Onlookers

The Bible is not only a treasury of great stories and interesting characters, it also explores the important concerns of today's world.

The sixteen people in Onlookers are drawn from biblical sources, some only mentioned in passing, others more central to the event. Characters who offer a different perspective on well-known Old and New Testament stories, who might help us think of the way we live our lives today; like Rahab the prostitute, Jephthah tortured by his promise to sacrifice his beloved daughter, and Simon of Cyrene who carries Christ's cross.

In Onlookers, those in the shadows now have the opportunity to share their own fascinating stories, vividly recreating a time and place we thought we knew.

Praise for Onlookers
'Readers of Valerie Volk will be delighted with her new offering, Onlookers, beautifully written stories of biblical people unheard. These insightful stories of betrayal, love, retribution and more, make us reflect with a different way of looking. The stories and discussion questions are suitable for adults and young adults alike to savour and recollect.' - Dr Rosanne Hawke

'Volk continues to surprise. These are not simply stories of forgotten characters, or familiar stories told from an unfamiliar angle. This is a collection of deep psychological profiles of a range of biblical characters from the sympathetic (Elizabeth), to the misunderstood (Rahab), to the quite frankly bad (Lamech). Each is unexpectedly complex, and each has something to share with us. I will never read their stories in the same light again.' - Dr Mark Worthing

'Sit with Valerie Volk's onlookers and be transported by what they see and hear and feel. Volk is an imaginative and theologically informed interpreter of the key biblical encounters she holds in focus: from the prophets of old to the coming of the promised Messiah.' - Associate Professor Jennifer Gribble