'In Testament, Philip Law exercises the kind of applied scholarship that even the angels themselves must applaud. For power, clarity, and sheer beauty, it would, I suspect, be impossible to exceed either Law's aesthetic reach or his gift for presenting the Christian Bible as Odyssey as well as primal source of sacred doctrine. 'The concept of a narrative Bible is hardly a new one, many scholars and armchair scholars having made their own attempts over the years. What sets this volume apart and elevates it to the state of masterful accomplishment is, in part, Law's keening reverence for the consistency, which informs the original, and his skilled employment of familiar conventions to smooth the mind's way as it reads. For example, Christians and Jews alike will find much to praise in Law's graceful melding of portions of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers to create the Testament section, "Israel in the Wilderness." Similarly, in the New Testament, St. Paul's defense of his beloved gospel vision has never been more coherent-or, therefore, more potent--than it is in Law's deft and subtle abridgement of the Acts of the Apostles. 'In sum, Testament is a book that both the world and the Church have long needed.

I commend it to all of us.'Phyllis Tickle, Compiler, The Divine Hours.