The unfortunate tendency of certain scholarly circles to chop the Pentateuch into multiple sources later sewn together by a group of clumsy redactors has a needed corrective in studies like this one that examine the Pentateuch as a unified work of literature -- and thus make theories of redactors superfluous. JEDP is not dead yet, thanks to the lack of a replacement, but The Pentateuch as Narrative serves well enough as yet another stake in its heart.

Sailhamer's book, you should be forewarned, is not one you settle into a chair with in front of the fireplace. It is best read as a reference source, or with large breaks in between -- some might say, like the Pentateuch itself with all of its laws! This work is really a sort of anthology of literary, cultural and social data that, although very much a dry read, should prove indispensable to the student of Pentateuchal studies who is thoroughly dissatisfied with the ruling yet dying JEDP paradigm. Think of it as an investment.