Irish historian Eamon Duffy on the ‘paradoxical power’ and gripping family drama of the Book of Genesis.
Having to nominate one favourite biblical book, I will assume I am also allowed the psalms and the four Gospels, the fundamental texts of Christian liturgy. But how to choose between the rest – the sublime poetry of the Book of Job or of Second Isaiah, the novelistic portrayal of character and narrative pace of the David story in 2 Samuel, or the romantic charm of the Book of Ruth? In the end, I opt for the Book of Genesis, and not just because, at 50 chapters, it is one of the longest books of the Bible, and so best value for money.
