To the modern audience of Handel's Israelite oratorios the narratives of the librettos and their common themes are unremarkable and usually unremarked. But if we look at their biblical sources, we notice that the librettists made choices – what to take, what to leave, what to emphasise – and used their minds more than they admitted in their genteel disclaimers of the value of their librettos. Compilers of anthem texts had established a precedent for bold selection, rearrangement and adaptation of holy writ for musical setting (see chapter 3), on which the librettists built. Some common elements, and some common emphases, in their manipulation of the Scriptures become apparent when we compare their texts with their sources. In general, we can say of the librettists that

1. they used the partisan focus on the Jewish people but not the division into factious tribes

2. they emphasised the conflict with other nations and greatly reduced the proportion of internecine strife

3. they used divinely aided Israelite victories but proportionately far fewer Israelite disasters

4. they used the priestly caste but not its dominance

5. they used the heroes' virtues but proportionately fewer of their human weaknesses

6. they used the concept of the Covenant and extended it (for example, there is no mention of God in the biblical Book of Esther)

Comparison of an individual libretto with its source fills out this picture.