The accomplished poet and preacher, J. Barrie Shepherd, retells a series of dramatic Old Testament "encounters" from a contemporary point of view, using poetic imagery and diction. Among the stories he reexamines are Jacob at Jabbok, Moses on the Mountain, Jacob at Bethel, Elijah and the Voice, Gideon at Harod, Adam and Eve at the Garden, Abraham in Moriah, Sarah at the tent flap, Joshua at Jericho, Isaiah at the Altar, and Ezekiel and the Wheel. By retelling these familiar stories in new and unexpected ways, Shepherd challenges us to reexamine many of the basic issues of biblical theology and their relevance to the contemporary world.