immediate visible and audible intervention (e.g., Gen. 28:17; similar to the beginning and ending of Matthew’s Gospel). A later idea dispenses with any outwardly perceptible influence of Yahweh on history. God’s guidance comes in hidden ways (e.g., the narrative of the wooing of Rebecca, the Joseph stories, Ruth, the history of the succession to David; more like Matt. 5–25). A new way of picturing Yahweh’s action in history led to a new technique in narrative. An era which no longer experienced Yahweh’s