Category: The Patriarchs
The Metaphor of Sexual Violence in the Hebrew Bible: A Recent Post by Non-Alchemist
“I will lift up your skirts over your face; and I will let nations look on your nakedness and kingdoms on your shame.” Nahum 3:5, NRSV The Bible is full of sex. This is sometimes masked by English translations of the text, but it is most… Continue Reading “The Metaphor of Sexual Violence in the Hebrew Bible: A Recent Post by Non-Alchemist”
Wayne Pitard: Garbled Facts in Oral Tradition and the Book of Genesis
Wayne T. Pitard, “Before Israel: Syria-Palestine in the Bronze Age,” in The Oxford History of the Biblical World, Michael D. Coogan, editor (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), 27. There are many reasons to be skeptical of [the Patriarchal] narratives as historically accurate accounts of… Continue Reading “Wayne Pitard: Garbled Facts in Oral Tradition and the Book of Genesis”
The Weekly Roundup – 2.14.20
Happy Valentine’s Day! To both of my readers, I love you! Over at Is That in the Bible? readers can find a lengthy post on the story of Joseph entitled “From Robes to Riches: The Fairytale of Joseph.” In this piece, Paul Davidson discusses… Continue Reading “The Weekly Roundup – 2.14.20”
The Towering Arrogance of Cheap Apologetics: Heather Schuldt, Moses, and the Documentary Hypothesis
“In the fall of 2018, the problem of Wellhausen’s teaching and his followers came to my attention while working on my master’s degree.” – Heather Schuldt on 10.28.181 When I was around ten or eleven I kept a red notebook filled with my musings… Continue Reading “The Towering Arrogance of Cheap Apologetics: Heather Schuldt, Moses, and the Documentary Hypothesis”
Michael D. Coogan: The Quest for Historicity of the Patriarchs
Michael D. Coogan, The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures, third edition (OUP, 2014), 89. The further removed biblical writers are from the events they describe, the less secure are modern scholars’ attempts to determine whether these events actually happened.… Continue Reading “Michael D. Coogan: The Quest for Historicity of the Patriarchs”
Michael D. Coogan: ANE Parallels to Genesis 12-50
Michael D. Coogan, The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures, third edition (OUP, 2014), 83. Many elements of the plot of Genesis 12-50 are found in other ancient literatures. Among these, one of the most significant is the epic of Kirta (also… Continue Reading “Michael D. Coogan: ANE Parallels to Genesis 12-50”
Invasion of the Bible Snatchers: Ray Comfort’s ‘Scientific Facts in the Bible’ – Innumerable Stars
To see other posts in this series, please go to the series’ page. Among fundamentalists there are few as notable and infamous as Ray Comfort. Known primarily for his Way of the Master evangelism program and organization, Comfort has been a vocal opponent of evolutionary science,… Continue Reading “Invasion of the Bible Snatchers: Ray Comfort’s ‘Scientific Facts in the Bible’ – Innumerable Stars”
Weekly Roundup – 9.14.18
Here are a few things I’ve enjoyed this week. Twitter user @Elishabenabuya has a really good blog post on “Henotheism and the OT“ over at his website. As he points out, multiple gods are mentioned in the Old Testament, many of which were acknowledged to be real in some… Continue Reading “Weekly Roundup – 9.14.18”
Richard Elliot Friedman: “Let’s Do the Math”
Richard Elliot Friedman, The Exodus: How It Happened and Why It Matters (New York, NY: HarperOne, 2017), 64-65. So let’s do the math: Eight out of eight Israelites with Egyptian names are Levites. Two out of two accounts of the revelation of God’s name make… Continue Reading “Richard Elliot Friedman: “Let’s Do the Math””
Testing ‘The Covenant’ – Bernard Lamborelle Faces the Experts
Last week on The Non Sequitur Show, Bernard Lamborelle appeared to discuss his book The Covenant: On the Origin of the Abrahamic Faith by Means of Deification. I have not had an opportunity to read the book and so cannot offer a synopsis but here is… Continue Reading “Testing ‘The Covenant’ – Bernard Lamborelle Faces the Experts”
The Amateur Exegete 