Arguably, the fountain of western civilization itself is a collection of stories passed down from generation to generation and ultimately collected in a book. The stories include the emergence of voice from void, a divinely parted sea, a God-sent flood that destroyed all humanity but for one man and his family, and many others. The stories, of course, are from The Old Testament, or the Tanakh, as Jews call it.

This audiobook, pleasantly performed by the fatherly-voiced Kerry Shale, is a simply written prose account of some of the Old Testament’s most famous stories. Theologians may object to the retelling in modern vernacular of these seminal tales, but casual listeners will receive a fine reminder of the roots of their literary and cultural lives.