invites students and scholars alike to explore the various ways in which the concept of silence is expressed in the Old Testament and the many meanings it conveys. John Kessler surveys the diverse facets of the Old Testament’s understanding of silence to help readers discover the richness of this often-overlooked biblical theme. Each chapter examines various biblical texts relating to a different aspect of silence and uncovers the distinctive understanding of silence those texts present; at the same time, this thematic investigation opens up new perspectives on the broader contours of Old Testament theology in all its stunning complexity. These portraits of silence, both divine and human, will introduce readers to a novel way of understanding the relational dynamics within the divine-human relationship. As the biblical texts move between silence and sound, readers will discover the crises of faith experienced by the people of God in their journey, even as these hardships hold within them great hope for Israel’s future. Most significantly in the Old Testament, silence emerges as a sacred medium of communication between the Lord and the people of God, modeling even for the contemporary life of faith a posture of hopeful openness to the often mysterious ways of the divine.