOUT THE ARK, WHICH IS DEFINITELY NOT A BOAT
30 ABOUT THE FLOOD, WHICH IS DEFINITELY NOT A FLOOD
ACT THREE: AFTER THE FLOOD
31 THE FIRST COVENANT. NOAH PLANTS A VINEYARD, MAKES WINE, GETS DRUNK, AND (FIGURATIVELY) MURDERED
32 SEARCHING FOR NOAH, I TAKE A SIDE-TRIP TO THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL, AND COME TO TERMS WITH AN OLD HATRED
33 TOWER OF BABEL, OR, OUR GIFT FOR MISSING THE MEANING IN WORDS
PART II: THE WANDERERS CALLING
34 MUSINGS ON “BEING COMMISSIONED,” A.K.A., DRAFTED, HIJACKED, SHANGHIED
35 SCHOOL CHUMS DISCOVER WHAT THE POET KNEW. THE SHRINK, HIS A-BOMB, AND LIMITS
36 NOAH, ABRAHAM, JONAH, TEXAS IN THE FIFTIES, AND HOW A CALLING MIGHT SOUND
37 THE QUESTION NEVER ASKED
38 AT TWELVE, AN ECSTATIC EXPERIENCE, OR AN ALLERGIC REACTION TO INCENSE, DISRUPTS, THEN REDIRECTS, MY LIFE
ABRAHAM
ACT ONE: A NEW APPROACH
39 ONCE AGAIN TO THE DRAWING BOARD
40 A MATTER OF RESPONSIBILITY
41 IT SEEMS, AFTER ALL, THAT THERE ARE NO NON-PECULIAR PEOPLE
42 A BIT OF ADDITIONAL CREATIVITY IS CALLED FOR
43 A CHANGE IN THE DIVINE APPROACH. THEN, AS IF THE IRONY IN PLAN C WERE NOT QUITE THICK ENOUGH…
44 “YAHWEH’S PICK TO LEAD NEW PLAN—A CAUSE FOR CONCERN IN THE MARKETS?”
45 I BECOME AN AGEIST
46 THE VIEW THROUGH A CERTAIN LOOKING GLASS
47 WRAPPED IN A CONUNDRUM, MORALITY ENTERS A GRAY ZONE
48 WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?! INTERPRETERS GET CREATIVE, MY PERSONAL FAVORITE, AND YET ANOTHER SURPRISE
49 TOO MANY CATTLE
50 ABRAHAM SHOWS A SURPRISING GIFT FOR MILITARY TACTICS, THOUGH IT PROBABLY NEVER HAPPENED
51 YAHWEH REPEATS THE PROMISE—AGAIN. THEN AGAIN. AND AGAIN
ACT TWO: FAMILIES
52 SARAH HAS AN IDEA. THE FIRST SOAP OPERA
53 A DIVINE MESSENGER (WHO IS NOT AN ANGEL!) MAKES A PROMISE TO HAGAR
54 A COVENANT, NEW NAMES, A GOOD LAUGH, CIRCUMCISION, PROMISES OF A SON NAMED LAUGHTER AND, WHY NOT ISHMAEL?
55 THREE VISITORS ARRIVE. NOW IT’S SARAH’S TURN TO LAUGH
56 THE RELATIONSHIP SOLIDIFIES, AND ABRAHAM IS MORE THAN HE SEEMS
57 EDDIE, MY FATHER, A POOL GAME, AND ABRAHAM. I DISCOVER THERE IS YET MORE TO KNOW
58 A FAILED TEST, AND TWO CITIES ARE NUKED
59 A GREEK MYTH, LOT’S WIFE, MY COMPLAINTS, AND A HAWK
60 MOTIVE?
61 ABRAHAM AND SARAH GRIFT ANOTHER KING
62 SARAH GIVES BIRTH TO THE BOY NAMED LAUGHTER. HAGAR AND ISHMAEL ARE SHOWN THE DOOR
ACT THREE: THE TEST
63 ABRAHAM IS TOLD TO SACRIFICE ISAAC
64 STILL, SOME OF US THINK THE STORY IS TERRIFIC!
65 ISAAC PROVES HARD TO FIND
66 SARAH AND MOUNT MORIAH
67 SARAH’S DEATH AND BURIAL. ABRAHAM SENDS HIS SERVANT TO FIND A WIFE FOR ISAAC
68 THE DEATH OF ABRAHAM
PART III: THE BLESSING THIEF, A STORY IN THREE ACTS
ACT ONE: THE GRIFTER
69 THE NAME, EARLY CHARACTER, AND ASPIRATIONS OF SAID THIEF
70 THE RED STEW INCIDENT, WHEN THE INCONVENIENT BROTHER, A MAN OF SIMPLER AMBITION, PROVES AN EASY MARK FOR THE BLESSING THIEF’S DARK TRICKSTER
71 WITH HIS MOTHER’S AID, JACOB STEALS THE BLESSING (UNLESS WE’VE ALL BEEN DUPED)
72 I DISCOVER A HIDDEN TALENT FOR TRICKSTERISM, AND THE THRILLS OF THE DARK SIDE
73 A FASCINATING CONUNDRUM INVOLVING MACRO LOGIC
ACT TWO: THE MARK
74 THROUGH THE BLESSING THIEF’S EYES
75 A DREAM ABOUT A LADDER REVEALS ALL THE CARDS IN THE DIVINE HAND. THE BLESSING THIEF’S CHUTZPAH
76 THEN, ON SEEING THE GIRL, HE FALLS INTO LOVE’S STUPOR
77 HIS SLEAZY UNCLE, HER FATHER, PULLS A BAIT-AND-SWITCH, AND THE BLESSING THIEF WAKES UP NEXT TO THE WRONG WOMAN
78 SPECULATION ABOUT HOW IT HAPPENED, AN APOLOGIA FOR THE BLESSING THIEF. THE BOY GETS THE GIRL HE’D WANTED
79 JACOB’S WIVES, THEIR PROXIES. THE NAMING OF THE FIRST TEN CHILDREN BECOMES AN ALMOST POIGNANT STRUGGLE FOR DOMESTIC TURF
80 WHEN THE BLESSING THIEF DECIDES TO RETURN HOME, UNCLE LABAN AGREES TO THE SEVERANCE TERMS, THEN TRIES TO CHEAT HIM—AGAIN
81 THE BLESSING THIEF LETS THE TRICKSTER OUT OF THE CLOSET. UNCLE LABAN IS NO MATCH
82 AFTER ONE OF MY OWN DANCES INTO THE DARK SIDE, I CONCLUDE THAT THE TRICKSTER IS A BETTER FRIEND WHEN HE WEARS A LEASH
83 HIS KIN READY TO KILL HIM, THE BLESSING THIEF MAKES A RUN FOR IT. LABAN CATCHES UP, BUT LOSES FACE. MAKING A PACT, EACH TURNS FOR HOME. THEN, ONCE AGAIN, ANGELS
ACT THREE: THE SEED
84 NOW THERE’S NO AVOIDING A FACE-TO-FACE WITH THE INCONVENIENT BROTHER. BUT WOULD HE STILL BE ANGRY? MUSINGS ON RESENTMENT
85 THE BLESSING THIEF REVERTS TO WHAT HE KNOWS BEST. BUT THIS TIME HE IS DIFFERENT
86 LIKE THE BLESSING THIEF, I DISCOVER THAT THE TRICKSTER CAN SUPPORT A GOAL NOT TOO ETHICALLY CHALLENGED, OR, “HOW TO LOSE A BIG CLIENT IN THREE DAYS AND BE (ALMOST) HAPPY ABOUT IT”
87 A STRANGER ATTACKS FROM OUT OF THE DARK, CHEATS A LITTLE, THEN GIVES THE BLESSING THIEF A NEW NAME
88 WHICH HE’LL THINK ABOUT IF HIS PLAN FOR SURVIVING HIS ENCOUNTER WITH THE INCONVENIENT BROTHER AND THOSE FOUR HUNDRED MEN SUCEEDS
89 THE NEED TO SPIN THE BLESSING THIEF’S BEHAVIOR NECESSITATES PAINTING THE INCONVENIENT BROTHER AS A SCOUNDREL
90 DINAH
91 THE BLESSING THIEF IS THE IRONIC TURNING POINT IN THE LARGER STORY
PART IV: THE DREAM READER
ACT ONE: THE BRAT
92 JOSEPH PROVES HIMSELF TO BE HIS FATHER’S SON
93 JOSEPH TATTLES ON HIS BROTHERS, GETS A TECHNICOLORED COAT. HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS BROTHERS APPROACHES THE TIPPING POINT
94 JOSEPH DREAMS
95 AS A SIDENOTE, DID YOU KNOW THAT DAVID—THE DAVID—WAS ANOTHER BIBLICAL BRAT?
96 I SPECULATE ABOUT OTHER, MAYBE DEEPER REASONS FOR HATING JOSEPH
97 AT TWENTY-ONE I LEARN WHAT IT IS TO BE HATED
98 JOSEPH IS DRY-GULCHED BY HIS BROTHERS, FINDS EMPLOYMENT IN EGYPT
99 JUDAH AND TAMAR
ACT TWO: THE SLAVE-INMATE
100 JOSEPH IS SOLD, RISES TO A HIGH PLACE, THEN FALLS-AGAIN
101 I MANAGE TO ATTRACT YET ANOTHER NEAR DISASTER
ACT THREE: JOSEPH IN EGYPT
102 LIKE HIS FATHER AND GREAT-GRANDFATHER BEFORE HIM, JOSEPH RISES UP FROM THE ASHES OF HIS LATEST DISASTER
103 JUST AHEAD, ANOTHER EYE-POPPING DOSE OF BIBLICAL IRONY
104 JACOB FADES, REUBEN PROVES INEPT
105 THAT WE MAY LIVE AND NOT DIE – JOSEPH’S BROTHERS SET OUT TO BUY FOOD
106 WITH THE FAMILY IN CRISIS, JUDAH STEPS UP
107 JOSEPH SHOWS A CRUEL STREAK, QUESTIONABLE JUDGMENT, THEN REDEEMS HIMSELF
108 OFF TO EGYPT, A VISION, A PROMISE, A MOMENT WITH PHARAOH. THEN JOSEPH BECOMES DICTATOR OF EGYPT—OR NOT
109 LAST THINGS
