The Bible is Art

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In this video we look at what beauty has to do with modesty. Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins

Why Samson is a good guy. Sorry about the audio. Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins Audio: Ben Sound

The Decoupling of Sin: Hans Urs Von Balthasar, Hans Jonas & Hitler Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins

In this video I look at why college is dead and evaluate the new University of Austin. Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins Sources: - https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-college - https://www.statista.com/statistics/184272/educational-attainment-of-college-diploma-or-higher-by-gender - https://www.naceweb.org/job-market/compensation/salary-trends-through-salary-survey-a-historical-perspective-on-starting-salaries-for-new-college-graduates - https://www.marketwatch.com/graphics/college-debt-now-and-then - https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2019/05/bloat-does-not-explain-the-rising-cost-of-education.html

In the 8th part of the series we look at the fifth and sixth fundamental aesthetic property: simplicity and complexity. And we see their theological and philosophical connections. Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins

There is often much more to classic fairy tales than meets the eye. In this video we take a look at the sophisticated symbolism of Beauty and the Beast. Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins

In this video we explore the fascinating technique of how God hides in Esther. Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins

Richard Dawkins believes that it would be immoral or unwise to not abort a baby if you knew he would have Downs Syndrome. Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins

In this video we look at the beautiful symbolism in Karen Blixen's (pen name "Isak Dinesen") short story, "Babette's Feast" (made into a film). Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart ​Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com​ Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins

In this video we look at whether all stories need happy or redemptive endings and take a look at a clip by Terry Gilliam Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart​ Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com​ Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins

Matthew 13 is the center of Matthew's Gospel and it holds some fascinating secrets. Original Article: https://theopolisinstitute.com/the-se...​ Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart​ Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com​ Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins

In this video we explore why I'm against practical preaching...and why I think God is too. Original Article: https://theopolisinstitute.com/agains...​ Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart​ Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com​ Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins

There's literary and moral art in Stephen's stoning is stunning. Glory be to God. Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart​ Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com​ Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins

In this video I look at some of the strange and arresting details in the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins

Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins

Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins

In this video we look at the nature of miracles and art with an interview with Matthew McConaughey on the Joe Rogan podcast. Against Practical Preaching (https://theopolisinstitute.com/agains...) Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins

In this video I look at why Judah and Judas are so similar. Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins

In this video we look at how look tells the story of the healing of the Centurion's servant as a war. Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins

In this video we look at hierarchy, one of the fundamental properties of beauty. Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins

Some thoughts on the Hennessy bottle designed by the architect Frank Gehry. And symmetry. And Russell Kirk. Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins

We explore the beautiful pattern of the third day in the Scripture. Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins

In this note I chat about Trump's rhetoric and the theology of laughter. Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins

A few questions to think about regarding political signs and architecture. Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins

In the 5th part of the series we look at the two most fundamental aesthetic properties: unity and diversity. And we see their theological and philosophical connections. Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins

In this video we're looking at why the chief priests buy a field with the money Judas gives back to them. Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins

Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins Video Essay on "The Peanut Butter Falcon" - https://youtu.be/4Qn2kW1Jxww | Transcription | In the book The Poetics of Biblical Narrative, Meir Sternberg has a chapter on gaps in stories. He says that “To understand a literary work, we have to answer, in the course of reading, a series of such questions as: What is happening or has happened, and why? What connects the present event or situation to what went before, and how do both relate to what will probably come after? What are the features, motives, or designs of this or that character? How does he view his fellow characters? And what norms govern the existence and conduct of all?” And it is in answering these questions, these gaps, that we will make sense of the work. But the problem is that “few of the answers to these questions have been explicitly provided [in the text]...From the viewpoint of what is directly given in the language, the literary work consists of bits and fragments to be linked and pieced together in the process of reading: it establishes a system of gaps that must be filled in.” And Sternberg notes that this is true with all stories, not just complicated ones. For instance, he tells a Hebrew nursery rhyme that goes like this “Every day, that's the way Jonathan goes out to play. Climbed a tree. What did he see? Birdies: one, two, three! Naughty boy! What have we seen? There's a hole in your new jeans!” We assume that Jonathan got the hole in his jeans from the tree, but that is nowhere said, we had to piece that together. Gaps are especially important in a film that deals with hiddennes. So let's look at Terrence Malick's film, A Hidden Life, and fill in some gaps. On the surface, A Hidden Life is about an Austrian farmer, Franz Jägerstätter, his wife and three daughters during World War II. The film follows the struggle of the family as Franz becomes a conscientious objector who is jailed and then executed. The title of the film is taken from George Eliot's novel Middlemarch. The quote in full reads, that “the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts ... is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.” The most obvious meaning of the film is that the hidden life upon which the good of the world is dependent is Franz and his family. But how Malick directs this hidden life reveals depths of his art and the art of Franz's life. There are many things hidden in this film. Perhaps most strikingly, World War II itself is hidden. While we see some historical footage of Hitler, the SS, some fire, Malick chose to show nothing of the war proper, no warfare, no fighting. The most obvious and popular aspects of the war he has hidden from us.

Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins | Best Books on How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE) | Transcription | The story of Zacchaeus is one of the most well known stories in the gospels. But when you read it there is a strange information distribution. Now, what's information distribution? One of the helpful things that you can do when you're trying to understand a story, especially a well-known one, is look at how much information is devoted to each major section or event or character in the story. The purpose of doing this is to see what the author actually focuses on, what he wants us to pay attention to. Because if it's a very well-known story our attention naturally gravitates toward the parts that are popular. So let's look at the information distribution in our story. The story of Zacchaeus is short, it takes less than a minute to read, so let's read the whole thing: He entered Jericho and was passing through. And look, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” The story consists of 10 verses. Seven of the verses happen outside with the crowd with Zacchaeus running up in a tree and coming down and the crowd grumbling. Only three verses are the conversation between Jesus and Zacchaeus, you could say the moral of the story. So we have a strange amount of attention on Zacchaeus' action and the tree. I mean, why have all the stuff about the tree anyways couldn't we just have the conversation in the house, Zacchaeus telling Jesus that he'll give away a bunch of his stuff and Jesus saying that salvation has come here? One of the fundamental features of great art, whether it's architecture, music, or literature, is that all the parts work together to make the whole, all the parts, the sentences, the words, the images contribute to the main thesis of the work. So there's never a shape or a note or an image that's not serving the goal of the work. So let's look at the craft of Luke and how these images and actions contribute to his message. Luke opens the story like this: “He entered Jericho and was passing through.” (Luke 19:1) Jesus has just about finished his journey to Jerusalem that started 10 chapters earlier and just like the journey of Israel in the wilderness ended with them passing through Jericho, so Jesus passes through Jericho. But this is not a little detail to fill out the scene, Luke is showing us that this Jericho scene is parallel to the Jericho scene in the book of Joshua.

In this video I Iook at the the symbolism and meaning of Jesus being laid in a manger as well why there is a Joseph (Jesus' adopted father) at the beginning and and a Joseph (Joseph of Arimathea) a the end of the (some) of the Gospels. Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins | Best Books on How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE)

In this video I look at the first words of Ahab. Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins | Best Books on How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE)

In this video we look at the fundamental properties of beauty. Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins | Best Books on How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE)

Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins

In this video I look at Matthew's quote from Micah 5 in Matthew chapter 2 when the scribes tell Herod were the Christ is to be born. There's more going on that you might think. Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins | How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE)

In this video I look at the meaning of the number of the beast: 666. G.K Beale's Article: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/why-is-the-number-of-the-beast-666/ Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins | How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE)

In this video we look at the art of the whole book of Deuteronomy. Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins | How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE)

In this 3rd video in the series "A Christian Guide to Beauty and Design" I look at what makes something beautiful. Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Website: https://www.thebibleisart.com Email: thisdivineart@gmail.com Twitter: @johnbhiggins

In this video we explain the literary art of Ecclesiastes 3.Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisartWebsite: https://www.thebibleisart.comEmail: thisdivineart@gmail.comTwitter: @johnbhiggins| How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art |Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa)Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb)The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk)Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C)The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE)| Literary Structure |Literary Structure of the Old Testament (https://amzn.to/30Jdm8X)Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative (https://amzn.to/2RDTTlQ)| Genesis |Creation: The Story of Beginnings - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2GlPwq9)Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2v7id7Z)Narrative Art in Genesis - Fokkelman (https://amzn.to/2ulmd4t)A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2NOAhdt)A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part II) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2Gcuk6d)Genesis: A Commentary - Waltke (https://amzn.to/2vaBvt7)The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology - Gage (https://amzn.to/2RGjRFo)Abraham and All the Families of the Earth: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 12-50 - Janzen (https://amzn.to/2TVyCqJ)Genesis 1-15, Volume 1 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/2TQnYRO)Genesis 16-50, Volume 2 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/3aDY21J)| Transcription |Welcome back to the Bible is Art where we explore the literary artistry of the Bible and this week we're going to explore that great poem in Ecclesiastes 3 about Time.a time to be born, and a time to die;a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;a time to kill, and a time to heal;a time to break down, and a time to build up;a time to weep, and a time to laugh;a time to mourn, and a time to dance;a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;a time to seek, and a time to lose;a time to keep, and a time to cast away;a time to tear, and a time to sew;a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;a time to love, and a time to hate;a time for war, and a time for peace.Whenever you have a text this famous and repetitive, in order to understand the depth of the art of the author, you have to pay precise attention to the particularities. What words and phrases and in what order. What words does he choose not to use. What repetitions or omissions, patterns, and breaks in pattern. We need...

In this video we're looking at Ezekiel's fascinating literary art where he connects dates and measurements to create a literary Temple.Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisartWebsite: https://www.thebibleisart.comEmail: thisdivineart@gmail.comTwitter: @johnbhiggins| How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art |Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa)Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb)The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk)Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C)The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE)| Literary Structure |Literary Structure of the Old Testament (https://amzn.to/30Jdm8X)Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative (https://amzn.to/2RDTTlQ)| Genesis |Creation: The Story of Beginnings - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2GlPwq9)Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2v7id7Z)Narrative Art in Genesis - Fokkelman (https://amzn.to/2ulmd4t)A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2NOAhdt)A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part II) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2Gcuk6d)Genesis: A Commentary - Waltke (https://amzn.to/2vaBvt7)The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology - Gage (https://amzn.to/2RGjRFo)Abraham and All the Families of the Earth: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 12-50 - Janzen (https://amzn.to/2TVyCqJ)Genesis 1-15, Volume 1 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/2TQnYRO)Genesis 16-50, Volume 2 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/3aDY21J)| Transcription |Welcome back to the Bible is Art where we explore the literary artistry of the Bible and this week we're talking about where Ezekiel's New Temple is.Ezekiel is a strange book and its strange in many ways. One of the ways it is strange is that there are a lot of numbers in Ezekiel. And these numbers come in two forms. First, there are dates and second, there are measurements.Regarding the first, there are more dates in Ezekiel than any other book in the Bible, 14 in total. And most of the time they're very precise, including the year, month, and day. For instance, in the first verse of Ezekiel it says, “In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month…” So why all these dates?Some have thought that they relate to something that happened on or around those dates that we might know about from other sources inside or outside the Bible, but the problem is that we can't make it work, most of them don't really line up with other events we know about. Now it's certainly possible that it may relate to other events, but before offer that...

In this second video in the series A Christian Guide to Beauty & Design I talk about the objectivity of beauty.Video 1 - Introduction (https://youtu.be/xDe5X6Yl-WI)Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisartWebsite: https://www.thebibleisart.comEmail: thisdivineart@gmail.comTwitter: @johnbhigginsImages: Paweł Czerwiński (https://unsplash.com/@pawel_czerwinski)| Transcription |Welcome back to The Bible is Art. We are currently in a series where I bring you along with me as I write a book on a Christian Guide to Beauty and Design. This week we're talking about the objectivity of beauty. Beauty is objective. That is, when I say that poster or a painting is beautiful or well designed, I am saying something about the work, not something about how I feel about it. I'm not offering a preference. I am saying something about the work's nature or essence, it's structure and the relations between its parts. You certainly should feel a preference toward beautiful things, but that has nothing to do with whether it is or is not beautiful. Whether you have good feelings toward a well designed painting is predicated upon your aesthetic development, a topic I shall discuss later when we talk about the Fall and Aesthetic Discipleship. No all this is confused by our language. When we point to a poster, a painting, or album cover and say that it's “good” or “beautiful”, that could mean three things. First, it could mean that I am saying something objective about it, that it is well designed, that is, it has the properties of a beautiful design. Second, It could mean a subjective preference. That is, I am saying something about myself and my internal state that may or may not relate to objective features of the object. Or third, both. That is, I am saying that I do think the object is objectively well designed and I subjectively enjoy it. Unfortunately, this linguistic confusion has caused a lot of confusion in aesthetics. It has contributed one more brick in the house of relativism. But there is no need to conclude that beauty is subjective because of an opaqueness in our language. Let me pause here. While there are subjective aesthetic preferences (for instance, cultural or individual preferences for certain colors or patterns), this has no effect on the objectivity of beauty and its properties. Just as people have preferences for different types of food, there are foundational properties of what makes good food for humans. Arsenic, for example, would not be good food. But the existence or culinary preferences in no way affects the necessary properties to make something good food. Okay, back to the argument. Beauty, good design is objective. It is a feature of objects and we know this for a number of reasons.Intuition. Most people naturally believe that beauty exists and that when we identify something as beautiful we are saying something about that thing and not something about ourselves. And if that's a natural intuition, we would need to have a really good reason to disbelieve.Individual Practice. Every wife assumes that when you tell her she is beautiful that you are saying something about her, not you. And the same goes for the Grand Canyon, iPhones, and stories. And if this is our common practice, the way we live. And there is intelligence in our actions. And, once again, we only need to change our assumption if we have reasons to do so. And I don't think we do.Commercial Practice. When you read standard graphic design texts the rules for good design are universal and widely agreed upon. And when you...

In this video I look at Matthew's quotation from Isaiah 7, "The virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel." Map from Holman Bible Atlas (https://www.amazon.com/Holman-Bible-A...).Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisartWebsite: https://www.thebibleisart.comEmail: thisdivineart@gmail.comTwitter: @johnbhiggins| How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art |Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa)Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb)The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk)Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C)The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE)| Literary Structure |Literary Structure of the Old Testament (https://amzn.to/30Jdm8X)Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative (https://amzn.to/2RDTTlQ)| Genesis |Creation: The Story of Beginnings - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2GlPwq9)Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2v7id7Z)Narrative Art in Genesis - Fokkelman (https://amzn.to/2ulmd4t)A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2NOAhdt)A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part II) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2Gcuk6d)Genesis: A Commentary - Waltke (https://amzn.to/2vaBvt7)The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology - Gage (https://amzn.to/2RGjRFo)Abraham and All the Families of the Earth: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 12-50 - Janzen (https://amzn.to/2TVyCqJ)Genesis 1-15, Volume 1 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/2TQnYRO)Genesis 16-50, Volume 2 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/3aDY21J)| Transcription |Welcome back to the Bible as art, where we explore the literary artistry of the Bible. And this week, we're talking about that great quotation from Isaiah, “The virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel. And we will see how this is one of the most misunderstood texts in the entire Bible. In Matthew's Gospel, after the Angel visits Joseph and tells him to marry Mary and to name Jesus Jesus, Matthew, the narrator, tell us that “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet” and then Matthew quotes from Isaiah, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel.” Which means “God with us.”Now, the most important principle that we have to understand when we are trying to understand how the New Testament authors quote the Old Testament, is that most of the time they are referring to more than just the verse that they...

I'm starting a new series on a Christian Guide to Beauty and Design and I introduce it in this videoSupport the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisartWebsite: https://www.thebibleisart.comEmail: thisdivineart@gmail.comTwitter: @johnbhiggins| Transcription |Welcome back to the Bible is Art and this week we're starting a new series on A Christian Guide to Beauty and Design.For awhile now I've been writing a book. And I've been writing a book because it didn't exist. You see, years ago I was teaching a high school course on Christian Worldview where we had sections on every main area of knowledge. So we had a Christian view of economics, science, ethics, mathematics and aesthetics, the study of beauty and design. And as I looked for material on Christian aesthetics I found that the books that were available were too broad, that is, books talking about the general importance of beauty in the Bible or theology. There wasn't anything that talked about what makes something beautiful, visually beautiful for a Christian. So life went on and my professional life moved into design and photography. So while my undergraduate and graduate training was in Biblical Studies, Philosophy, and Theology, my professional work was and is in an aesthetic discipline. And as I lived in the worlds of design and theology, some very obvious connections became clear to me. But in discussions with people and reading books on beauty, these simple insights were missing. It was for these reasons that I started to write a book on A Christian Guide to Beauty and Design. But as I was writing, I also started this YouTube channel and decided to just release videos on it as I write the book. That way I can get feedback and the book can be truer, better, and I hope more beautiful. So the goal of these videos and the book is simply this: to explain what makes something beautiful and why.And with that let me leave you with these words from the poet Francis Thompson:“The Church, which was once the mother of poets no less than of saints, during the last two centuries has relinquished to aliens the chief glories of poetry, she has retained the palm, but forgone the laurel. Fathers of the Church (we should say), pastors of the Church, pious laics of the Church: you are taking from its walls the panoply of Aquinas; take also from its walls the psaltery of Alighieri. Unroll the precedents of the Church's past; recall in your minds that Francis of Assisi was among the precursors of Dante, that sworn to poverty he forswore not Beauty, but discerned through the lamp Beauty the Light God. What you theoretically know vividly realize: that with many the religion of beauty must always be a passion and a power, that is only evil when divorced from the worship of Primal Beauty.”

In this video I look at the dense style of biblical authors and show how rich it can be with 1 verse: Genesis 37:2.Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisartWebsite: https://www.thebibleisart.comEmail: thisdivineart@gmail.comTwitter: @johnbhiggins| How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art |Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa)Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb)The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk)Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C)The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE)| Literary Structure |Literary Structure of the Old Testament (https://amzn.to/30Jdm8X)Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative (https://amzn.to/2RDTTlQ)| Genesis |Creation: The Story of Beginnings - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2GlPwq9)Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2v7id7Z)Narrative Art in Genesis - Fokkelman (https://amzn.to/2ulmd4t)A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2NOAhdt)A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part II) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2Gcuk6d)Genesis: A Commentary - Waltke (https://amzn.to/2vaBvt7)The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology - Gage (https://amzn.to/2RGjRFo)Abraham and All the Families of the Earth: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 12-50 - Janzen (https://amzn.to/2TVyCqJ)Genesis 1-15, Volume 1 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/2TQnYRO)Genesis 16-50, Volume 2 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/3aDY21J)| Transcription |Welcome back to the Bible is Art where we explore the literary artistry of the Bible and this week we're talking about the dense style of biblical narrators' as well as the sophistication you can achieve in one verse.Let me read to you two different styles of storytelling. First, Thomas Hardy from his book Under the Greenwood Tree. This is the first sentence:To dwellers in a wood almost every species of tree has its voice as well as its feature. At the passing of the breeze the fir-trees sob and moan no less distinctly than they rock; the holly whistles as it battles with itself; the ash hisses amid its quiverings; the beech rustles while its flat boughs rise and fall. And winter, which modifies the note of such trees as shed their leaves, does not destroy its individuality. (Thomas Hardy,)And this is one of the first sentences from the Joseph story, “Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers.”Notice the difference? The biblical narrators are sparse, not florid, unadorned, but dense, dense with meaning and symbolism,...

In this video we look at the symbolism of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh.Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisartWebsite: https://www.thebibleisart.comEmail: thisdivineart@gmail.comTwitter: @johnbhiggins| How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art |Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa)Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb)The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk)Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C)The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE)| Literary Structure |Literary Structure of the Old Testament (https://amzn.to/30Jdm8X)Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative (https://amzn.to/2RDTTlQ)| Genesis |Creation: The Story of Beginnings - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2GlPwq9)Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2v7id7Z)Narrative Art in Genesis - Fokkelman (https://amzn.to/2ulmd4t)A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2NOAhdt)A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part II) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2Gcuk6d)Genesis: A Commentary - Waltke (https://amzn.to/2vaBvt7)The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology - Gage (https://amzn.to/2RGjRFo)Abraham and All the Families of the Earth: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 12-50 - Janzen (https://amzn.to/2TVyCqJ)Genesis 1-15, Volume 1 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/2TQnYRO)Genesis 16-50, Volume 2 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/3aDY21J)| Transcription |Welcome back to the Bible is Art where we explore the literary artistry of the Bible and this week we're looking at the symbolism of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh, and its both different and deeper than I originally thought.We all know the story. Jesus is born and wise men come and bring three gifts to Jesus, Gold, frankincense, and Myrrh. But the question I want to explore is why three gifts and why these gifts.As always in the Bible, if you're trying to understand something the answer is often found in something that came before. And Gold, frankincense, and Myrrh have all appeared in the Bible before. And while these different things occur in different places in the OT, they only occur together in one place, The Temple and Tabernacle.Gold was the characteristic material in the Holy of Holies. The ark of the covenant was made of solid gold and the room was overlaid with gold.Frankincense was used in the offerings, specifically the grain or gift offering. And these offerings only happened at the temple in the first section or courtyard of the temple.Myrrh was used as the first ingredient in...

The Peanut Butter Falcon is an exquisite piece of literary craft and in this video I explore some of the symbolism of the film.Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisartWebsite: https://www.thebibleisart.comEmail: thisdivineart@gmail.comTwitter: @johnbhiggins| Transcription |The Peanut Butter Falcon is a work of the highest literary and dramatic skill. But because it has been described by many critics as a “feel good movie” I worry that its depth, symbolism, careful attention to detail, surgical development of themes and images might be lost. So in praise of this great film, let's look at the art of the Peanut Butter Falcon.Peanut Butter Falcon is a story about Zak, Tyler and Eleanor. Zak is a 22 year old with Down Syndrome who wants to escape his retirement home where has lived since his family abandoned him and to go to a professional wrestling training camp. Tyler, also a young man, fisherman, and thief has a hard time keeping down jobs because he lost his brother one night when he fell asleep at the wheel. After setting fire to a rival's fisherman's gear, Tyler sets on the road to Florida where he runs into Zak whom Tyler agrees to take to the wrestling school in Florida.Eleanor works at the retirement home where Zak lives and will chase after after him before joining their journeyLike any good journey narrative, this external journey mirrors the internal journey, the transformation of persons and relationships.Zak and Tyler as a pair are contrasting as well as complementary, similar and different. That is, they have multiple needs, multiple things that need transformation and one of them they share and one is different.They're similar in that they have both lost family and need a new one. But they are different in the following ways. Tyler is self-sufficient/independent and able-bodied, Zak is dependent and has a physical difficulty. And as they go through their journey both their similar needs and different difficulties will be transformed. Tyler's journey will be a journey out of self-sufficiency and selfishness while Zak's will be a journey out of his self-perception of deformity, disabled. And they will find this as they create a new familyThe first two scenes of the movie open with solitary characters. A shot of Zak and then a shot of Tyler, symbolically communicating their lack of family, their loneliness. This will symbolically change by the end of the movie where the last frame will be Zak, Tyler, and Eleanor, a worker at the retirement home who will run away with them. But let's not jump too quickly to the end.When the story begins Tyler is stealing crabs from other fishermans' traps. The other fisherman confront him, beat him up, and then Tyler sets fire to their equipment. The fisherman see the fire and start to chase after Tyler. Tyler escapes in a boat that unbeknownst to him, Zak hid himself in, looking for anyway to get to his wrestling school.After some convincing, Tyler finally agrees to drop Zak off at the school on his way to Florida. Notice, Tyler begins thinking two false assumptions: first, that they are on different journeys and second, that he is leading Zak. The first rule that Tyler establishes is that Zak cannot slow him down. So between geographically leading them and physically being faster, Tyler assumes that he is the independent, strong one, leading a physically slow, Down Syndrome boy down south.But Tyler doesn't realize that leading the physical journey pales in comparison to the importance of the internal journey of transformation and in that journey he is the follower.This inversion of the leader follower...

In this video I look at why Mary's birth looks like infidelity and why Joseph's righteousness is strange.Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisartWebsite: https://www.thebibleisart.comEmail: thisdivineart@gmail.comTwitter: @johnbhiggins| Transcription |Welcome back to the Bible is Art where we explore the literary artistry of the Bible. And this week we're talking about some strange and lovely things about Jesus' birth.Matthew begins his gospel with an expansive, and exhaustive genealogy. Where Jesus is identified with the highest members of the Israelite family. Kings, priests, prophets, and psalmists. And in all this Jesus is this climactic cumulative character encompassing all of humanity in his body. This is the king about whom this gospel will be about.And in line with this grand backstory Matthew announces to us that he will now give us the story of this King's birth. But as will become a theme in Matthew's gospel this opening story does not unfold as we are expecting.Here's what the text says, Matthew 1:18–21:Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” With Jesus' pedigree we are expecting a parade. But instead, King Jesus' birth almost divides a family, causing a divorce. Furthermore, his birth will look like infidelity, adultery. Mary is pregnant without being with a man.Now why did this climactic king's birth take place in this strange way? Matthew could have easily left it out and he did not include it just for its drama or to give the story texture. So why did he include it? And why did God design his son's birth in this manner?Well first, as we saw in the video about women in Matthew's genealogy, there is an appearance of infidelity, impurity, but in reality, it is the exact opposite. Mary appears to have been impure, sleeping with another man and becoming pregnant, but in reality she has the purity of soul to accept the savior into her body.You see, Jesus' whole ministry will have this same shape. He will constantly be accused of violating the law, of sinning, but in reality he is doing the opposite. He is accused of sin because he is healing on the Sabbath when in reality he was doing what the Sabbath was designed for, the restoration of life. And this is the same shape of Jesus‘s greatest act. It will appear to be the opposite of what it is. It will appear to be defeat when in reality it is victory. Second, this strange birth will show us the first example of the different kind of righteousness that Jesus describes. Remember, he will say that we need to have a righteousness that surpasses the righteousness of the scribes and pharisees. But he is not talking about in quantity, just more righteous acts, but in quality. There is a new kind of righteousness that is needed.Notice, our narrator, for the first time in the Gospel has evaluated a character as righteous. In verse 19 it says, “And Joseph, being a righteous man…” And given how uncommon it is for biblical narrators to give explicit evaluation of characters, why here?You see, Joseph exemplifies the...

In Matthew 1, Matthew changes two names in the genealogy and he has a fascinating reason for doing so.Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisartWebsite: https://www.thebibleisart.comEmail: thisdivineart@gmail.comTwitter: @johnbhiggins

In this video I look at how Jesus reverse the first two sins in the Bible in the last scene in John 21.Article on Matthew 13: The Secret of the Middle of Matthew (https://theopolisinstitute.com/the-se...)Audio Resource: https://www.thebibleisart.com/audioSupport the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisartwebsite: https://www.thebibleisart.comemail: thisdivineart@gmail.comtwitter: @johnbhiggins

In this video I explore the strange and wonderful art of John 21 and its allusions to Genesis 1-3.Article on Matthew 13: The Secret of the Middle of Matthew (https://theopolisinstitute.com/the-se...)Audio Resource: https://www.thebibleisart.com/audioSupport the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisartwebsite: https://www.thebibleisart.comemail: thisdivineart@gmail.comtwitter: @johnbhiggins| Transcription|I love John 21, the last chapter in John's gospel. And I love it because it's weird and there's a lot of things to figure out. So let's review what John 21 is about. After Jesus' resurrection seven of his disciples go fishing during the night. They're unfruitful in the work, not catching any fish, but in the morning, a man calls out to them from the land and gives them instructions how to fish better and then their catch is enormous. Realizing that the man who gave them the instructions is Jesus, Peter puts on his clothes and jumps into the water to swim to him. The disciples then have a meal with Jesus. After the meal Jesus gives Peter work to do, feeding and ruling over animals, sheep. The final episode in the scene is on a path, following Jesus. So that's John 21.And there are many things that are puzzling about this story. First, the existence of the story itself is puzzling. This is because it seemed like the book of John should have ended at the end of the previous scene. I mean, listen to the last verses of John 20:Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.That sounds like a grand conclusion. But John adds a whole nother scene, why?Another thing that's puzzling is why this long section about fishing? Or why does Peter put on his clothes to jump in the water, why seven disciples, why don't they recognize Jesus, why is there 153 fish, and so on. Much like chapter 32 in Moby Dick, where Ishmael catalogs whale species to the boredom of readers throughout history, it's there for a reason, the author means for it to feel out of place because that encourages the readers to engage with the story more deeply. Now most of the time when you don't understand something in the Bible, it is because you haven't understood something that has come before. And to understand what John is doing with this last scene, we have to review some of the story of John's gospel.John opens his Gospel with the strongest allusion to the first chapter of the Bible, “In the beginning…” And this is because in John's Gospel, Jesus is bringing in a new creation. There are allusions to Genesis 1-3 all throughout John. For instance, John opens his gospel with seven days.And much like John's other book, Revelation, where you have seven seals that give way to seven bowls, seven following or opening up to seven more, these first seven days climax with the first of seven signs or miracles in John's gospel.And these seven signs allude to the seven days of the creation week, by these acts Jesus is making a new creation.But if you remember back to the beginning of the Bible, Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden and an angel with a firey sword was set outside to protect the garden from intruders. So in order to get back into the garden to be with God and to start over, someone needs to go through that firey sword.And that's what Jesus does. He dies, and...

In this video I respond to Alain de Botton's School of Life video entitled "How to Replace the 10 Commandments" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwVJJ...). In the process we'll look at what makes the 10 commandments literarily and morally sophisticated.The Bible is the greatest work of literary genius. And The Bible is Art is a YouTube Channel devoted to explaining this literary art in all its sophistication, elegance, and design.Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisartwebsite: https://www.thebibleisart.comemail: thisdivineart@gmail.comtwitter: @johnbhigginsmusic: Kai Engel, "Coelum" (https://www.kai-engel.com)| Transcription |Some time ago the philosopher Alain de Botton's School of Life released a video called “How to Replace the 10 Commandments.” He said that they “maintain an extraordinary hold on our imaginations” but the problem is that they sound “peculiar” today. They were for a particular people and thus they are a bit parochial.In their stead he offers his own ten commandments. And before you watch this video you should watch his that I've linked in the description. Even though many of his commandments relish Alain's gentle and careful character, they should not replace the ten commandments in the Bible. And that is because they're inferior. G.K. Chesterton said that before you tear a fence down, you probably should figure out why it was put there in the first place. So let's look at the art of the ten commandments and the 10 reasons they are superior:Length - The Biblical Ten Commandments are 172 words compared to Alain's which have 614. Alain's are much much longer. Well, why does that matter. Perhaps the ten commandments have such an extraordinary hold on our imagination because of their pithiness. It's difficult to hold something in our imagination if it won't fit. This summary of the moral law was composed not simply to provide moral knowledge but provide it pedagogically. Not just as a list of good things to do but it was designed for consumption and memorization.Moral reasons - Alain's ten commandments do not give us any reason why we should follow his commandments. The Bible's ten commandments by contrast begin with “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of slavery.” The reason why they ought to follow these is because God freed them from slavery. It is quite a more anemic motivation to listen to Alain “simply because he said so.” A moral life requires both reasons for obligation as well as robust motivation - a requirement certainly met with manumission from slavery, as in the biblical ten commandments. And when we are faced with grave temptation to evil, cheating on a spouse, extorting money at work, simply having a list of guidelines without any strong account of obligation won't do any good. A list, even a profound and elegant one may be wonderful, but that doesn't provide a binding or exciting obligation.Moral epistemology - perhaps the strangest part of Alain commandments is that we are never told how we know them. It is as if someone strolls into you office and tells you a list of instructions without sharing with you who they are or on what authority they offer the commands. The Ten Commandments begin with “I am the Lord your God” that is how we know these commandments, by God telling us. Therefore we can expect that deeper insight or clarification on moral knowledge will come from the same source. Should or ought we go to Alain for further insight? Did he get them from somewhere? We're simply left to wonder.Form/Order - Like every great work of art, one of...

In this video I look at the literary art of the whole book of Exodus.The Bible is the greatest work of literary genius. And The Bible is Art is a YouTube Channel devoted to explaining this literary art in all its sophistication, elegance, and design.Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisartwebsite: https://www.thebibleisart.comemail: thisdivineart@gmail.comtwitter: @johnbhigginsmusic: Kai Engel, "Coelum" (https://www.kai-engel.com)| Transcription |The book of Exodus is organized into 3 sections that follow the Israelites from Egypt through the wilderness to Mt. Sinai. So the literary structure looks like this. Israel in Egypt, Israel in the wilderness, and Israel at Mt. Sinai. Exodus is a journey narrative like many of the great stories from The Odyssey, to the Aeneid, to The Divine Comedy, to Pilgrim's Progress, to Lord of the Rings. And the central idea is that the physical journey symbolizes a moral, spiritual, intellectual, or theological journey where the travelers begin in one moral or spiritual place and move to another. In Exodus, Israel begins in slavery and journeys to freedom, Sabbath rest at Mount Sinai. And the symbolic structure works both vertically and horizontally. Horizontally they move from Egypt to Mt. Sinai, one location to another miles away. Vertically, they begin low, at sea level at the Nile river and move up to a mountain.The Israelites begin as servants to Pharaoh and end as servants to God. They begin in Pharaoh's house and end God's house, the tabernacle. They begin by listening to Pharaoh and his laws and end by listening to God and his laws. They begin by building for Pharaoh, remember the storage cities of Pithom and Ramses, and conclude by building God's house.So the author has written all of these symmetries that develop throughout the journey, but the structure of the story goes one level deeper. But to understand the symbolism of why the author structured the book into three sections, we have to review some of the details of the book of Exodus.In Egypt, Israel is enslaved and God calls Moses at the burning bush to deliver his people. God then plagues his people with all manner of elements including raining down fire and delivers his people through the sea. In the Wilderness on the way to Mt. Sinai, God leads his people in a pillar of fire and cloud that illumines their way. Israel complains about the food and God provides them with manna, bread from heaven. When they arrive at Mt. Sinai the firey glory-cloud rests on the mountain and the elders travel up into it to have a meal with God. Moses receives the law as well as the instructions for building the tabernacle.Now why have I summarized the book? The climax of the book, and the thing that gets the most space is the tabernacle - the detailed instructions and then the account of the actual construction. The tabernacle occupies 40% of the book of Exodus - 16 out of 40 chapters. But not only did Moses spend a lot of time talking about the tabernacle, he designed the book to be a literary tabernacle. Just like the Book of Exodus is organized into three sections, geographically designed as Israel journeys from Egypt through the wilderness to Mt. Sinai, so the Tabernacle is organized into three sections through which you may journey: the courtyard, the holy place, and the holy of holies.But the numerical connections are only the beginning. The events throughout the book correspond to objects in each section of the tabernacle.For instance, in the courtyard there is the altar for offerings and the bronze basin for washings. These correspond...