The remarkable thing about the Old Testament is the persistence of its visions of a better humanity and a better world. Rather than seek to establish what people may or may not once have believed in ancient Israel, John W. Rogerson addresses the human condition in todays world, asking what interpreters are doing today when they invoke the biblical texts. He draws on the insights of modern thinkers, including Benjamin and Bloch, Adorno and Horkheimer, Assmann and Habermas, to explore the dynamics of cultural memory in human communication.