Discovering the Old Testament

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 50 We come to the end of this series with a quick look ahead at the Intertestamental Period, where the canonical Torah was tested in the forum of social upheaval, war, and sectarian strife. We … Continue reading → The post Part 50: The Intertestamental Period first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 49 Modern biblical scholarship has yielded tremendous insights; no study of the Bible is complete without referring to its insights. And yet it brings with it certain blind spots that cannot be overlooked. In this … Continue reading → The post Part 49: Scripture and Scholarship first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 48 Continuing the discussion after the canonization of the Torah, we learn how two more  sections, the Prophets and the Writings, came to be part of the Hebrew Scriptures. We also learn why some of … Continue reading → The post Part 48: Building the Hebrew Canon first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 47 One of the most radical changes in Jewish religion came near the end of the Old Testament period, when Ezra the Scribe mandated the study of the newly-canonized Torah as a religious act, and … Continue reading → The post Part 47: Ezra, the Torah, and the Beginning of Scripture first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 46 The Books of Chronicles often get short shrift because they present a sanitized version of King David, but combined with the allied books of Ezra and Nehemiah, they provide a basis for debating a … Continue reading → The post Part 46: The Chronicler first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 45 With the end of captivity in Babylon came new opportunities and new challenges. Regaining ancestral lands and the right to rebuild the Jerusalem Temple did not mean the task would be easy. Politics and … Continue reading → The post Part 45: The Second Temple first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 44 More of the minor prophets and the beginnings of late-Jewish and early Christian apocalypticism. Plus, some stuff about Jonah and that whole unfortunate incident with the giant fish and how it might not be … Continue reading → The post Part 44: The Minor Prophets, Continued first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 43 A brief look at two of the more famous Minor Prophets, Amos and Hosea, who were roughly contemporary with the prophet Isaiah. We learn how they spoke to their time, and the picture they … Continue reading → The post Part 43: The Minor Prophets first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 42 A book of worldly wisdom; how to live well, to lead a good life, and how everything works out, except when it doesn’t. Take a look at the ancient Israelite version of ancient Near … Continue reading → The post Part 42: Proverbs first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 41 Still in regular use after more than two thousand years, the Psalms have an immediacy and directness that makes them some of the most important parts of the Biblical corpus. They also have also … Continue reading → The post Part 41: The Psalms first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 40 Perhaps the most sceptical book in the Old Testament, Ecclesiastes is a fearless challenge to the notion that living a good life consists of nothing more than blindly obeying a set of rules in … Continue reading → The post Part 40: There is a Season first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament: Part 39 One of the most controversial and difficult books in the Old Testament, the Book of Job flies directly in the face of one of the Bible’s favourite themes, namely that if you do everything … Continue reading → The post Part 39: The Book of Job first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 38 When the official and unofficial religious institutions of Judaism lay in ruins, Ezekiel had the unenviable task of picking up the pieces in order to start rebuilding. His writing makes is clear that he … Continue reading → The post Part 38: Ezekiel: Prophet of the Restoration first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 37 Ezekiel the prophet had the unenviable task of speaking for a God who, by all appearances, had abandoned his people. His commission was to rebuild the people’s trust in God, as well as the … Continue reading → The post Part 37: Ezekiel: Prophet of the Exile first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 36 Jeremiah and the Book of Lamentations are a remarkable mixture of despair and faith, destruction and hope. Written through the time of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple of Solomon, followed by shameful … Continue reading → The post Part 36: Jeremiah and Lamentations first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 35 Perhaps no prophetic figure of the Old Testament is more iconic than Jeremiah who preached at a time of precipitous decline of the Jewish nation and witnessed first hand its decline from a covenantal … Continue reading → The post Part 35: Jeremiah first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 34 Celebrated in music, art, and literature, the Fourth Servant Song in Isaiah 52 and 53 is remains one of the most celebrated and controversial figures in Old Testament prophecy. Who or what was this … Continue reading → The post Part 34: The Suffering Servant first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 33 Idolatry and the threat of its syncretism with Jewish religion posed a major threat to Jewish identity. While Isaiah fights idolatry fiercely and relentlessly, he must also find a way to understand a shocking … Continue reading → The post Part 33: Idols, Irony, and the End of Exile first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 32 Where First Isaiah’s message is one of destruction, humiliation, and punishment for a covenant people gone astray, the primary motif of Second Isaiah could not be more different. Where there was doom, now there … Continue reading → The post Part 32: Comfort, Comfort Ye My People first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 31 In our continuing exploration of Isaiah and his ministry, we look at how he and other Israelite prophets received their call, their local competitors, and how Isaiah’s message of compassion and justice for the … Continue reading → The post Part 31: Isaiah's Calling and Commission first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 30 An interlude on the historical context of Isaiah’s writings, penned when ancient Judah literally faced destruction and annihilation from a relentless, ruthless, and seemingly unstoppable Assyrian military machine. Yet it was within the very … Continue reading → The post Part 30: Isaiah and the Assyrian Crises first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 29 The Prophet Isaiah was one of the most articulate proponents of social justice as the core social and religious duty of the Jewish nation. Through his brilliant poetry and incisive prose, he communicates his … Continue reading → The post Part 29: An Introduction to Isaiah first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 28 From the wild ecstatics to the grand poetic literature of the classical Hebrew prophets, prophecy in ancient Judah and Israel changed and adapted to meet the changing needs and challenges that faced the Chosen … Continue reading → The post Part 28: Ecstatics, Diviners, and Prophets first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 27 Moses promised the Israelites that God would raise up a prophet like him when Israel needed one. The portrait of Elijah and Elisha is of two such prophets with unmistakable associations with Moses, sent … Continue reading → The post Part 27: "Moses 2.0" first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 26 The seeds of dissent planted by Solomon came to fruition under his son Rehoboam when ten of the Israelite tribes in the north broke away and formed their own kingdom, Israel. For the next … Continue reading → The post Part 26: The Divided Kingdom first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 25 The son of King David and Bathsheba, Solomon was renowned for this wisdom, his wealth, and his women. Under his reign as described in the Bible, the Israelite kingdom arguably reached its zenith. But … Continue reading → The post Part 25: Solomon's Wisdom first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 24 A look at the ways of kings in the lands of Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, and Syro-Palestine and how their colors and flavors of kingship reflected on Israel’s new monarchy. We examine the influence of … Continue reading → The post Part 24: Kingship in the Ancient Near East first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 23 As one of the most famous characters in the Old Testament, King David continues to inspire and challenge readers to this day, raising the question: just how much mayhem can one commit and still … Continue reading → The post Part 23: The Reign and Legacy of King David first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 22 The Bible presents a consistently negative picture of Canaanite religion as a miasma of excess and debauchery masquerading as religion. But the discovery in 1929 of Canaanite texts written in Ugaritic have added some … Continue reading → The post Part 22: Kickin' It With the Canaanites first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 21 Israel’s transition from a loose confederation led by charismatic leaders and judges was not easy, but seemed necessary. Samuel, the prophet who helped guide the Israel through this difficult adjustment, expressed no illusions about … Continue reading → The post Part 21: Early Prophets, Early Kings first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 20 Judges records the transition of Israel from a scattered collection of tribes caught in a cycle of sin and redemption, but where each iteration of that cycle brings them closer to social and institutional … Continue reading → The post Part 20: Judges: There Was No King in the Land first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 19 The Book of Joshua introduces us to the end of the Exodus and the entry into the Promised land of Canaan. As the Bible tells the story, it’s an unsettling read for readers with … Continue reading → The post Part 19: Joshua, the Conquest of Canaan, and Israelite Holy War first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 18 The system of sacrifices among the ancient Hebrews is one of the more perplexing aspects of the Old Testament and Jewish Law. As with the purity regulations, the ancient Hebrew legalists took religious metaphors … Continue reading → The post Part 18: Sacrifice, Sin, and the Cosmic Order first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 17 How did the people who first assembled and wrestled with the text of the Old Testament interpret their scripture? In this session, we will introduce the Jewish interpretive methods of Pesher and Midrash, along … Continue reading → The post Part 17: Interpreting the Text first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 16 More than almost anything else, the Sabbath is the defining institution of ancient and modern-day Judaism. We look at this unique holiday, and its place in Judaism. This episode also examines the various law … Continue reading → The post Part 16: Sabbaths and the Israelite Social Safety Net first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 15 What are the purity regulations all about? Why did they matter so much? What were the ethical foundations of the Jewish dietary laws? In this installment, we address these questions and, along the way, … Continue reading → The post Part 15: Purity, Holiness, and Life Triumphant first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 14 The Exodus from Egypt and the theophany at Sinai are the defining moments in Israel’s history—literally. This is when Israel is “created” as a nation. It is not just a geographical exodus from Egypt … Continue reading → The post Part 14: The Exodus first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 13 The story of Joseph and his rise from slavery to near-ultimate power, and his role in saving his family from famine not only sets the stage for the Israelite Exodus out of Egyptian slavery, … Continue reading → The post Part 13: The Story of Joseph first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 12 What does the science of archaeology tell us about the past, especially the world of the Bible? In this episode we will learn about the basic problems facing the archaeologist, its essential assumptions, and … Continue reading → The post Part 12: Archaeology and the Bible first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 11 How Jacob outwitted his father-in-law to secure his future, and deflected the wrath of his brother Esau upon his return to his family homeland. Some thoughts on animal husbandry, tactical gift-giving, and how the … Continue reading → The post Part 11: Jacob's Cunning first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 10 In which we meet Jacob the deceiver who, with some help from his mother Rebecca, does what he must to secure the blessing meant for his brother, and gets cheated in his turn. Here … Continue reading → The post Part 10: Rebecca, Jacob, and Esau first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 9 Two episodes from Abraham’s life are difficult for many readers: Abraham’s attempted deception of King Abimelech, and the Sacrifice of Isaac. Apart from the questions they raise, they give the character of Abraham the … Continue reading → The post Part 9: The Trials of Abraham first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 8 The stories of the Patriarchs, beginning with Abraham, are stories of survival. How did these progenitors survive, and why were they favored to receive God’s covenant? This was a major question that Genesis seeks … Continue reading → The post Part 8: Abraham's Covenant first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 7 Abraham’s world: living the life of the desert pastoral nomad where reputation is wealth, generosity a necessity, gift-giving a political tool, and hospitality as one of the most sacred of obligations. … Continue reading → The post Part 7: Abraham in the Desert first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 6 The story of the Flood is one of the most well-known and controversial in the Old Testament. Other flood stories have been found in Babylonian and Sumerian sources; what do they tell us about … Continue reading → The post Part 6: The Great Flood first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 5. An interlude; how to get more out of your Old Testament reading by selecting a good translation, using reference tools, concordances, commentaries, and more. Plus a special study technique that will richly reward the … Continue reading → The post Part 5: Some Tools and Tips for Serious Readers first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 4 The creation of humanity, a quick look at the Documentary Hypothesis, and humans as participants in the creative process. Life in the Garden, temptation, consequences and how they were understood. Runtime: 22:23. … Continue reading → The post Part 4: The Creation of Humanity, Life in the Garden, and Temptation first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 3 Creations stories and their role in the ancient Near East. Genesis as a polemic against Babylonian ideas, and the unique role of humans in the created order according to Genesis. Runtime: 19:46. … Continue reading → The post Part 3: The Beginning; Cosmogony and Covenants first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 2 How the Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures are organized, the sections and the books. Sources of the text: the Masoretic Text, the Septuagint, Targums, and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Finally a first look at covenants: what … Continue reading → The post Part 2: Organization and Sources of the Old Testament first appeared on Lafkos Press.

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 1 Entering a strange and exotic world; geography, an introduction to the ancient mindset. What the Old Testament is and is not, and some hints for readers who are just getting started. Runtime: 20:44. … Continue reading → The post Part 1: Introducing a Very Strange World first appeared on Lafkos Press.