The Biblical Mind

In this episode, Dr. Dru Johnson talks with Dr. Shira Weiss about her research on biblical ethics, the sticky ethical stories of Scripture, and why the biblical authors might not have given us easy answers about morality.  Shira Weiss holds a Ph. D. in Jewish Philosophy and has taught at Yeshiva University.  She has earned fellowships from the NEH, The Templeton Foundation, and Ben Gurion Universi...

Dr. Dru Johnson talks to Dr. Berman about what the intellectual world of the Bible looks like to him.  Joshua Berman is a professor of Hebrew Bible at  Bar-Ilan University , Israel.  A graduate of Princeton University, Dr. Berman also studied for eight years at Yeshivat Har-Etzion in Israel and has rabbinical ordination from the Israeli Chief Rabbinate.  He is the author, among other works of  Cre...

In this short NPR episode, Yoram Hazony opens the “bottle” of the Hebrew Bible and reads the message inside, arguing that the Hebrew Bible is philosophy in narrative form. The message is this: there is hope for human political affairs, and the Scriptures are an epic that advocate wariness of great imperial powers and individualism in the face of authority. 

In this episode, CHT director Dr. Dru Johnson interviews Yoram Hazony about the recent history of viewing the Bible as a work of philosophy. They discuss the state of academics and the unique influence of Hebraic philosophy on our way of understanding the world.  Yoram Hazony is President of the  Herzl Institute  in Jerusalem, and currently serves as Chairman of the  Edmund Burke Foundation , a ne...

Did ancient Israelites think like we do today? Did they have abstract thoughts? If we don't, then can we understand anything the biblical authors said? Dr. Dru Johnson discusses reasons to trust that we do think similarly to the biblical authors.  For a more technical survey of this discussion, see Dru's essay "Did Ancient Hebrews Have Different Minds than the Greeks?"  

Abby Smith and Dr. Dru Johnson discuss what "Hebraic thought" has to do with the New Testament and whether we need the Old Testament in order to understand the New. Note: Dr. Johnson mistakenly referenced Leviticus 18:19, which should have been Lev 19:18.

For more on this, see "What is Hebraic Thought?"

 “Hebraic thought is more than just religion—it’s a fully-formed cultural tradition. It includes that rich collection of ideas, concepts, stories, and values that emerge from the world of ancient Israel.” —Rob Nicholson “‘Hebraic thought’ refers to the reasoning and philosophy developed within the Hebrew Bible, continued into the New Testament, and not found elsewhere in the ancient Near East.” —D...