WRITTEN FOR USE WITH SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS, THIS GUIDE TO THE SECULAR AND OBJECTIVE TEACHING OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE EMPHASIZES THE HISTORICAL AND LITERARY CONTEXT OF THE BIBLE RATHER THAN THEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATIONS, AND PRESENTS HISTORICAL, TEXTUAL, AND CULTURAL BACKGROUND MATERIAL FOR SELECTED OLD TESTAMENT NARRATIVES. PART 1 OF THE GUIDE BRIEFLY TRACES THE HISTORY OF THE ISRAELITES FROM THEIR MESOPOTAMIAN ORIGINS THROUGH THEIR EGYPTIAN ENSLAVEMENT TO THEIR EMERGENCE AS A NATION UNDER DAVID. IN PART 2, THE TRANSMISSION AND TRANSLATION OF ISRAEL'S LITERATURE IS REVIEWED FROM ITS ORAL TRADITION TO PRINTED BIBLES. IN PART 3, THE BIBLICAL NARRATIVES ARE DISCUSSED AS EXAMPLES OF FOLK LITERATURE AND AS MAJOR SOURCES OF INCIDENT, SYMBOL, AND ALLUSION IN OUR LITERARY AND CULTURAL HERITAGE. BACKGROUND MATERIALS AND INDUCTIVE STUDY QUESTIONS ARE PROVIDED FOR THE STUDY OF THE PRIMEVAL AND PATRIARCHAL LEGENDS, AND LATER NARRATIVES. AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WORKS OF HISTORY, COMMENTARY, AND REFERENCE IS INCLUDED. THIS GUIDE IS AVAILABLE FROM THE INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS, BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA 47401, FOR $1.45. (JB)