Includes bibliographical references (p. 423-434) and indexes.

Introduction / Marcia J. Bunge -- Texts from the Hebrew Scriptures -- "God was with the boy" (Genesis 21:20) : children in the Book of Genesis / Terence E. Fretheim -- Exodus as a "text of terror" for children / Claire R. Mathews McGinnis -- That the children may know : children in Deuteronomy / Patrick D. Miller -- To discipline without destruction : the multifaceted profile of the child in Proverbs / William P. Brown -- "Look! The children and I are as signs and portents in Israel" : children in Isaiah / Jacqueline E. Lapsley -- "Israel, my child" : the ethics of a biblical metaphor / Brent A. Strawn -- Texts from the New Testament -- Children in the Gospel of Mark, with special attention to Jesus' blessing of the children (Mark 10:13-16) and the purpose of Mark / Judith M. Gundry -- "What then will this child become?" : perspectives on children in the Gospel of Luke / John T. Carroll -- Children in the Gospel of John / Marianne Meye Thompson -- "Tell me a story" : perspectives on children from the Acts of the Apostles / Joel B. Green -- Finding a place for children in the letters of Paul / Beverly Roberts Gaventa -- Like a child : Paul's rhetorical uses of childhood / Reidar Aasgaard -- A place of belonging : perspectives on children from Colossians and Ephesians / Margaret Y. MacDonald -- Thematic essays -- Children and the image of God / W. Sibley Towner -- Child characters in biblical narratives : the young David (1 Samuel 16-17) and the little Israelite servant girl (2 Kings 5:1-19) / Esther M. Menn -- "He placed a little child in the midst" : Jesus, the Kingdom, and children / Keith J. White -- Adoption in the Bible / David L. Bartlett -- Vulnerable children, divine passion, and human obligation / Walter Brueggemann.