The Bible You Thought You Knew

This episode is found in 1 Samuel 30. Once David leaves the Philistines he returns to Ziklag. To his horror, this city had been sacked by Amalekites. But the city had been more than defeated. The whole population had been abducted. This included the families of David and David’s army. That meant that David’s own wives had been captured. David led his men to rescue his family and those of his men....

This story is narrated in 1 Samuel 29. In this episode, Philistine commanders are upset with Achish, the Philistine king of Gath. They did not understand how he had allowed David to join up with the Philistine armed forces. They knew about David previous Israelite connections, including his getting top billing even when fighting alongside Saul. Because of their suspicion, they told Achish to dismi...

This story is narrated in 1 Samuel 27. David is exhausted running from Saul. He thinks his chances for survival would improve if he threw in his lot, the Philistine king of Gath. David promises to have his men fight for Achish’s interests. The two leaders enter into a mutually beneficial relationship. However, David is less than honest. He attacks Israelite enemies, annihilating the populations, b...

This is the completion of the story that is narrated in 1 Samuel 25. The second part deals with Abigail’s profuse apology (in Nabal’s behalf) and the lavish present she has put together for David. David was mollified by her words and actions. He admitted that what she did kept him from killing every man who worked for Nabal. Of course, Nabal himself would not have been spared. When Abigail told he...

This story is narrated in 1 Samuel 25. It is a story which features Nabal, who is portrayed in completely negative terms. His name means, “Fool.” He is churlish and ill-mannered. He is also fabulously wealthy, but unwilling to give any of his proceeds to David or the ragtag group that is with him. David’s men had emphasized that while they were around Nabal and his servants were safe and his flock...

This woman appears in all four Gospels, with one exception mainly at the end when the crucifixion of Jesus and his subsequent resurrection are in view. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, she witnesses Jesus’ execution and is later at his tomb with other women. In the Gospel of John, however, she is alone and has an extensive speaking part. Apart from the notation that she once experienced the exorcism of...

Her story begins in 1 Kings 16 and her inglorious execution happens in 2 Kings 9. She became an Israelite queen by virtue of her marriage to Ahab, King of Israel. He was notoriously evil from an Israelite perspective. Jezebel added to the problem by being such a zealous promoter of Canaanite deities. She was more capable of exercising power than her husband. In 1 Kings 21 we encounter a story when...

In this Podcast, we deal with the story whereby Jacob, who would be renamed subsequently Israel, acquired four wives from his mother’s extended family in Mesopotamia. Ironically, Jacob only wanted, and loved, one wife. But because of his Uncle Laban’s duplicity, he ended up not only with Rachel, but with her less attractive but elder sister, Leah. As wedding presents, both sisters were given maids...

Her story is featured in Genesis 24, 25, and 27. First, she is found at a well when Abraham’s servant is on a quest for a suitable wife for Isaac, the child that Sarah bore to him. Abraham wanted a wife for Isaac from the extended family in Mesopotamia. Rebekah, of course, was Abraham’s niece. When she “passed a test” by offering the servant and his animals water, the servant knew that he had hit...

Though people talk these days about the “Abrahamic Religions,” referring to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, in the biblical story Sarah is as important as Abraham. In fact, arguably she is more important. This is because Abraham had many children to different wives (think of Hagar and Keturah), but the “child of promise” from whom Israe would derive came only through Sarah. She is the subject of...

In this final installment of the story narrated in the Book of Esther, we observe Esther consolidating her position as queen in the realm and Mordecai soaring into new heights in the same kingdom. Indeed, we are told that Mordecai is outranked only by the king himself. In the meantime, Jews were able to take vengeance on those seeking to harm them. Before long, being Jewish was seen as a great ben...

. The plot thickens in this episode. Mordecai reacted to Haman’s putting into operation a plan to destroy all Jews in the realm. He dressed in mourning clothing, cried out in public, and incited similar reactions in the provinces. Eventually, Esther got wind of this. After taking care of Mordecai, she heard from him that she, too, was vulnerable once her Jewish identity became known. So, she went...

The Book of Esther is controversial because it does not even mention God. Nevertheless, it is a compelling story. Esther and Mordecai are living as exiles in a land far from home. When the reigning queen insulted her husband, the king, the monarch set in motion plans to acquire a new queen. Due to Esther’s beauty, she was soon selected. At Mordecai’s urging, she had never revealed her Jewish ident...

In this second installment involving the character and book of Ruth, the heroine has a successful day in the field, gleaning grain. By seeming happenstance, this field belongs to Boaz, who happens to be a rich relative of Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law. Ruth told her mother-in-law how well Boaz had treated her. This made Naomi realize that there might be a benefit to Ruth’s cultivating this relations...

The first part of Ruth deals with an Israelite family deciding to reside in Moab because Israel had been afflicted with a famine. Moab is notorious in biblical lore because Moab (and Ammon) was the result of the incestuous relationship between Lot, Abraham’s nephew, and his two daughters. This led to Moab having a lithesome reputation. This Israelite family consisted of Elimelech and Naomi, and th...

Eve is mentioned twice in the New Testament, once in 2 Corinthians 11:3 and once in 1 Timothy 2:11-15. In the first instance, Paul alludes to the serpent’s tempting Eve in the garden. The Apostle does not want the Corinthian church to be as gullible as Eve was. In the second instance, the author of this pastoral letter elaborates on Eve’s role as a way of admonishing women. Because Eve succumbed t...

In this Podcast, is treated Genesis 3 and 4, the only places in the Old Testament that Eve’s name is mentioned. Interestingly, even though it is commonly thought that Eve conversed with the serpent and was the first to eat the forbidden fruit, throughout that exchange she is referred to simply as “the woman.” She is given a name by “the man” in Genesis 3:20. The only other time her name appears is...

In this segment, I argued that this story is a midrash on Jesus’ own resurrection. A midrash is a form of interpretation in which a story, teaching, or doctrine is enhanced or elaborated on with more details or an analogous event. When Jesus called Lazarus to emerge from the tomb, we are told that he was wearing a face cloth. Only in John’s Gospel is Jesus said also to be wearing a face cloth (the...

The story is found in John 11. It is unique to this Gospel. The story is about a family with whom Jesus is especially friendly. When Lazarus falls ill, his two sisters, Mary and Martha, send word to Jesus. But Jesus does not rush to deal with the sick man. Instead, he brushes off the appeal, noting that the illness is not terminal. A little later, Jesus tells the disciples that Lazarus has fallen...

The story is narrated in 2 Kings 1. It begins with the information that Moab had just rebelled against Israel, meaning that the vassal state was refusing to pay tribute. However, King Azariah paid no attention to this problem. Instead, he was concerned over injuries he sustained in a fall. Due to his concern, he sent messengers to inquire of a deity who was not Israel’s God. Elijah intercepted the...

This features a short prophetic book that is a scathing denunciation of Assyrians generally and Nineveh, the capitol city, particularly. The oracle points out that, though God is gracious, this same deity is also willing to avenge evildoers. Even though Assyria was used by the Israelite God to punish Israel, Assyrian policy was at the end of the day too severe and inhumane. The Israelite God is po...

In the second installment we concentrated on not only the denunciation of Edom/Esau but its impending destruction at the hand of Israel’s deity. Of course, the punishment on Edom is intense because it was so closely related to Israel. After all, Esau/Edom was the twin brother of Jacob/Israel. This is fraternal hostility at its worst. But more than Edom is the target of God’s wrath. A number of oth...

This deals with the shortest book in the Old Testament. The single chapter prophecy denounces Edom, whose other name is Esau. As Jacob’s/Israel’s brother, Esau/Edom enjoyed certain privileges. Edom had kings before Israel did. Their territory was allotted to them also by the Israelite deity. As well, Israel was admonished to treat Edom well because of the fraternal relationship. Tragically, though...

This podcast deals with the fact that Saul is barely a footnote in 1-2 Chronicles, after playing a prominent role in 1 Samuel 9—31. Indeed, 1 Chronicles has a few details about Saul’s falling in battle against the Philistines and his subsequent suicide. His three sons are killed in the same battle. This is related in 1 Chronicles 10. After a brief note condemning Saul for being disobedient and unf...

In this Podcast we treat the Pentecost event as narrated in Acts 2. The point is that the author of Acts used the prophecy from the Book of Joel aptly. Joel’s prophecy was about Israel’s restoration, one of the signs of which was that God’s spirit would be available to every Israelite. Likewise, the author of Acts makes the same point. The Pentecost event was a Jewish event, involving Jews exclusi...