The Bible as Literature

Fr. Paul explains the significance of Tadmor, the “indomitable” city, found in 2 Chronicles 8:4. (Episode 9) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

In the very first verse of the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew raises a question that looms over the entire story: Whose son is Jesus and what kind of messiah will he be? How does Jesus relate to David? Why the mention of Abraham? Will the reign of Jesus prove to be different than the reign of David? How does the genealogy of Jesus differ from other genealogies in the Old Testament? Richard a...

Fr. Paul discusses the historical background of the content of the Old Testament, the way that its stories were written, and the critical role of Semitic languages. (Episode 8)  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

“The lust for comfort,” wrote Khalil Gibran, is “that stealthy thing that enters the house a guest, and then becomes a host, and then a master.” Jonah, called by the word of the Lord to serve Nineveh, grapples instead with the tyranny of comfort. From the beginning, he chose the destruction of Nineveh over his own discomfort. He finds purpose and meaning in convenience for himself, but—to the exte...

Fr. Paul discusses the Egyptian and Mesopotamian exiles, noting the recurrence of the former and its literary significance. (Episode 7) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Everyone thinks about inconvenience in terms of how it impacts their time and their personal comfort. Rare is the individual who thinks not of personal preference, but of the needs of others. A teacher burns the candle at both ends to make time to teach and we who have done nothing check our watch twenty minutes into the lecture. A parent wakes up early in the morning to prepare food before rushin...

Fr. Paul discusses the importance of Ur of the Chaldeans and its role in the inclusion of all nations together with Abraham. (Episode 6) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Communities and individuals always overestimate their own importance and abilities. This illusion is reinforced by the self-serving narratives we create to bolster confidence in ourselves and in our institutions. Nations, religions, ideologies, communities, families—everyone—down to the last individual, is compromised by this dangerous lie. Jonah disobeyed the word of the Lord, yet, when questione...

Fr. Paul discusses the importance of the geography of the Syrian Desert as the setting for the Scriptural story. (Episode 5) From this week's show: https://www.bassam.com/the-new-book ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Students of the Bible typically overstate the importance of Jonah's prayer from the belly of the whale, assuming that he was vomited onto the dry land because of repentance; but a closer look at the text of the prayer tells a different story. Was Jonah vomited up because of a profound conversion from disobedience, or is something else going on? The answer to this question is only apparent when we...

Fr. Paul reviews critical aspects of Genesis 1-11 and how this section of the Bible “controls” the broader scriptural story. (Episode 4) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

“Obey everything [your teachers] teach you, but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach.” (Matthew 23:3) Like the warning, “do not judge,” (Matthew 7) this beautiful admonition is often abused to lessen the burden of our accountability as disciples. We do not want to be corrected, so we say “who are you to judge?” Likewise, we do not like the pressure a teacher places on us,...

Beginning with Exodus and Esther, Fr. Paul analyzes terminology and narrative structure to explain the biblical contrast drawn between slavery to human masters and slavery to the good and beneficent master. (Episode 3) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

When faced with a conflict between two parties, our natural tendency is to assume that there is a right side and a wrong side. Why? Because we fancy ourselves to be right, or we imagine that we can become right, and thus fail to see what is obvious in Scripture: beginning with ourselves, in the presence of the Lord, all parties are wrong. In the story of Jonah, the prophet was sent to “Nineveh the...

In this week’s episode, Fr. Paul discusses Biblos Geneseos in the Gospel of Matthew and in the greater context of Scripture. (Episode 2) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Psalm 82 1 God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment: 2 "How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? 3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. 4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." 5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding,...

In the first episode of our new show, "Tarazi Tuesdays," we are re-broadcasting a lecture presented by Fr. Paul on January 12, 2018. The talk was given during a book signing at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Phoenix, Arizona. The content makes for an excellent introduction to the series. Enjoy! (Episode 1)  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

A directive does not require understanding, agreement, or acceptance in order to be carried out. In a high performing team, once a clear decision has been handed down, people are expected to follow it--even if they disagree. Some employees may harbor distrust, but if the directive is sound, the simple act of carrying it out will foster trust and produce results. Everything hinges on adherence to t...

Throughout the Gospel of Mark, the primacy of sowing the seed of the Bible, the folly of misplaced amazement and the sin of the fear of men are all demonstrated by means of the Lord's instruction and action. Most importantly, the teaching of Christ's death and resurrection is plainly stated. Still, somehow, Mark's message did not sink in. At the end of the story, the followers of Jesus were so afr...

One of the many ways that Scripture teaches us is by testing us. In the first verse of chapter 15, Mark tells us that “the whole Council” deliberated, bound up Jesus, and delivered him to Pilate. The whole Council. During the Crucifixion, the public portrayal of Christ’s shame is inescapable. Jesus was ridiculed, abused, and finally, taunted to “come down from the Cross.” Not only his enemies, but...

Students of the New Testament can’t help but impose their understanding of triumph on the story of the Crucifixion. Desperate to find hope in human strength, they rush to what they see as the happy ending in Mark, minimizing the lengthy stretch of darkness, cruelty, and ridicule endured by Jesus. Why? Because in the end, we are not interested in God’s victory, but our own. We do not trust in the L...

In popular American stories, defeat is used either to amplify our sense of good vs. evil or to indulge the illusion that we, the supposed underdogs, will be victorious in the end. Consumed uncritically, these stories reinforce a self-percieved victimhood, amplify our self-righteousness, and dull our minds with false consolations about suffering, death, and loss. In the Gospel of Mark, the defeat o...

In Semitic languages, the link between various words is established, not by a term’s imagined or abstract meaning, but by its mechanical structure. Certain words contain specific consonants in a particular order, and words built around those consonants not only sound connected but have a related usage. For example, a book is something that is written, so the word “book” in Arabic, sounds like the...

In the discipline of Jiu Jitsu, when an opponent strikes you, his aggression is understood as an opportunity to use his power against him. A similar principle is found in the Bible, with a slight twist: throughout the Old Testament, the Lord uses the aggression of Israel’s enemies as an opportunity to use the enemies’ power against Israel for the sake of Israel’s instruction, so that through the a...

Too often, the Bible is coopted by people who seek to advance a personal agenda. Whether laying claim to a piece of land, as in the case of Manifest Destiny, or justifying slavery in the Civil War era, we Americans have a long history of mixing apples and oranges. We hear the Lord’s promise of a homeland and assume that he is talking about Native American (or Palestinian) real-estate; we are confr...