The Old Testament

by Amy-Jill Levine

The Old Testament is cited on the floor of the Senate and from the bench in the courtroom. Contemporary politics is inextricably intertwined with it, from conflict in the Middle East to the claim by many in the United States that a return to "biblical values" is warranted. It influenced the Pilgrims to leave England in the 17th century; it inspired the founders of the new republic in the 18th; it roused both slaves and abolitionists to seek a new Moses and sponsor a new Exodus in the 19th and the Jews to establish a homeland in the 20th. Professor Levine's commentary thoughtfully explores selected passages from the texts called the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible, and the Tanakh. She provides clear examples of how various approaches to biblical research and interpretation can enrich your understanding of this inexhaustibly fruitful and powerful text. Of course, 24 lectures cannot hope to cover the Old Testament in its entirety. The method of the course is to discuss especially interesting or prominent passages from a cross-section of all the genres the Old Testament contains, using each passage as an example of how to apply a particular method of interpretation to the Bible. Even if you know the Old Testament well, you will find it enlightening to hear Professor Levine discuss how it appears against the larger background of the ancient Near East as revealed by research in archaeology, cross-cultural studies, and comparative religion.

Runtime: 12 hours, 10 minutes.

Genres: Religion, History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Christianity, Theology, Judaism

13 pages, Audio CD

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Amy-Jill Levine is University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies and Mary Jane Werthan Professor of Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School and Department of Jewish Studies. Her books include The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus; Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi; four children's books (with Sandy Sasso); The Gospel of Luke (with Ben Witherington III); and The Jewish Annotated New Testament (co-edited with Marc Z. Brettler). Her most recent books are The Bible With and Without Jesus: How Jews and Christians Read the Same Stories Differently (co-authored with Marc Z. Brettler), Sermon on the Mount: A Beginner's Guide to the Kingdom of Heaven; and The Kingdom of Heaven: 40 Devotionals. In 2019 she became the first Jew to teach New Testament at Rome's Pontifical Biblical Institute. Professor Levine, who has done over 300 programs for churches, clergy groups, and seminaries, has been awarded grants from the Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the American Council of Learned Societies. Institutions granting her honorary degrees include Christian Theological Seminary and the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overview.
I've listened to quite a few of these Great Course lectures on the Old Testament, but I tend to learn something new or get some fresh outlook on the text from each professor. And I do think this one added to my overall knowledge of the texts. This isn't going to be a deep dive into any particular book, but it does give you the skinny gist of the whole thing.



This time around I found out a few new little nuggets such as the Masoretic text and the Septuagint have slightly different versions of both Esther and Jeremiah. And that she was of the opinion that the origins of Satan could have been partially started in Isaiah 14 when the author was talking about the King of Babylon, and they made possible reference to their god Shahar who was the Canaanite god of dawn. <-- Morning Star?
That chapter in Isaiah has been used as a Fall of Lucifer story, so that was interesting to me.



I will say there was a whole list of things that Levine rattled off at the end of the lecture that she said she wished she could have gotten into.
And everything she mentioned seemed far more interesting to me than what she covered. I guess she felt like she needed to hit all the standard stuff, but...damn. It felt like a missed opportunity, and would have liked to have heard her opinions.



On a side note, Robert D. Miller's Understanding the Old Testament, Martien Halvorson-Taylor's Writing the Bible: Origins of the Old Testament, & Gary A. Rendsburg's The Book of Genesis are all really good if you're looking for more like this.

[Linda]

Disappointing. I found the lectures uneven. I got 2/3 through and DNF.

[booklady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent course! Yet it felt like (to me) and Dr. Levine admitted herself, 24 lectures can only whet the appetite for the Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures. It was a roller coaster ride—too much info packed in too short of a course. Dr. Levine has a terrific sense of humor and breathtaking way of presenting material. She’s a fast talker. By that I mean she speaks quickly, which means the listening mind races to keep up. Yet I, as a believer, found her graceful in offering information showing sensitivity to the reality that everyone approaches these texts from a completely unique perspective. She did not seem to short-change all that recent archaeological evidence, scripture scholarship and the historical critical methods have to offer—where it was available and she had the time to mention it—and yet she was reverent and balanced, recognizing/acknowledging both Jewish and Christian understandings re:these works.

Also, she taught me more than I expected to learn. For instance, even in such a short course I gained a new and more equitable appreciation for Kings’ David and Saul. Whereas before I was a David-fan and a Saul-critic; now I have much more empathy for King Saul and view King David as less god-like. Also, I thoroughly enjoyed her whirlwind jaunt through Judges and gained background information about the Books of Esther, Job and Song of Songs.

My only real complaint was the course was WAY TOO SHORT! Guess I need to go back to Teaching Company and check out more courses by her. Thanks Dr. Levine!

[Beauregard Bottomley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This set of lectures represent everything that is right about the Great Courses. It takes an incredibly complicated topic and makes it understandable so that even I can understand it as if I were taking a college course in the subject matter and didn’t have to read the text book and more importantly not have to memorize things in order to take a test for a grade that I don’t care about.

Narrow-minded religious Bible fundamentalist do themselves a disservice when they interpret the Bible without context, history or contrast with reality and apply their peculiar and only applicable once ever special pleading of claiming the bible is the one and only book in the world inspired by God and without error and is perfect and is the literal word of God Himself.

Special pleading with its certainty and inerrancy false assertions misses the real story that is within the Bible such as seeing the unfolding of myth becoming legend then history, or the beauty of tragedy becoming comedy and then farce. Even within the Bible there are literary tropes aplenty and Ms. Levine points them out.

The Bible as presented by Ms. Levine is rich with nuance and is worthy of study for its literature, history, philosophy and how people really thought about themselves and shows the unfolding of a people from an ethnic group to a religion as they strive to find their place in the world as a people and as individuals.

Atheists miss an incredibly good book when they try to refute the narrow-minded fundamentalist framing for the Bible, and narrow-minded fundamentalist miss out when they read more into the book then common sense would allow for. There is a richness lying within the stories and Ms. Levine guides the student expertly through the maze.

Ms. Levine is a master story teller and weaves the beauty of the Old Testament into the wonderful book that it really is. She sees the Bible for the great literature that it is, and points out the flaws such as the obvious misogynism that abounds except when it’s not as with the women who do exemplary things in the male-dominated world.

The Bible is most profitably looked at when one realizes that it doesn’t need special pleading in order for it to have meaning, just like any other great book (or series of books). Why are we here, what is my purpose, how should I live and is my favorite book in the Bible Ecclesiastes right when it implies that we should just ‘enjoy ourself, it’s later than you think’?

[Shane Ver Meer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This lecture series motivated me to start reading the Bible, so imma give it 5 personal stars for that. Levine's voice rings through in print form, and I'd encourage those interested in examining the Old Testament's broad themes and historical context to check this out. 5 out of 5 burning bushes.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking for some bible history, especially regarding some of those fantastic stories in Genesis and Exodus, and how it might relate to the histories of contemporary nations (e.g. Egypt, Babylonia). This 24 lecture series (by Professor Amy-Jill Levine) delivered the goods...along with additional stories of trials, betrayal, sex, wars, misogyny (a whole-lot of misogyny), hubris, a fair amount of damnation and a lot more sex. And it is a brutal, yet well-written history book, that is probably the most-read book, ever...and possibly least understood. The irony is that this book...specifically the old testament or Tanakh...is the basis for three of the largest religious groups in the world today.
But don't look for religion in these lectures...this is a history and literature course (and a little porn just for grins).
I recommend it.

[Skylar Burris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series was informative but the lecturer was not as engaging as most Teaching Company lecturers have been for me.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting overview of the old testament from the historical, religious, and literature prospective. This was a great courses audio course.

[Nicole Roccas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great way to kick off another year of reading the Bible in a year. Though a short treatment of a sprawling corpus, Levine manages to introduce readers not just to the general content of the OT and its genres, but also to the dominant challenges, hermeneutical approaches, and their limitations one is likely to encounter in further biblical study. I do wish she would have been able to devote some time to earlier interpretive methods, like the four fold interpretation of scripture or the typological lens used by the early Fathers through the medieval period.

I personally appreciate that Levine comes to the OT as a Jew rather than a Christian, yet provides insight and encouragement for Christians and Jews alike to find God in these texts without shying away from the very real complexities, ambiguities, and Mystery we find in them.

[Winona · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lots of great material presented with a smirk and melodramatic sighs.
It's going to take me a while to process her glib dismissals of the historicity of most of the Old Testament.
What a contrast to the lectures on Genesis by Gary A. Rendsburg, which come from a position of faith seeking to understand rather than mocking believers.

[Hester · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast and furious unpicking of The Hebrew Bible for those of us who like to ask questions less on theology but more on historical and political context , narrative styles , myths , sagas, legends and wisdom .

It did get a tad frantic at times with the disintegration of Israel and Judea but Levine is so enthusiastic with a wry sense of humour that it's worth hanging on .

I've always been frustrated by and struggled with the symbolism and cataclysmic nature of apocalyptic literature but now I understand it's a sort of last ditch literary device designed to give people hope when all looks bleak . And understanding the prophets and their political role helped immensely too. Time and again she reminded us that the audience for the text would have understood it's humour and satire , it's tropes and devices without blinking an eye . To have even the tiniest sense of how brilliant the storytelling is it's essential to understand the culture at that time . This series of lectures helped me do that

[Mircah Foxwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, this was so excellent. Dr Amy-Jill Levine is a great lecturer to listen to, so passionate about her subject matter, and so knowledgeable.

She does a great job of placing the Old Testament in context, discussing mythology, history, politics of the time, folktale motifs, culture of the Hebrews and their neighbours, and so on, so that it becomes so much more clear what the books of the Old Testament were intended for and what their meaning is.

I really enjoyed listening to this lecture series and will probably listen to it again - there is so much material, I’m certain I didn’t absorb it all.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This went a lot faster when I abandoned reading along with it in the full text. :)

This was fascinating and super helpful while staying mostly accessible, though I did lose the thread of things a bit once we'd moved into the history and politics of the kingdom and tried to cover that and all of the symbolism and structure of the biblical story.

[Jacob Hay · Rating 4 out of 5]

The instructor Dr. Amy-Jill Levine really made this such a great listen. My only complaint is that it was not longer but for an introductory it would be difficult to find better.

[Drew Starr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll never see the Old Testament the same way again.

[Adam Shields · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: A good overview of the Old Testament, not just the content of the Old Testament, but interpretative methods, ancient culture, and ways scholarship interacts with ancient texts.

I am a fan of Great Courses and "Very Short Introduction to" books. But one of the most common weaknesses is that in a brief survey, the book/lectures can be primarily about the academic study of the subject, not the subject itself. For example, in The Bible: A Very Short Introduction by John Riches spends very little time introducing the content of the bible and instead spends almost all of his time on the academic study of how it was written or compiled into the canon or how it is studied. All of those things are helpful in the proper context. But in a brief survey, I think the primary focus should be an overview of the content.

I have wanted to read a book by Amy-Jill Levine. She is a well-known author and writer. She is Jewish but is known partly for her Jewish presentations to Christian audiences. She takes the spiritual reality of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible seriously. Still, she is an academic presenting in a way that primarily focuses on what can be known naturally (in the sense of non-spiritual). And this is what most of the negative reviews on Audible are about. For example, she says that at this point, there is no archeological evidence that David was a real person and that she tends to think that he was an archetypal figure. That does not mean that there never will be archeological evidence of David. But I think Christians must grapple with the reality of how modernism has impacted our faith. Modernism wanted to dismiss not just the possibility of supernatural actions of God but dismiss anything that could not be proven naturally. And those Christians that reacted against modernism accepted many of the same premises, but in the other direction, trying to prove through modern scholarship that all of the supernatural events actually happened and the bible was only historical in a modern understanding of that idea.

One of the strengths of this presentation is that in the process of giving an overview of the content of the Old Testament, Levine illustrates different models of understanding and studying ancient texts. She uses the Historical-Critical method and brings comparative stories from other cultures. She spends a lot of time on genre and points out how the author's intention (at least what we can reconstruct of intention) should play into how we understand a text today. She introduces the idea of etiological myth, a story that explains how something came to be. One example of this is the story of Lott and his two daughters; the children born to Lott and his daughters are Moab and Ammon, the names of two of the people groups around Israel. And a story about how those people groups were derived from incest and drunkness seems like it very well may be an example that was intended to be an etiological myth (an explanation of how something came to be) and not an example of modern history.

One of the problems with recommending this is that in a real classroom, there can be discussion and grappling with meaning. But in an audio course, there is no back and forth. A friend of mine is a Hebrew and Old Testament professor at a secular university. One of the tasks he takes seriously is trying to help students with Christian or Jewish backgrounds interact with modern scholarship on the bible without them just wanting to throw away their bibles. I can speak more about Christianity, but many Christians are taught the bible in a very modernist method. In other words, they are told that the bible is history and only history and all of it literally happened in the exact way they are told. If any individual part they understand as history wasn't history, their entire understanding of their faith crumbles. But I think scholars like Levine or John Walton, who take their faith very seriously, are trying to say that reading a portion of scripture as history when it wasn't intended to be read as modern history is a misreading of scripture, not a faithful reading of scripture.

There is only so much that 24 thirty-minute lectures can cover. Much material is covered here, but it is still a survey. The first six lectures are mainly about the book of Genesis and introducing interpretative methods. The seventh lecture is "Folklore Analysis and Types Scenes" and is the only lecture that is not primarily concerned with exploring the biblical content. Lectures 8 to 14 are about the rest of the Pentateuch, the conquest of Cannan, and the book of Judges. Lectures 15 to 21 are about Saul, David, Solomon, and the split into the two kingdoms through exile and return. And then the last three lectures are about Wisdom Literature, Life in the Diaspora, and Apocalyptic Literature.

Generally, this presentation is intended to cover an academic understanding of the Old Testament and not a religious understanding (either Jewish or Christian) of the Old Testament. And that isn't what everyone wants. Generally, I think that Levine knows she is primarily talking to Christians and so references Jesus and the New Testament when it makes sense to the text she is discussing. But this is not a Christian-specific presentation. One of the aspects that I appreciate is that she emphasizes a more Jewish understanding of the Old Testament by asking more questions than she is answering. The rabbinic tradition of discussion is rooted in asking questions. Christianity is often more interested in getting to the answers. But I think there is a lot of value in asking good questions. It is one reason why I think that Wil Gafney's books, like Womanist Midrash, are so helpful. Gafney is raising questions about the text that many will not ask of the text without a guide like her.

Overall, I think this presentation of the Old Testament by Amy-Jill Levine is well worth listening to, maybe more than once. Of course, it isn't going to be helpful for everyone, but I think if you are willing to ask questions of your faith, then you will find value here.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it would take me forever to listen to all 24 lectures. Alas not. They were so interesting I just zipped through - which I'm sure is not what was intended. I should have taken the time to go over each lecture and the references therein, but, chalk it up to impatience and laziness. The author, Amy-Jill Levine does lament at the end of the series that there wasn't near enough time to cover everything she wanted. Agreed. But I feel I have a better handle on the stories and know a bit more about who was who and who did what and why. She hits hard the concept of what it means to be a "covenant people" and how covenants are different from laws. I wish she'd do another series adding on to this one. In fact, the course could be 3 times as long and still not cover all she wanted to say or I wanted to hear.

[Zivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good course about the history and meaning of major portions of the Old Testament.

I like the fact that Levine doesn't just talk about the historicity of the texts, but goes into their historical context and meaning to the people of the time.

A wonderful way to reengage with the Old Testament from a critical but not dismissive point of view.

[Mathew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found her to be one of the best and most brilliant presenters I've ever listened to. She's actually really funny and drops a few tremendous deep cut jokes. I've been using her lectures as the prefect supplement as I go through the OT cover to cover for the first time.

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series of lectures on the Old Testament is very good as an overview to the history of the text and the different interpretative approaches to the Old Testament. Levine brings together, at different points, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and secular understandings of the texts. This is not a religion or theology course; there is no presupposition of the divinity of the text, but such a view, for those that have it, is not incompatible with Levine's discussions. Though I am sure those with particular views about the meaning of the Old Testament will disagree at lots of points, Levine doesn't present her interpretation as _the_ definitive one. She acknowledges the reality of many traditions and interpretations.

In 24 lectures, one can hardly get too deep into the books and stories of this text, and Levine acknowledges through out the series this limitation. Nevertheless, in the aspects she discusses, she is able to convey much of the meaning and the history.

Personally, I would have liked even more on the history of these texts, and their comparisons to other texts of the region and period. That's really a different course though.

I wish Levine had more courses at the Teaching Company--ones that individually delved more deeply into select books of the Bible. Her style is pleasant, she cares deeply for her subject, and she has an impressive breadth and depth of knowledge of it.

[Carl Palmateer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect for a long trip. First point for anyone who had doubts; this is a religious studies course, it is not theology. If you are looking for theology or a like minded OT survey course you will be disappointed. On a side note if you are looking for that kind of course The Great Courses is not where you should be looking.

So to the course. This is pretty standard as to its view on authors, dates, locations, purpose, etc. Prof Levine is far less strident than many I've heard and is not using this as an opportunity to berate those who might hold to a traditional/orthodox/fundamental (supply your own label here). Some of her cultural references might be obscure to younger listeners, took me a second to click in on Elroy (Jetson).

The parts I liked best were when she drew out the hidden things in originals. Not some secret knowledge but stuff like humor, puns, irony lost in the translations. She is also good at bringing out questions to be asked, discussed and sometimes answered. Sometimes I was a bit annoyed at her answers. Not because of the answer but several times she would pose a question, answer it and say "because I like the answer". Don't know how she got there, where the answer came from, no discussion or thought process. Its as if academia is suddenly guilty of becoming the priestly class she sometimes discusses and then repeating some of the errors she indicts them with.

[Julianna Noelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an absolute joy to listen to, even though I think I'll need to listen to it ten more times if I want to fully absorb and remember some of the most important parts of this series. The ending of Amy-Jill Levine's last lecture did its job, I think, in inspiring me to want to learn even more. Levine's passion and love for this text is undeniable. I rarely hear other women speak with confidence like this even in a field they are expert in, and it is deeply inspiring and life-giving to hear the voice of a woman who IS confident in her knowledge.

Herself Jewish, New Testament scholar Amy-Jill Levine has an intricate and nuanced understanding of the Hebrew Bible. I deeply enjoy the way that she wrestles with difficult and problematic passages of the Old Testament--she neither excuses the problematic elements nor denounces those who believe it is the word of God. Instead, she takes the path of examining the text and the information in it from multiple perspectives, literary and religious and historical alike.

[Cris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think readers of the Old Testament may notice that a lot of facts are missing, so readers often decide for themselves what the missing facts might be. Levine frequently notes that many details are simply not stated in the text, which is true. Unfortunately, in this course, too much time is spent on questions that simply cannot be answered.

For example, Levine spends too much time speculating on what David and Bathsheba might have been thinking when their relationship began. There is a lot that is written about David that Levine ignores while spending lecture time on trying to read Bathsheba’s mind. In fact, from this course, you will learn little about David except he might be a myth like King Arthur.

The audio quality of this course is inferior to other Great Courses. This may be due to Levine’s dramatic style which often fades from loud to lowtalking (thanks to Seinfeld for that term).

Obviously, I think skipping this course is the best choice.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this and learned a lot. I think Levine has a pretty amazing grasp on biblical history and how it interrelates with contemporary ancient histories.

I knocked off a star because she comes across as a bit of a fan girl, which has its place, but it was hard to take some of her conclusions seriously. She would seemingly suggest that certain characters and stories were myth, but then start to psychoanalyse them and their imagined appurtenances. You can't psychoanalyse Superman. He's not real.

She also failed to properly critique some of the activities and ordinances that, though they might fit in with ancient orthodoxy, are horrendous by today's enlightened ethical standards.

Conservatives might find her too liberal, and liberals might find her too conservative. I thought she was an odd mix of both, but very knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and a great communicator.

[Jerry Jares · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a delightful course, probably because of the enthusiasm and humor of Dr. Amy-Jill Levine. At the end of the course, I was thinking about all I'd learned while  Dr. Levine was bemoaning everything she had left out. We certainly looked at our outcomes differently. 

She is adept at making connections and sharing her insights with her listeners. I marveled at Dr. Levine's reminders that we do not know a person's (under discussion) mindset or motive. That often helped me understand why the rabbis have spent thousands of years trying to understand why something happened. It opened my eyes to see that I don't know (any more than they did) what was the motivating impulse of the person under discussion.

I learned so much. The Old Testament is incredibly complex and varied. I'm so glad to have had this experience. 

[Petra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed these lectures. They delved into stories of the Old Testament and brought out interpretations and insights into the texts that are the focus of Theologians' studies and research.

Amy-Jill Levine is articulate, clear and puts the stories into a "real life" setting with "real people emotions" and context.

I am not up on my Bible stories, so this book was refreshing and interesting for me. Because of my lack of knowledge, it would be beneficial for me to listen to this audio again, and perhaps I will. It would be as interesting the second time as the first and, perhaps, I'll learn even more than I did the first time about the people and times of History that made it into the Bible.

[Alisa]

I enjoyed these lectures and Levine is an engaging and interesting speaker. This course is an overview of the major stories in the Old Testament / Hebrew Bible. It takes a literary approach and does not really cover the religious or theological aspects of the text. At points the professor gives an etymological or comparative literary analysis, but that is often glossed over in favor of summarizing what the text is about and the historical reasons/context for its existence. I guess I'm a bit disappointed because I wanted a more in-depth course with a specific focus, but this is firmly in the general overview camp.

[Gebo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love Levine's takes on the Bible. She is a clear, but erudite scholar with much to offer those interested in the Bible beyond just its spiritual significance. She's interested in the text, deconstructing the text, the meaning(s) of stories, how they interrelate to other Near Eastern religious traditions, history, geography, etc. If you just want the spiritual significance, you should seek out a spiritual teacher, not an academic (honestly, deeply confused by many of the negative reviews of this program...). Great stuff. Highly recommend.

[Michelle Mosley · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Wish there was more to this course. Some of the lectures didn't hold my interest as much, particularly the ones toward the end, but in the closing when Professor Levine was mentioning topics that she wished she had time to cover, I found myself wishing that she could have covered them as well. I would say it's a good introductory course and, for me, provided a lot of context for the stories I grew up learning about. Really interesting how the surrounding cultures influenced the formation of the Old Testament.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found these lectures fascinating! I have been very impressed with "The Great Courses Lectures." I look for them on the two-for-one sales on Audible. I look forward to The New Testament!
P.S. I was very conflicted on which shelf to place this one, but finally settled on historical fiction since much of the first testament is based on myth, fables, etc. Perhaps the new testament will be placed in creative non-fiction and historical fiction both.