This section of Genesis differs from chapters 1-11 in two main ways. First, it deals with the chosen family, the precursor to the nation of Israel. Second, it focuses much more on the lives of individual characters who come to life on its pages. A predominant theme in this section of Genesis is the concept of election or chosenness, referring to Gods choice of particular individuals as the human channels of his blessing to the entire world. Often Gods choice runs counter to the human choice. Isaac is chosen over Lot and Ishmael. Jacob is chosen over Esau. The chosen nation descends from a series of individuals chosen for other reasons than their order of birth or expected social status. Israel is a chosen nation descended from the unlikely and improbable choices that God made of individuals. This theme of Gods surprising choices binds the narratives of Genesis together and hints at the humility that the chosen nation Israel must have toward their own election.

This volume challenges the assumptions that modern readers tend to make about four of the Hebrew Bible's most prominent heroes. Using a form of reader-response theory, Kissling examines the assumption that these characters are primary vehicles of the narrator's point of view. In three of the four cases it is concluded that traditional idealistic assumptions do not do justice to the textual evidence in its final form. The work calls upon the reader to consider the subtlety of the means used in portraying these heroes and gives evidence for the decidedly negative aspects in their portrayals.