The Bible You Thought You Knew

This is part 2 of Amos’ first oracle (Amos 1—2). After dealing with nations surrounding Israel, including Judah (the Southern Kingdom), Amos finally focuses on his main target: Israel. He accuses them of unethical business practices and idolatrous activities. They have participated in this shameful behavior even though God had done so much for them. He paints a picture of judgment in which the ima...

It derives from Amos 1—2. This oracle is rhetorically stunning in that the prophet addresses a number of foreign countries: Syria, Tyre, Moab, Edom, and Philistia before he gets to Judah, where he is from. Interesting, though, is that Israel (the northern kingdom) is his main target. However, he issues diatribes first against these other countries—mostly for war crimes—and then lambastes his own a...

This story is narrated in 2 Kings 3. In this episode three countries and their kings—Israel, Judah, and Edom—go against Moab and its King Mesha. Moab had refused to pay tribute after Jehoram and taken over for his father, Ahab, in Israel. The kings asked Elisha the prophet for help when they ran out of water. Elisha was not interested, but finally relented. The story ends with Moab being soundly d...

This comes from a bizarre story recounted in 2 Kings 2:23-25. In this story, 42 children (!) make fun of Elisha’s bald head, whereupon they are dealt with by two mama bears. As strange, even absurd, as the story is, the details hint at something more sinister than making fun of someone’s hair, or its lack. Still, even with these hints, the story does not make for easy biblical material, to say the...

In this story Elijah passes the mantle to her understudy Elisha before leaving spectacularly in a Whirlwind accompanied by a chariot of fire and horses of fire! Right after this, Elisha does his first miracle using Elijah’s now discarded mantle. This fantastic story is followed by one of the most bizarre incidents in all the Bible, to be treated next week.

I deal with two questions: (1) Was the early Church a golden age, where everything went well?; (2) How is it that one of the most common names for those who followed Jesus was “saints.” That seems strange in that, for example, so many of the letters in the New Testament deal with problems that these saints are having. Also, I distinguish between Upper Case Saints and Lower Case saints.

In this Podcast, I deal with the very different version from that found in 2 Samuel 24. The 1 Chronicles version has David arranging for Solomon, hos son, to build the great Jerusalem temple.

It is based on 1 Chronicles 21, in which Satan not God incites King David to take a census. Even though the story is somewhat the same, the material from Chronicles accents another point.

It is based on 2 Samuel 24. It is a bizarre story in which God instructs King David to take a census of Israel and Judah. David does so, but with a twist. David counts only troops, apparently to assess his military strength. God is not amused. After a period of judgment, which David is “allowed” to choose, the king ends up being pastoral rather than monarchial with his people. The same story is to...

In this session, I deal with the psalmist’s accusation that God had violated the covenant made with David. The psalm does not resolve the issue; plus, it ends with an incongruous celebratory phrase. The very next psalm, curiously, is the only one attributed to Moses. In a sense, the psalm allows for an interpretation that indicates God will honor the Davidic covenant, but not in the way normally e...

Part 1 of a two part treatment of Psalm 89. At first, the Psalm praises God for divine power expressed over creation and God’s everlasting covenant with King David. So far, so good. Then, the Psalm becomes a lament, which is not uncommon. Many Psalms lament this, that, or the other misfortune being experienced. As we shall soon see, this lament is against God for breaking the covenant made with Da...

The story is told in Acts 5, and features the couple lying about the price they received for sold property. They were part of the early church, in which everyone held all their property in common. The couple sold for a certain price, but withheld some of the profit. Evidently, that would have been OK had they not lied about the transaction. They paid a dear price for their indiscretion, to say the...

This bizarre and gory story is found in Judges 3. Ehud is an Israelite assassin. He carries out his nefarious deed because he is left-handed and able to hide his sword on this right side. Security people would be watching for a right-handed man. Not only does Ehud accomplish his grisly task, but does it in a way that allows him to escape. The question is: What possible religious lesson comes from...

In this final part of the story Tamar tricks her father-in-law in a manner that leads him to sleep with her. That ensures her future with the eventual birth of twins. Ironically, in the process she saves Judah’s future, not to mention Israel’s future by being an ancestress of the great David. Since Tamar ends up in Jesus’ genealogy, from a Christian point of view she saves the world’s future. Savi...

This is an odd story in that it features an extremely strange cultural practice if one’s brother dies before having children. Plus, the story is scatological in that it describes a sexual act in lurid detail. Not only that, this story seems to interrupt the beloved story of Joseph. Yet, it turns out to be a compelling story.

In this episode, I address the question of whether one should one read the Bible literally. I note that the term may be defined in various ways. I reject the view that a “historical” reading in and of itself is appropriate for reading the Bible. On the other hand, reading literally makes sense once understands the rhetorical purpose and artistry of the biblical material.

“Since New Testament authors used mainly the Greek version of the Jewish Scripture rather than the Hebrew, which version is more accurate? Plus, are there significant differences between the two versions?”

. In this episode, the story tells the story about how Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, extorted Naaman for a little money by lying to him about a request allegedly coming from Elisha himself. Thinking he had gotten away with this ruse, Gehazi is caught red-handed by the wily prophet. As a punishment, Gehazi contracts Naaman’s skin condition, something that will not allow him to worship in the temple. A...

This is Part 1 of a two part Podcast. The story is narrated in 2 Kings 5. It introduces Naaman with lavish praise. Curiously, though he has had a successful military career, some of that success is because of Israel’s deity. That is strange in that Syria was often a sworn enemy of Israel. Naaman had everything going for him except for a serious skin condition. The little Israelite girl, who had be...

It is based on Isaiah 1. Sodom and Gomorrah are actually representative of Israel in this text. The prophet has a scathing denunciation of Israel’s worship practices, saying that God has no use for sacrifices, offerings, the burning of incense, and the like. These are the very worship practices that God commanded in Torah (the first five books of the Bible). Clearly, the prophet wants Israel’s eth...

It is based on a story in Luke 24 in which two discouraged people are lamenting the fact that after Jesus’ death he will be unable to redeem Israel. Jesus shows up, though they do not recognize him. They explain why they are sad, but Jesus scolds them for their anemic faith. Eventually, Jesus explicates the Jewish scripture regarding his mission. They finally recognize Jesus when they “break bread...

The story comes from Acts 12. It is a story which features the martyrdom of James the brother of John, followed by the rescue of Peter from jail and his possible martyrdom. It is an interesting juxtaposition of two very different outcomes for members of the church. Herod gets his just desserts from God, but no gloating is appropriate when this happens, for most of the tyrants of this world have be...

This is a strange story in which King Saul induces a female medium to conjure up the “ghost” of the Prophet Samuel, who obviously had died. Because this sort of occult activity was not allowed in Israel, Saul had previously expelled mediums, wizards, and the like. Still, there was some of this kind of activity going on. Saul went to Endor in disguise to see whether he could communicate with Samuel...

In this final episode Balaam continues to bless Israel, but also manages to “curse” their enemies, thus reversing what the enemies wanted to happen originally. As I comment on this story, I draw a few conclusions, including how one should regard a story with a talking ass!

In this episode, Balaam finally “sees” the angel that had been blocking his way, only to be told that the ass had saved his life. When Balaam finally was poised to speak to Israel, he did not curse but bless—twice. Of course, King Balak was irate. Still, the stubborn king did not give up thinking that Balaam would come through in the end. He may have been delusional, but he cannot be accused of gi...