The Meaning of the Bible: What the Jewish Scriptures and Christian Old Testament Can Teach Us

by Douglas A. Knight, Amy-Jill Levine

In this lively and fresh introduction to the scriptures of ancient Israel (what Christians call the Old Testament and Jews call the Tanakh), two preeminent biblical scholars, Douglas A. Knight and Amy-Jill Levine, combine their passion and expertise to examine not just what the Bible says but what it means . Through their eyes we see anew the Bible’s literary brilliance, moral profundity, historical settings, and implications for our faiths and our future. Passed down for generations, compiled between 500 and 100 BCE, and finalized around the time of Jesus, the various accounts in the Hebrew Bible took shape under a variety of cultures. Drawing on their extensive biblical scholarship, Knight and Levine explore this diverse history and equip us with the critical tools necessary to understand what the ancient texts originally meant. With long experience in teaching candidates for the ministry as well as undergraduate and graduate students, they also explore the possible meanings the texts hold today for churches, synagogues, and anyone interested in the Bible’s legacy. Knight and Levine begin with the broader biblical story—its historical context, literary artistry, and geographical setting. They then turn to the major biblical themes with which modern readers continue to wrestle: law and justice, human evil and God’s response, belief and practice, chaos and creation, war and peace, gender and sexuality, politics and economics, practical wisdom and apocalyptic vision. For each topic, they provide both general overviews and specific analyses of select biblical passages, explaining how and why their approaches reveal new insights and offering various strategies for informed interpretation. Throughout, Knight and Levine inspire us to ask new questions and develop a deeper understanding of one of the greatest collections of literature known to humankind—as illuminating today as it was two thousand years ago.

Genres: Religion, Biblical Studies, Theology, Nonfiction, Christian, Judaism, Christianity

496 pages, Hardcover

First published November 8, 2011

About the author

Douglas A. Knight is Drucilla Moore Buffington Professor of Hebrew Bible and Professor of Jewish Studies in the Divinity School, College of Arts and Science, Graduate Department of Religion, and Program in Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

He received a B.A. from Ottawa University (Ottawa, KS), M.Div. from California Baptist Theological Seminary (Covina, CA), and ThD from Georg-August-Universität (Göttingen, Germany). He has been awarded grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Fulbright Program, the National Science Foundation, the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada, and the German Academic Exchange Service. He also received the Thomas Jefferson Award from Vanderbilt University.

Professor Knight has been visiting professor or scholar at universities in Jerusalem, Kyoto, Hong Kong, Göttingen, and Tübingen. For six years he was director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Culture, which received funding of almost $3.5 million. He also served as chair of Vanderbilt’s Graduate Department of Religion.

Former officer of the Society of Biblical Literature, Professor Knight has been editor of the Society’s Dissertation Series and editorial board member of the Journal of Biblical Literature. He also directed the Society’s five-year project, “The Bible in the American Tradition,” supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. He has participated in archaeological excavations in Israel and has been a member of the editorial board of Near Eastern Archaeology. He cofounded ETANA, Electronic Tools and Ancient Near Eastern Archives.

Professor Knight’s most recent books include The Meaning of the Bible: What the Jewish Scriptures and Christian Old Testament Can Teach Us, coauthored with Amy-Jill Levine (HarperOne); Law, Power, and Justice in Ancient Israel (Westminster John Knox Press), and Rediscovering the Traditions of Israel, 3rd edition (Society of Biblical Literature). He is also general editor of the Library of Ancient Israel series (Westminster John Knox Press). He is currently working on a commentary on the book of Joshua (Cambridge University Press).

Reviews

[John Hilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personally, I didn't love the topical approach. Kindle highlights before.

Notes and highlights for
The Meaning of the Bible: What the Jewish Scriptures and Christian Old Testament Can Teach Us
Knight, Douglas A.; Levine, Amy-Jill
Introduction
Highlight (yellow) - Location 271
It has been said that a text without a context becomes simply a pretext for idiosyncratic interpretation .
Part 1
Highlight (yellow) - Chapter 1 - The History of Ancient Israel > Page 15 · Location 626
God’s power outshines even Moses’s distinction in the stories of the ten plagues , which target Egyptian deities directly : Hapy , god of the Nile River ; Hekate , the frog goddess ; Apis , the bull god ; Hathor , the cow goddess ; the sun god , Ra ( or Re ) ; and Pharaoh , identified with the falcon god , Horus .
Highlight (yellow) - Chapter 1 - The History of Ancient Israel > Page 15 · Location 637
According to Exodus 12 : 37 , a total of 600,000 “ men ” ( Heb . gevarim ) , with children ( this text does not mention the women ) , fled the country . Numbers 1 : 45 – 46 is more specific , reporting that Moses took a census of the people during their wilderness march and counted 603,550 able - bodied , battle - ready men above twenty years of age , not including the Levites . Adding an equal number of women as well as all the children and elderly would put the total number of Israelites in the wilderness around 2 million or more — an incredible number of people to have escaped Egypt and made their way together through the wilderness to the land of Canaan .
Highlight (yellow) - Chapter 1 - The History of Ancient Israel > Page 22 · Location 752
The move to a monarchy from a decentralized , diffused populace represents one of the most far - reaching , consequential developments in Israel’s history . The Bible subtly acknowledges its significance by devoting almost 40 percent more space to the 100 - year period of the kingdom’s establishment under Saul , David , and Solomon than it does to all 335 years of later monarchic history .
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Omri was the king of Israel , and he oppressed Moab for many days , for Kemosh was angry with his land . And his son succeeded him , and he said — he too — “ I will oppress Moab ! ” . . . And Kemosh said to me : “ Go , take Nebo from Israel ! ” And I went in the night , and I fought against it from the break of dawn until noon , and I took it , and I killed [ its ] whole population , . . . for I had put it to the ban ( cherem ) for Ashtar Kemosh . *
Highlight (yellow) - Chapter 1 - The History of Ancient Israel > Page 27 · Location 858
the Neo - Assyrian emperor Tiglath - pileser III ( 744 – 727 ) led his army in a punishing attack on these small kingdoms , turning them into vassals . When Israel continued to resist , the Neo - Assyrian emperors Shalmaneser V ( 726 – 722 ) and Sargon II ( 721 – 705 ) invaded the northern kingdom and captured the capital city of Samaria ( Samerina in Assyrian ) around 722 ; both emperors claim the victory .
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Sargon’s version of Samaria’s fall ( words damaged in the inscription are in brackets ) :
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[ The inhabitants of Sa ] merina , who agreed [ and plotted ] with a king [ hostile to ] me not to do service and not to bring tribute [ to Asshur ] and who did battle , I fought against them with the power of the great gods , my lords . I counted as spoil 27,280 people , together with their chariots , and gods , in which they trusted . I formed a unit with 200 of [ their ] chariots for my royal force . I settled the rest of them in the midst of Assyria . I repopulated Samerina more than before . I brought into it people from countries conquered by my hands . I appointed my eunuch as governor over them . And I counted them as Assyrians . * With that battle the northern kingdom met its end .
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Replacing an earlier channel , the tunnel necessitated cutting through solid rock by two teams working from opposite ends . They left an inscription on the tunnel wall near the Siloam Pool end to describe the final moment of breaking through the rock : While the tunnelers were wielding their pickaxes , one group toward the other , and while three cubits [ ca . 4 – 5 feet ] remained to be cut through , a voice was heard of one man calling to the other , for a fissure was in the rock on the right and the left . On the day of the breakthrough , the hewers struck , one meeting the other , pickax against pickax . And the water flowed from the spring to the pool , a distance of 1,200 cubits [ ca . 1,800 feet ] .
Highlight (yellow) - Chapter 1 - The History of Ancient Israel > Page 31 · Location 898
Sennacherib commemorated the victory with a large relief in his palace in Nineveh , picturing the siege warfare against the Lachish city wall ; the relief , some 60 feet by 9 feet , is now in the British Museum .
Highlight (yellow) - Chapter 1 - The History of Ancient Israel > Page 35 · Location 972
Cyrus’s innovative policy , including this passage : I returned the ( images of ) the gods to the sacred centers [ on the other side of ] the Tigris whose sanctuaries had been abandoned for a long time , and I let them dwell in eternal abodes . I gathered all their inhabitants and returned ( to them ) their dwellings . *
Highlight (yellow) - Chapter 1 - The History of Ancient Israel > Page 39 · Location 1048
Some Jews collaborated with the Hellenists while others resisted their influence . How much of the Hebrew Bible bears the marks of Hellenism is still hotly debated . The book of Ecclesiastes ( Qohelet ) , probably written during the third or second century , may well reflect some Greek influence , as do other texts of the time . Factions among Jews arose as they struggled to appropriate their heritage in their present circumstances . In light of the various movements , it is best to think of “ Judaisms ” rather than one common Judaism during this period . The community at Qumran on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea , in operation from the second century BCE to 68 CE , is a good example of one such group .
Highlight (yellow) - Chapter 2 - The Literary Heritage of Ancient Israel > Page 45 · Location 1136
“ Old Testament , ” the most popular designation , was first applied to this collection of books by the North African Christian Tertullian ( 160 – 230 CE ) . The term “ testament ” translates the Greek word diatheke , which also means “ covenant ” ( the Hebrew would be berit , a term known even outside Jewish circles as a reference to the brit milah , or the covenant of circumcision ; in Yiddish , the term is bris ; in modern Hebrew , brit ) . The church proclaimed that there were two covenants , an “ old ” one represented by the scriptures of Israel and a “ new one ” described in what we call the “ New Testament . ”
Highlight (yellow) - Chapter 2 - The Literary Heritage of Ancient Israel > Page 46 · Location 1160
As mentioned earlier , the Jewish designation for this collection of books is Tanakh ( or Tanach , or TaNaK ) , an acronym in which T stands for Torah , N stands for Nevi’im ( “ Prophets ” ) , and K for Ketuvim ( “ Writings ” ) . The Prophets include Joshua , Judges , 1 – 2 Samuel , 1 – 2 Kings , Isaiah , Jeremiah , Ezekiel , and the “ book of the twelve ” ( Hosea through Malachi ) . We can see major differences between this order and that of the Old Testament . These differences continue when we get to the Writings : Psalms , Proverbs , and Job ; then a subcategory of the five Megillot ( “ scrolls ” ; Song of Songs , Ruth , Lamentations , Ecclesiastes , and Esther ) ; and finally Daniel , Ezra - Nehemiah , and 1 – 2 Chronicles . Daniel , often regarded as the most prophetic of the prophets , is not even grouped among the prophets in the Tanakh .
Highlight (yellow) - Chapter 2 - The Literary Heritage of Ancient Israel > Page 49 · Location 1213
The Dead Sea Scrolls , which contain parts of all the Hebrew books ( with the exception of Esther ) as well as Hebrew versions of some of the deuterocanonical books , such as Tobit , attest to numerous variants . It is likely that the Greek translators in some cases , such as for the book of Jeremiah , which is about one - eighth shorter in the Septuagint than in the Hebrew text , worked with versions much different from those of the extant Hebrew manuscripts . The standardized Hebrew version that was later developed is called the Masoretic text ( MT ) . The name comes from the Hebrew term masorah , which signifies “ [ a chain of ] tradition . ” The term may derive from Ezekiel 20 : 37 , which speaks of the “ bond of the covenant ” ( Heb . mesoret ha - brit ) . The “ bond ” ( or chain ) served to protect and to guard . From the sixth through the tenth centuries CE , Jewish scholars known as Masoretes took upon themselves the task of guarding the text from error by standardizing the Hebrew . They added vowels to what was originally only a consonantal text and accents to show phrasing .
Highlight (yellow) - Chapter 2 - The Literary Heritage of Ancient Israel > Page 51 · Location 1254
The snake is described as arum , a Hebrew term usually translated “ crafty ” ( Gen . 3 : 1 ) . The human couple are described as arumim ( plural ) , translated “ naked ” ( 3 : 7 , 10 , 11 ) . The consonants are the same . The connection between the snake and the people is thus a visual and aural one , and it is fully lost in the English translation .
Highlight (yellow) - Chapter 2 - The Literary Heritage of Ancient Israel > Page 51 · Location 1258
“ Then YHWH God formed man from the dust of the ground . ” Missing in this dry and dusty description is a glorious Hebrew pun . The term for “ man ” in Hebrew is adam ( hence the name Adam ) , and the term for “ ground ” is adamah , or arable soil . The better translation would be “ formed a human from the dust of the humus , ”
Highlight (yellow) - Chapter 2 - The Literary Heritage of Ancient Israel > Page 51 · Location 1273
To their query , “ Of what people are you ? ” Jonah responds , “ I am a Hebrew ” ( 1 : 9 ) . The Septuagint , however , reads , “ I am a servant of YHWH . ” The difference , in English , is evident . Here’s how it happened . First , the Hebrew letter resh , the equivalent of the English R , looks very much like the Hebrew letter dalet , the equivalent of English D . Second , the little Hebrew letter yod , transliterated both as an I and a Y , can serve as an abbreviation for the name of the deity , for YHWH begins with a yod . Finally , it helps to know that the Hebrew letter bet ( B ) , depending on where it shows up in a word or phrase , sometimes is pronounced like the English V . Now to our test case : Jonah , in Hebrew , used the word spelled ayin - bet - resh - yod , or to transliterate , ivri . The ayin , by the way , has no sound in English ; it is a glottal stop , or a voiced pharyngeal fricative , or , perhaps most helpful , a silent letter , that can be transliterated variously with an i or an e or an open parenthesis . The Greek translator read the resh as a dalet and the yod as an abbreviation for YHWH . That reading gives the letters ayin - bet - dalet + the abbreviation , or to translate , eved - Yah , meaning “ a servant of God . ”
Highlight (yellow) - Chapter 2 - The Literary Heritage of Ancient Israel > Page 57 · Location 1383
Second Kings 4 describes how the “ great woman ” ( 4 : 8 ; nrsv : “ wealthy woman ” ) of Shunem aids the prophet Elisha , to the point of building him a small apartment attached to her house .
Highlight (yellow) - Chapter 2 - The Literary Heritage of Ancient Israel > Page 60 · Location 1433
The Hebrew for “ wife of Lappidoth , ” eshet lapidot , can also be translated “ woman of flames . ” The words for “ wife of ” and “ woman of ” are the same , and there is no Mr . Lappidoth featured in this text . Nor is there any fellow named Lappidoth found elsewhere in the Bible . That Deborah’s military companion is a fellow named Barak , which is Hebrew for “ lightning , ” does commend the reference to flames . Then again , perhaps both translations are appropriate .
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The text does not mention how Delilah feels about him . Nor are her motives regarding the betrayal of her lover explicit . Judges 16 : 5 depicts the “ lords of the Philistines ” telling Delilah to discover the secret of Samson’s strength ; in reward , they will each give her “ eleven hundred pieces of silver , ” which is an enormous sum . But given the enmity between Samson and the Philistines and factoring in the death of Samson’s first wife at the hands of the Philistines , perhaps Delilah had no choice . She could be betraying Samson out of greed , out of fear for her own life , or for patriotic reasons ( she would be regarded as a Philistine heroine ) , or perhaps she is simply frustrated with her Hebraic Hercules . The Hebrew text remains silent as to her motive . Adding one more element to the complexity of her characterization is the fact that , although Samson lies to her repeatedly , she never lies to him . Adding another , the text identifies her as living in the “ valley of Sorek , ” which is between Israelite and Philistine territory , but it never makes her ethnicity explicit . She may be , to paraphrase Cher , “ a vamp , a scamp , and a bit of a tramp , ” but she is also a fascinating , ultimately mysterious literary figure for whom the eternal question remains , in the equally immortal words of Tom Jones : “ Why , why , why , Delilah ? ”
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The Qur’an devotes an entire section ( Sura 12 ) to Joseph . Islamic legend suggests that Mrs . Potiphar , named Zuleika , loses her wealth and her beauty . She lives alone like a Christian penitent , but she continues to think of Joseph . Upon seeing that she had grown old and ugly , Joseph not only takes pity on her and brings her to his palace ; he also prays that she be restored to youth and health . The angel Gabriel restores Zuleika , and she and Joseph then marry .
Highlight (yellow) - Chapter 2 - The Literary Heritage of Ancient Israel > Page 67 · Location 1577
Noah is not a skipper , and his fate rests in the hands of God . The interest in his “ ark ” ( Heb . tevah ) will reappear in the story of the infancy of Moses , when his mother prepares an “ ark ” ( tevah , Exod . 2 : 3 , 5 ; here the term is usually translated “ basket ” ) , places the child in it , and sets the ark on the bank of the river . The symbolism is profound : the children of Israel are being drowned in the Nile by orders of Pharaoh , who thinks of himself as divine , and the preservation of the people rests with this one inhabitant of this one little ark .
Highlight (yellow) - Chapter 2 - The Literary Heritage of Ancient Israel > Page 73 · Location 1706
At least by around 200 CE the texts of the books that eventually became canonized were fairly fixed ; that is , their wording was firmly set . However , they were written with only the consonantal letters , as was typical at the time . A few centuries later , the Masoretes , whom we met earlier in this chapter , began the process of meticulously copying and recopying the texts over the next four or five centuries . In the process , they developed a system of vowel points , comprising dots and short lines above , below , or inside the consonantal letters , to designate the vowels . With that essential development , the text became readable without having to rely on the old tradition of memorization and recitation . The oldest Masoretic manuscript of the whole Hebrew Bible now in existence is the Leningrad Codex B19A , so named because it has been preserved in the Russian National Library in St . Petersburg ( previously Leningrad ) , Russia , ever since the middle of the nineteenth century . It dates from approximately 1009 CE and now serves as the textual basis used by many scholars . A second and older Hebrew manuscript is the Aleppo Codex , dating from around 920 CE and now preserved in Jerusalem . Called the Keter , or “ crown , ” of Aleppo , this text is superior to the Leningrad , since it stems from the famous ben Asher family of Masoretes . Unfortunately , only about 60 percent of the manuscript is now extant . However , even today , pieces continue to surface . We thus know that by the tenth and perhaps even ninth century CE the books that comprise the Hebrew Bible were in place . Yet synagogues may well have been reading other texts along with the Hebrew ( the Wisdom of Jesus ben Sirach , also known as Ecclesiasticus , a deuterocanonical text , is occasionally cited in rabbinic literature ; Jews were also telling the stories of Judith and Susanna ) . Rabbinic literature shows concern that people are reading more texts than are in the rabbis ’ canon . Midrash Qohelet ( 12 : 12 ) sets a canon of twenty - four books , but notes that others add more . Although the canon was eventually standardized , not all books received the same emphasis in the communities that held that canon sacred . This matter of emphasis may be inevitable — people choose which texts speak best to them . The synagogue foregrounds the Torah , the church foregrounds the Prophets ( and especially those that are cited in the New Testament ) , and everyone likes the Psalms . Martin Luther downgraded the books of the Apocrypha to “ meditative ” status , in part because they were not included in the Jewish canon . The synagogue gives the book of Esther its own holiday ( Purim ) ; Luther wanted to toss it from the canon ; typically , the only time it is cited in churches is on the Sunday dedicated to the woman’s group , where the reading is Esther 4 : 14 , “ for just such a time as this . ”
Highlight (yellow) - Chapter 3 - Land and Settlement > Page 78 · Location 1782
An alternative term , used in this book , is “ Southwest Asia , ” preferable because it avoids political boundaries that can change over time . Instead , it focuses on the geographical land mass of Asia , of which the area often called the Middle East occupies the southwest section . The contemporary political entities included in Southwest Asia are , alphabetically , Bahrain , the island of Cyprus , Iran , Iraq , Israel , Jordan , Kuwait , Lebanon , Oman , the Palestinian Territories , Qatar , Saudi Arabia , Syria , Turkey , United Arab Emirates , and Yemen . Egypt is conventionally grouped with these others even

[Lee Harmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating reading! Definitely a book that will be on my top-10 list this year. It took me forever to get through it, simply because there is so much information. I might have worn out a highlighter on this one.

You may have read Law, Power, and Justice in Ancient Israel by Knight a year ago. I reviewed Levine’s book, The Misunderstood Jew, last year: see http://www.dubiousdisciple.com/2011/0... These are two very knowledgeable and interesting scholars, who have now collaborated on a new project.

The focus is on the Old Testament (the Jewish scriptures), and the Jewish flavor is evident. Be forewarned: it’s a liberal treatment, perhaps unappreciated by conservative Christians. Be aware also that it doesn’t provide the meaning of the Bible, as if any one such meaning can be discerned from so diverse a collection of writings and opinionated Bible authors. But if the world of the Bible fascinates you—from its political atmosphere, to its social and cultural aspects, to the battle for authority between the northern and southern kingdoms, to the hope and hopelessness of dispersion and captivity—this book won’t disappoint. An incredibly rich history awaits, as you journey into the power struggles between kings and prophets and Deuteronomists, and the religious atmosphere pervading it all. Bible times were certainly not an era of separation between church and state.

In four parts, Knight and Levine discuss the development of the Bible from many different angles, including:

1. Ancient Israel and the settlement of Palestine.

2. Law and Justice in Israel and the Diaspora

3. Respect and understanding of the Divine, including the temple cult.

4. Emerging politics, economy, sexuality, and what it means to be a “chosen people.”

5. Wisdom literature, including the theodicy of Job

Sounds dry, doesn’t it? Not even a little. Knight and Levine may not deliver on their promise to explain the meaning of the Bible, but they certainly bring the Bible alive … and yet reach a melancholy conclusion: the Bible is not a book of answers, but of questions.

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent resource for one's library. Scholarly yet accessible, with a deep knowledge of Hebrew and Christian scripture. An almost insurmountable problem in interpreting scripture is to free one's mind from one's culture. A fish is impacted by the water it swims in and so are we. The broad scholarship in this book opened cracks for new insights and appreciation. I will definitely revisit chapters from time to time.

[HarperOne (an imprint of HarperCollins) · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Amy-Jill Levine and Douglas A. Knight have combined to write a book on the Bible that is as academically brilliant as it is marvelously entertaining. By placing our scriptures into their original Jewish context they have opened up startling and profound new insights. This is a terrific book.”
— John Shelby Spong, author of Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

An accessible, comprehensive look at the many threads of the Old Testament. It strikes the perfect balance between accepting the text on its own terms and using the latest scholarship to inform the readers' understanding of its cultural context. Highly recommended for anyone trying to make sense of the Old Testament.

[Marc Schelske · Rating 4 out of 5]

Knight and Levine have done what the best University professors do. They have taken a wide and deep field of study and created an introduction that is both accessible and nuanced. Their topic is the single collection of documents that became first the Jewish Bible, and then later the Christian “Old Testament.” They look at the documented history of the people and places covered in the text and make plain what can be verified outside of scripture and what cannot. They discuss the difficulty of translation, and how culture, author, and literary conventions all shape the text. Then they proceed through these documents from the perspective of various themes — the land itself, law & justice, God, religious practices, creation, the theme of exile and homecoming, relationship between self and outsiders, sexuality, politics, economy, the experience of diaspora, records of religious reform, the wisdom tradition and the problem of theodicy.

This book is academic, to be sure, but it is also readable. The material here will be of enormous help to people who want to understand the Old Testament better, especially for those who hold the Old Testament as scripture but who don’t want to fall into the trap of imposing on the text an outside interpretation that is ignorant of the text’s origins.

[Gonzalo Corvera · Rating 5 out of 5]

El título es correcto

Me tardé muchísimo en terminar este libro porque no aguantaba la tentación de tomar notas; acabé tomando 14000 palabras de notas al grado que tenía que disciplinarme a solo leer (nunca pude). Es una fuente impresionante de información que vale la pena tener como referencia, no nada más leerlo de una sola ocasión. Analiza el contenido del tanaj con base en lo que quiénes lo escribieron querían transmitir (probablemente). Nunca toma una postura religiosa ni antirreligiosa; es la primera vez que veo un análisis cultural de la Biblia. Me parece un tomo fantástico

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought that much of the Christian Old Testament was familiar to me but this book made me look up passages and find out that there was so much that I didn't know or didn't remember--many stories that are definitely not in the chidlren's Bible story books! I appreciated the thematic approach Knight and Levine took--created new insights. Such as referring to "palace stories" as a theme--Joseph, Esther, Daniel. I appreciated their making comparisons with today's terms--referring to Pharoah said--as a place like we say "the White House says."

Read on my Kindle app--and chapter a day was enough to absorb!

[Marlene M. Oaks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sooo Insightful

This book educates us about context, archaeological findings around Biblical events or non-events (no evidence of Solomon's temple), language and translation and more. As a person who has sought spiritual understanding most of my life, I recommend this book to those who are sincere about finding truths.

[Bubba · Rating 5 out of 5]

One should read this book. It expands ones understanding of how Jewish people interpret the Tanaka also know as the Hebrew Bible. This book expanded my theological knowledge and has sparked a fire for further study of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. If you read this book make sure to take notes.

[Francine Apollo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The authors present lots of facts and connections for both the experienced and the novice Bible.

I read it beginning to end but I can see using it as a reference book in the future...just dipping into it as needed.

Highly recommended.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

More breadth than depth, but a breadth that’s sorely needed. Basically the Yale course by Christine Hayes (whom I love) in book form. Super accessible and engaging.

[Philip Dampier · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like Amy-Jill Levine and find her insights very interesting.

[Susanna M Cook · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good read

[BigHeadWalt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book is a collaboration by two professors from Vanderbilt that happen to co-teach some classes on the Bible and religion. The book synergizes the different books of the Bible, compiling commonalities and breaking down the original language to get to the intention and meaning of the passages throughout the Bible.
Each author writes a chapter, initially alternating, but later in sections. Would love to take a course like this where more in-depth discussions could be held. If synthesized the lectures/chapters better, would give a better rating.
Good read, though.

[Jeffrey McKinley · Rating 5 out of 5]

(read 3/20/13) A superb work by two scholars engaged in uncovering what the Bible actually meant to the people who composed it and how it should be interpreted today, rather than trying to craft it into a tool for fundamentalists to exercise control over the masses. For the authors, faith is a personal issue devoid of dependence on whether said events are true literally. While they desire to believe things like the historicity of King David, they acknowledge there is no evidence, pointing out the wise manta; 'absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.' For an atheist such as myself who has not lost his love for the Judeo-Christian genre of literature, I find the nature of scholarship demonstrated by Any-Jill Levine and Douglas Knight to be satisfying and even to a degree, edifying. While destroying most of the fundamentalist positions held by backwoods hick preachers and their blind followers, they offer to the open-minded person a Bible more alive and existentially exciting than the leather bound club normally used to beat the masses into conformity. Some will not find this book interesting. Others will find this book insulting to their core beliefs. But if you already have a knowledge of scripture and don't cling tenaciously to any dogma, you just might find in these pages an intellectual feast. To paraphrase the authors: If yours is the kind of faith that can be shaken by reading a book or a couple of paragraphs, then your faith is weak indeed.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing Read!

I finally finished reading this hefty work and I must say it was well worth every page. Each chapter brought a new perspective to the Biblical story that I believe is much needed in our current moral context. Both writers endeavored to draw insightful connections between the Scriptures and the prevailing contexts- a needful and necessary breath of fresh air for Biblical literalists. I highly recommend this book for those seeking to deepen their understanding of how ancients understood and related to their God. As written in the conclusion, the Bible isn't simple a book of answers; it assists us in asking better questions.

[D · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very thick book. Learned...

Although the biblical tradition forbids human sacrifice, ancient Israelites sacrificed their children, as did their neighbors to the east, west and south. The rationale was to give to the deity what one found most precious. Child sacrifice was a recognized response to national crisis. The sacrifice indicated to the gods and the population the dedication of the parent making the offering, and the child in turn was seen to serve as the protector of the people or city.

[Geoff Glenister · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic resource - incredibly thorough, and covering a wide range of topics. The authors give the Scriptures historical context as well as touching on some of the Archaeological issues with taking some of these stories literally. The one critique I would hesitatingly give is that at times it seems this book is a bit too thorough. In other words, this book is not for the faint of heart - it is meant for those who wish to dig deep.

[John Hanscom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely excellent. One of the best books on the Bible I have read.

[Jeremy Grimes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great topical book on all things Hebrew Scripture.

[Andrew Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, would recommend it to anyone interested in OT scripture. It is full of good insight and is easy and interesting to read.