The Bible is a book in which everything is for the first time. Someone cries, someone laughs, someone is hated, someone is loved, and all this is for the first time. So who are these “firsts”? What did they think, what did they want? The Bible does not answer these questions in detail; it is terse. But Meir Shalev, thoughtfully rereading the stories of these “firsts,” reveals their innermost feelings, hidden thoughts, and hidden motives. He leads us into the wise depths of the biblical text, and we are grateful to him for this exciting, dramatic, surprise and discovery journey.