Dragons in Genesis

The Hebrew Bible is now complete, so what's next?

In the mid second century BCE, the people of Judea did the impossible… the ended centuries of foreign rule by expelling the Seleucids and reviving the divine Judean kingship. To celebrate their victory, they wrote stories which pretended to predict this achievement and cast a legendary hero from Canaanite mythology as their prophet. The result included angels, foreign gods, dragon-slaying, and great beasts that would reappear in Revelation.

In the aftermath of the fall of Jerusalem the population was lost, bereft of king and temple. Their prosperity and security had been taken from them and family members had been carted away to a distant land. But perhaps worst of all, their own deity seemed to have turned his back on them. But when he finally took notice he didn't offer comfort, but wrath.

Perhaps no other single book of the Hebrew Bible is as important to the New Testament authors as Zechariah. From it we find the idea of a suffering servant figure, a Davidic savior, one who is pierced through, who enters Jerusalem riding on a donkey and will remove the sins of the people before being elevated to the throne of heaven to sit beside God.

Could Yahweh be a dying-and-rising god? Does Malachi speak to the worship of Asherah in the Jerusalem Temple? Was Yahweh originally an angel who served his father, El Elyon? All these questions and more are raised by the minor prophets who saw the restoration of Judah as a parallel with the restoration of nature and linked it with annual sacrifices.

From giants and witches, to sun gods and talking animals, the Bible is littered with strange mythology. Curious stories concerning mystical beings can be found in every book, but one of the strangest stories is that of Jonah. Not only is a man eaten by a fish, but this prophet might just shed light on another myth which was prominent in the ancient world but seems blasphemous to modern theologians… Jonah might just tell us that, once upon a time, God died.

Throughout the New Testament we're treated to countless examples of literary influence from the older texts, including the Book of Enoch and the works of Homer. But most striking are perhaps the numerous examples of New Testament authors borrowing directly from the Hebrew Bible in order to craft their most memorable scenes. From the nativity story to the crucifixion, virtually every scene from the life of Jesus can be traced to Jewish writings centuries earlier.

As the returning exiles begin settling in Judah and our timeline moves nearer the Intertestamental Period, the literature looks both forward and backward in time, to themes of a coming day of judgment that will lay the foundation for Christianity and to the idea that past sins caused their recent downfall which will soon inspire the mythic history which serves as the origin story for the Jews.

The influence from neighboring cultures in Second Temple Judaism cannot be overstated, but that influence shows up in some surprising places and comes from some surprising sources. Perhaps none more alarming are the Babylonians themselves who took the upper classes from Jerusalem hostage. From this hostile neighbor the Jews would get a new writing system, a new calendar, units and measures, the concept of the Sabbath, and even a new home for Yahweh, the great temple of the Babylonian storm-god Marduk.

An enemy of Judah is an enemy of Yahweh, and what better way to describe his enemies than in terms of his most ancient of foes, the great sea dragon? But this section of Ezekiel isn't just populated with dragons, but also angels with flaming swords, god-kings, trees that reach into heaven, and rivers of blood.

The Bible is filled with strange scenes, but few can compare with the opening of Ezekiel when the sky is filled with clouds, fire, and lightning and a vision of a strange entity described as “wheels within wheels” terrifies the prophet so that he cannot speak for a week. But it's hardly the strangest thing we'll encounter in this episode. There's also the worship of a bronze snake, a resurrected Sumerian god, child sacrifice, and Yahweh's own mother.

The Mediterranean region is littered with myths of storm gods fighting great sea monsters, and Israel is no different. Their dragon goes by the name Leviathan and wishes to swallow up the world, and Yahweh, in a great tumultuous flood. This is part of their creation myth, but it can serve another purpose. It can be recycled to explain military losses and the destruction of Yahweh's temple… but to do that, Yahweh must side with his greatest enemy, the dragon itself.

As the destruction of the temple draws near, Jeremiah offers mixed messages of hope and despair, of violent ends and joyous beginnings. The city will be dismantled, no, it will be burned down. The temple will be toppled, or perhaps consumed by cleansing flames. And through it all the story of Zarathustra shines as the prophet replays the court scene from the legendary Persian prophet.

Moses is presented as the prototypical prophet who brings Yahwism to a nation of people who have forgotten Yahweh. Under his reform and leadership they eradicate idolatry and establish a new covenant. But is Moses the true prototypical prophet, or is he modeled after another?

When the Jewish exiles returned from Babylon they brought with them sweeping changes to their religion, changes formed during and after their captivity. Many changes were unwelcome, but as they were backed by the Persian state, they held sway in the newly-built Jerusalem. As their reforms took root, older forms of Yahweh worship were deemed apostate including the acknowledgment of Yahweh's siblings, the worship of his consort, and the practice of sacrificing children to appease their deity.

Throughout human history people have attempted to explain tragedy with divine wrath. Great calamity seems to invite magical explanations as we seek meaning in our suffering. The final chapters of Isaiah attempt exactly that, ascribing their crushing defeat at the hands of the Babylonians to Yahweh's anger and using such an explanation as a polemic against rival styles of worship. And in doing so, the anonymous prophet offers hope in time of suffering.

Throughout the Hebrew Bible we've found important sections that were inspired by older myths and stories. From the opening chapter of Genesis drawing upon the Babylonian creation epic to Jacob's struggle with the mysterious figure by the river taking details from the Epic of Gilgamesh, outside inspiration permeates the stories. But were the stories of Abraham and Moses inspired by portions of the book of Isaiah? And was Sarah, Abraham's wife, originally a Canaanite goddess?

The Hebrew Bible is filled with prohibitions against human sacrifice as Yahweh repeatedly states he is against such practices and has never asked for them. Yet buried within the text are stories which the redactors forgot to remove, stories in which Yahweh fiery pits are maintained for the purpose of sacrifice children and even entire armies to the patron god of Jerusalem.

The Jubilee Year was a time of change in Jewish lives, a time when property was returned to its original owner and people returned to their homes. A time to return the disrupted nation to a more orderly state. It should come as no surprise that this concept was linked with the Great Flood in which sin was washed away, leaving the world ready for a new and fresh creation. And as Isaiah explores these connections, he provides a wealth of inspiration for later Christians.

Throughout the story of Jesus we find countless references to Old Testament passages, and no book of the Hebrew Bible is quoted more often than Isaiah. The contents of this book is concerned with themes of judgment and atonement, the remission of sin and the consequences of corruption, the destruction of the temple and the return to glory, and most importantly, the coming of the messiah.

The Song of Songs is a collection of erotic poetry that somehow made its way into Jewish scripture, but how did this occur? Apologists have long struggled with this idea, offering thee excuse that it's secretly an allegory for the love of Yahweh to his chosen people. But the poetry contained in this book might be a love poem between two other deities entirely.

The book of Ecclesiastes, also called Qoheleth, is a curious text whose inclusion into the Hebrew canon has troubled scholars for centuries. It's an introspective, pessimistic writing that violates traditional wisdom theology by positing that wisdom brings grief and moral behavior is fruitless.

We conclude our study of Proverbs with sections 3-8 of the book which includes the Poem of the Good Wife, a work that outlines what it means to be a good woman and the type of person a man should look for when choosing a partner. Moreover, it tells what a husband can expect from a good wife. Though this poem, and the book which contains it, might fall short in offering moral guidance.

The book of Proverbs, attributed to King Solomon despite the fact that most sections are individually attributed to other editors, provides us with poems, phrases, guidance, and sometimes-timeless advice. And in a few places it gives us a glimpse into long-forgotten aspects of Jewish mythology, such as a great Mother Goddess who helped create the universe!

The final episode covering the Book of Psalms includes the Thanksgiving Psalms, Liturgical Psalms, and the Acrostics. But we aren't satisfied with covering 150 psalms included in the Bible. We dig up 5 more psalms that have been discovered in various manuscripts and examine those as well.

We tackle 3 more genres of Psalm, the Hymns, Wisdom, and Royal Psalms and discuss their usefulness in early Christian literature.

In the wake of the the Babylonian Conquest many Jews found themselves living in captivity, prisoners of their conquerors. Their city destroyed, their worship interrupted, they longed for the days when Yahweh would once again rule over them and provide safety for their nation and community. Thus was born the lament psalms, songs meant to inform God of their difficulties and beg his assistance, psalms that offered praise and promises in exchange for aid.

In the wake of the the Babylonian Conquest many Jews found themselves living in captivity, prisoners of their conquerors. Their city destroyed, their worship interrupted, they longed for the days when Yahweh would once again rule over them and provide safety for their nation and community. Thus was born the lament psalms, songs meant to inform God of their difficulties and beg his assistance, psalms that offered praise and promises in exchange for aid.

We conclude our coverage of Job by examining the subsequent layers which were added to the text over the centuries and examine the theological implications of these layers. Does the new information contradict the original narrative, and why is the Book of Job so important to christianity?

This is a story all about howJob's life got twist-turned upside downGive me an episode or two and I'll explainHow God inflicted Job with a life of painThe story of Job is NOT what you think. In fact, there isn't actually one story presented in the book, but several. And we're covering all of them.

Imagine ancient Jews who didn't observe kosher laws, had no special interest in Jerusalem, didn't practice circumcision, married foreigners, and wrote stories that never mentioned their god. This may seem difficult to imagine, but for Jews living outside of Judah, this was ordinary. Esther explores life in the Persian Empire through a tale of court intrigue and manipulation as it attempts to explain the origins of an ancient festival with pagan roots.

The Torah is centered around the idea that the descendants of Abraham are the rightful residents of the land of Israel and the religion they follow is the one true faith. Their law code comes from Moses and the land is granted to them according to divine covenant with Yahweh. But according to the Bible itself Abraham came from Babylon and the Law Code was written in Persia. And maybe, just maybe, the entire story of Abraham and Moses were written to provide Jewish pedigree for Persian ideas.

The Song of Songs is the only piece of erotic love poetry included in the Hebrew Bible, and the imagery in the song is borderline pornographic. That's why I chose to recite the poem with appropriate music.

The Post-Exilic return to Judah from Babylon is central to Jewish theology, but why? Shouldn't their religion have simply picked up where the First Temple left off? What if the Second Temple wasn't a mere continuation of the old religion, but a fresh start? What if Moses and Joshua, and even Abraham were stories told to support a new religion which actually angered adherents to the older form of Judaism? And what if this new religion was a political tool instituted by the Persians? And what if the Bible actually said as much?

The wild inventions of the Chronicler continue in this episode as we cover the entirety of the First Temple Period beginning with King Solomon and ending with the Temple's destruction at the hands of the Babylonians, ushering in the influence of Persian rule and religion which is evident in the text. See how the Chronicler changes events from the record of the Books of Kings in order to satisfy his own theological views.

The two books of Chroniclers are yet another attempt by biblical authors to rewrite their national history and create new scripture which contradicts the older versions. What makes Chroniclers stand out is the fact that the older version of history, the books of Samuel and Kings, were too prolific to erase. So we're able to see how they attempted to rewrite history yet again and compare and contrast Chronicles with its source material. And in this episode that's exactly what we're going to do.

Set during the time of the Judges, the Book of Ruth follows Ruth and Naomi, two widows returning to Bethlehem during the wheat harvest. Neither has money or prospects, but by the end of the tale they will have secured their future. But is there more to the story than a tale of women taking control of their own destiny?

Things aren't going so well for Israel and Judah. Beset on the west by the Egyptians, the east by the Assyrians, and each other from the north and south, God's chosen people are battling for their lives. But their hardships are due to their own wicked ways as they offend Yahweh at every turn. However, they didn't know that what they were doing was wrong, because, according to the text, they hadn't yet been told of their covenant with Yahweh.

Elisha the prophet. Elisha the miracle-worker. Elisha the moon god. As the Israelites moved to a lunar calendar the importance of their lunar figures such as Elisha became more important, thus their stories of greatness and miraculous achievements grew until they outshined those of even their sun gods. Blessed with a double portion of divinity, Elisha is unparalleled in the books of Samuel and Kings as the most powerful prophet... and he doesn't like children.

How much sun god imagery can you fit into one character? I'm not sure, but the story of Elijah is trying to cram it all in there. From calling down fire from the sky (multiple times) to cursing the land with heat waves, the story of this prophet has it all. He also has more parallels to Moses than you can shake a magic staff at... which he also does.

Solomon's turn toward strange gods and stranger religious practices has convinced Yahweh to punish the nation of Israel by dividing it into two separate kingdoms, the northern land of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. This begins a series of conflicts led be two successions of kings who seem to go out of their way to displease the Lord. In the Books of Kings we're treated to political intrigue, betrayal, curses, harlots, and child sacrifice.

The greatest structure ever built in Jerusalem was Yahweh's temple, but the story of its construction might be a product of a much later generation. And the details preserved of the early religion still shine through and seem strange to monotheistic religions of today.

What did the early Christians believe about Jesus? Prior to the writing of Mark's gospel, Christian theology seemed... strange. It hints that Jesus lived in the heavens and never set foot on earth. But surely that can't be what the first Christian authors are hinting at. So what if they're not hinting at all? What if they left explicit writings detailing their beliefs about the cosmos and Christ's purpose and actions? And what if that writing had nothing at all to do with a man who ever walked the earth?

Paul can't seem to stay out of trouble and lands himself in prison once again. While cooling his heels he preaches to the guards and sends out a few letters. What do they say? Apparently Jesus lives in outer space.

Everything that could go wrong within a church has gone wrong. One member is sleeping with his stepmother and his immoral behavior has attracted the ire of Paul’s rivals who seek to undermine his authority. If that’s not bad enough, the congregation has turned against him. Some are denying that Christ was resurrected and others are openly cursing Jesus! What is an apostle to do? Write a stern letter, of course.

Paul's final letter, written to the Christians in Rome, contains a treasure trove of information which sheds light on the beliefs of the early Christian community. Though these beliefs don't always match up with the tale later told in the book of Acts. And the Jesus that these early Christians worshiped may have been quite different from anything we could have previously guessed.

The apostle Paul gives us our oldest surviving Christian writings which were addressed to congregations on two continents. But the version of Christianity he preach and the story of Jesus that he and his congregations understood, is significantly different from what would be stated in the later gospels. His ideas seem constantly at odds with the Hebrew Bible, which he seems to believe is irrelevant to Christianity.

We conclude our survey of the Book of Enoch with the Epistles of Enoch. This fifth and final section deals with blessings of the righteous and curses for the wicked, the destruction of heaven and earth, and the divine nature of Noah. We also dig into the overall theology of the authors of this book and how it sets the stage for Christianity.

In the Book of Visions we find a strange and curious section entitled the "Animal Apocalypse" which tells the entire history of the world, but replaces all the main characters with various animals. One portion, involving a great man who is being portrayed as a ram, has been hailed as a prophecy for Jesus' imminent arrival. But the truth behind this scene might be something else entirely. This might recall an event which is connected to the origins of Hanukkah and the story of Samson.

In the middle of 1 Enoch lies the Astronomy Book, a strange manuscript which details the method for establishing a solar calendar. While this may be important for tracking the seasons, it's difficult to comprehend why it should be included in scripture. Unless there's more to this book and their calendar than we previously believed.

Our study of the Book of Enoch continues as we dig deeper into the Similitudes of Enoch. The order of creation is laid out, the power of names is revealed, and we finally learn the identity of the Son of Man.