while fretheim's catch phrase, “metaphors matter,” can be universally affirmed, he is sometimes guilty of thinking that they matter too much. this leads him at time to engage in an overly literal reading of scripture. metaphors reveal god to us, but they are not god himself. “the modern interpreter’s challenge, which is not adequately confronted in this book, is to discern how the old testament understood its metaphors.” he overstates his case when discussing incarnational metaphor and theodicy. white says, “there is no need for fretheim to argue (as he does) that all theophanies were in human form in order to substantiate the interrelationship between theophanic motif and the prophet.” saying that a human figure can be inferred within the pillar of cloud or the burning bush (p. 94–95) is speculative at best, and fretheim doesn’t need it to advance his argument.