Understanding the Old Testament

by Robert D. Miller

The Old Testament is one of the foundational texts of Western civilization, and is among the most impactful and widely read books in world history. In 24 enthralling lectures, Professor Miller guides you through a core selection of the major books of the Old Testament, inviting you to probe their meaning and relevance in incisive and thought-provoking commentary. Among the books of the Old Testament, you’ll explore:

• Genesis: Uncover fascinating features of the Old Testament’s opening, such as how the events of the first week of creation form an elaborate pattern, expressing the complex order of the universe; and how the text does not lay primary blame for “the fall” on the woman, Eve;

• Deuteronomistic History: Study the epic history of the people of Israel in the Promised Land; follow the story of the Israelites’ disobedience to God, and its tragic consequences;

• The Prophets: Through the dramatic stories of the prophets, take account of the challenges faced by those who sought to actualize God’s plan for humanity;

• The Books of Ruth and Esther: Among notable women in the Old Testament, explore two stories of women who are doubly at risk, and who prevail through loyalty, resourcefulness, and integrity; and

• Daniel and the Apocalyptic: In the Book of Daniel, encounter the genre of apocalyptic literature - revelation initiated by God - and contemplate the figure of “the Son of Man,” a promised redeemer.

Throughout the lectures, Professor Miller offers a wealth of perspectives on how to approach the texts. You’ll assess the role of translation in the understanding of the texts, studying the meanings of key Hebrew words; you’ll also look in depth at the history, dating, and writing of the texts, and you’ll study their literary and linguistic features, noting how they achieve their impact on the reader.

In Understanding the Old Testament, you’ll take a revelatory look at this epically impactful document, finding its deeper historical and religious meanings, as well as its sublime literary treasures.

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

285 pages, Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun fact:



According to Miller, in the Middle Ages, Christian scholars were pawing through Hebrew text and found what they thought was the "true name" of God.
Apparently, there were no vowels in ancient Hebrew. <--or only a few?
Ok, so to keep dotty old rabbis from reading Yahweh (YHWH) aloud accidentally on the regular, the Jewish scholars had added in the Latin vowels of the word Adonai (“My Lord") and created a word that didn't make sense but DID make sense.
If that makes sense?
And since the two groups of scholars weren't getting together to share information and fun vacation pictures on social media, the Christian scholars thought that they had made an incredible discovery.
And there you have the origin of the word Jehovah.
Well, I'm sure my bastardized version of an explanation isn't exactly right, so go look it up for yourself because it's a fascinating etymology to check out.



It would probably help to have some prior knowledge of the Bible and an open mind when it comes to deconstructing the stories in the text if you really want to get the most out of this.
I think it would be worth it, though, because the Old Testament is fascinating, beautiful, and rich in ancient history. And if you understand the past, it makes the present and the future seem a lot less scary.



If you're on the prowl for an overall look at what makes the Old Testament tick, this is a very good lecture.
Recommended.

[Joseph Spuckler · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent course from the Jewish perspective. Although there is some continuity to the Old Testament that I learned about in Catholic school it is taken as a whole philosophy rather than support for the New Testament. A refreshing look at the core of two other world religions.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This course examines the Hebrew Bible from a historical and a literary vantage point. Dr. Miller is interested in text structure and demonstrates close reading strategies used by scholars to interpret different segments of the bible (ie psalms, Ecclesiastics). In addition, he delves deeply into the content of the books of Genesis, Exodus, the Prophets and the book of Job. He is knowledgeable and passionate about his subject.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting course on the first 5 books of the old testament from a literary and archeological viewpoint as apposed to religion.

Lots of interesting nuggets.

[Beauregard Bottomley · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a story about the stories that transcend what is being presented within the bible and Dr. Miller shows how to get at that meaning.

Dr. Miller’s approach reaches way beyond how to just think about the bible and what it really means; he also teaches one how to critically approach any great work of literature or history.

The meaning of any work is partly a function of who the writer was writing to, who the audiences would be, and how they would see it and the milieu of the time period. For example, the four rivers around the Garden of Eden never connected that’s because the intended audience would have realized that instantly and would have said ‘only a fool would look for the Garden of Eden today’. The bible needs to be interpreted fully and in context, bible literalist are fools (that’s me speaking not Dr. Miller, he never strays from facts).

Not a single person reading the story at the time of publication would have been in doubt what was to happen when Abraham was ordered to slay his child Isaac. There was no mystery. Obedience was the obvious message.

Hebrew poetry is beautiful and unlike most poetry allows itself to be translated efficiently and I had no idea what it meant until Dr. Miller explained it.

The bible is full of borrowings from adjacent cultures and there are dragons everywhere as the lecturer will point out in the last lecture as well as learned borrowings from other law codes and wisdom traditions.

The serpent in the Garden did not crawl until after the fall, before the fall it was a serpent (dragon). The bible is more complex than I had known. Yes, there be dragons there, but the God of the bible has it under-control just as Sherlock Holmes (George C. Scott) in the 1971 movie “They Might Be Giants” knows Moriarty lurks everywhere and “that man did not leave the garden of Eden, just look around this is paradise”.

Ecclesiastes has always been my most favorite book of the bible and now from having had listened to its lecture from Dr. Miller I understand why it connected with me at such a visceral level from the very first time I read it. If you want justice, write your own video game otherwise just realize: Enjoy yourself, life is shorter than you think! And “the race is not to the swift, nor the battles to the strong, …., but time and chance happens to them all”.

Overall, an incredibly informative lecture series that transcends its subject matter while also providing deep insights about the Old Testament and how to most profitably read it. Actually, one of my favorite Great Course Lectures I’ve experienced.

[Abbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This course was not what I was expecting and I'm really not sure what this course was trying to accomplish. The summary of this course made it sound like it would be an overview of the Old Testament as a whole while digging into different contexts: historical, cultural, and literary. Though it did that from time to time, the course itself was a scattered collection of analyses of small snippets of text. If you are not overly familiar with the Old Testament, you will get lost quick. My rudimentary understanding of the Bible from my time in Catholic elementary and junior high school was hardly enough, and if I hadn't just completed a course on Ancient Mesopotamia (Ancient Mesopotamia: Life in the Cradle of Civilization) that touched on this region's history and cultures, I would have been totally lost in the historical and cultural references as well.

There are only 24 lectures of about 30 minutes and there are 24-39 books in the Old Testament (depending on denomination) so you do go in expecting some cuts. But entire books weren't mentioned, and the time that was spent in the lectures was on random lines here and there that the lecturer found interesting or contained some kind of pattern. What was the purpose of the patterns, he never specified, only that the patterns were indeed there and here was how you could put it into a chart. Though he did try sometimes to give a little biblical context to the characters and stories he was talking about, most of the time he jumped straight in expecting you to know the story and the characters as well as the traditional Christian and Jewish readings of them.

I had a hard time figuring out exactly who this course is for. It's certainly not for those new to the books of the Old Testament. I don't think it's for the religious person who has read the Bible cover to cover either, because some of the interpretations might clash with traditional interpretations in that person's religion. But it's also not a strictly atheistic course: it never rejects the Bible as nothing more than human-written stories, nor does it reject the existence of God in any way. The course does feel biased in favor of the God of the Old Testament in comparison to the other ancient deities discussed from the surrounding areas.

I also had an issue figuring out what exactly the goal of the course was. It definitely wasn't to get an elementary grasp of the stories of the Bible. It wasn't to learn the history of the books of the Bible and what we know of past edits that became the books we see today--though sometimes that topic is touched on, it is certainly not central. The goal wasn't to match up historical events to the Bible either, or to give a complete overview of other cultures' influences on the Bible, though those topics did too appear.

The closest target I can figure for this course is this: people who want to analyze the Bible in a somewhat scholarly way, but don't know what that would look like. Because at the end of the day, all this course seems to be is a collection of thesis ideas all themed around the Old Testament that are briefly outlined.

There were many times I considered stopping this course, and if I was seriously seeking knowledge in this subject, I would have. But I can't say I didn't learn anything. The lecture on Job (lecture 22) came the closest to what I had initially expected the content for this course to be like, and I genuinely found the content of that lecture interesting. And if nothing else, this course did remind me of some elements of the Old Testament that maybe aren't discussed as much, and it did demonstrate different techniques of looking at the Old Testament (even if it didn't elaborate on those techniques). But I did end up mostly consuming this course in the background while I did other things that didn't take much concentration (which is not how I typically want to consume educational content, but it was the only way I made it through this course). I'd never call something that you got something out of a waste of time, but I think that many people who might be interested in a course titled "Understanding the Old Testament" would be very disappointed with the content of this course.

In the end, I cannot recommend this course to anyone. This is the first Christianity-themed course I've tried of those offered by the Great Courses. I'm probably going to check out the others, and when I do, I'll try to update this review with some recommendations.

[Alex Shrugged · Rating 4 out of 5]

The professor says that he treats the Hebrew Scriptures as literature in this course, but he tends to make remarks about the texts that are very Jewish. Since the professor seems to be a Christian, this is refreshing. He addresses the mistakes that many Christians make in their assumptions about the Jewish texts and completely dumps all over the Book of Job which he rightly should do. No one should attempt to extract anything theologically meaningful out of the Book of Job. It is written in a poetic Hebrew that defies translation and interpretation, but the professor gives it his best shot. Not bad, really.

I'd listen to this audio course again.

Contents

Lect 01 The Old Testament as Literature (28:00)
Lect 02 The Genesis Creation Story (29:51)
Lect 03 What God Intended for Adam and Eve (28:28)
Lect 04 When Things Go Wrong in the Garden of Eden (28:26)
Lect 05 Abraham, the Father of Three Faiths (29:19)
Lect 06 Moses and the Exodus (30:49)
Lect 07 The Ten Commandments (26:02)
Lect 08 The Covenant Code in Exodus (27:55)
Lect 09 Leviticus at a Crossroads (29:42)
Lect 10 Deuteronomy to Kings (28:38)
Lect 11 The Book of Judges (27:00)
Lect 12 The Books of Samuel (24:31)
Lect 13 The Books of Kings (29:54)
Lect 14 Biblical Short Stories Ruth and Esther (27:08)
Lect 15 Amos, Prophet of Justice (26:35)
Lect 16 The Prophet Isaiah in Three Movements (27:43)
Lect 17 Jeremiah, Persecuted Prophet (22:48)
Lect 18 Daniel and Apocalyptic Literature (25:45)
Lect 19 How Scholars Study Psalms (29:26)
Lect 20 The Music of the Psalms (24:21)
Lect 21 Proverbs in the Bible Wisdom Literature (29:01)
Lect 22 Job's Suffering and Understanding (28:11)
Lect 23 Ecclesiastes and the Vanity of Vanities (24:51)
Lect 24 Slaying the Dragons of the Old Testament (29:26)

[Kevin Hanks · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the great courses. Very knowledgeable author and a very good series of lectures. Admittedly it’s a bit like reading the Old Testament itself… sometimes you get through a section and think “wait, what the heck did I just read?!” But I enjoyed it.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a lot from this lecture series and it's discussion of the Old Testament from both a historical and a literary perspective. I listened to the series (24 lectures of about 30 minutes each) to have a better foundation for listening to some lectures on Christianity and gnosticism, but in addition to giving me a foundation, it also made me think. I learned about several books about which I'd known basically nothing; it also made me realize how much I don't know. I enjoyed this a great deal.

[Benjamin Stahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent and refreshing take on the Old Testament, these lecturers approach the old biblical stories with an eye to recognising the interpreting the lines cross-overs between history, myth and theological allegory in a way that is bound to sit uncomfortably with some Christians (more likely but not exclusively Protestants, who I think place a much stricter emphasis on the inerrancy of Scripture), but nevertheless is wholly respectful towards and indeed embracing of religious faith. I especially found Miller's interpretation of Genesis to be convincing and invigoratingly balanced in its juggling of reason and the miraculous.

Some Christian readers on Goodreads appear to find Miller's thinking disappointing and not conducive to deepening their faith, but I did not find that to be the case at all myself. Again, my own journey in relation to understanding the Bible has been a Catholic one that eventually led me through the initially painful process of accepting that much of what happens in these Holy writings are probably not meant to be taken 100% literally or as they are presented - for instance, the actual process and numbers of the Mosaic Exodus from Egypt, and even the chronology and context in which certain books were themselves written by human agents that were, while still Divinely inspired, not necessarily immune to error, exaggeration and bias.

I am not entirely sure what the lecturers beliefs actually are (some readers seem to think he argues more for a Jewish interpretation over a Christian one), but my own conclusions based on briefly looking into him are that he is definitely an Abrahamic theist, most likely a Christian (these lectures are produced courtesy of the Catholic University of America, and Miller's academic biography states that he is a Secular Franciscan, the context within which "secular" does not actually mean atheist), and his arguments are often in defence of certain Christian readings of the Bible.

Whatever the case, this may be a challenging read in some ways for Christians entrenched in certain ways of thinking, but I found it highly rewarding, to the point that is had more deeply affirmed my faith and my love for Godly wisdom to be found in the Old Testament.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
I found Professor Miller's approach to this subject intriguing. His lectures focused on the literature and history of what is known by Christians as the Old Testament rather than on the religious aspects of the text. I especially found the meanings he ascribed to the structures of various sections thought-provoking. Miller did not attempt to review the content entirely or do a general survey. Instead he selected what he throught would best illustrate the concepts he wanted to highlight. These lectures do not relate a chronological history but instead point to significant aspects of the human condition embedded throughout the work as an entity.

I was never aware of any particular theological slant from Miller. Instead he shared thoughts of scholars and religious intellectuals from a variety of teachings as well as from the myths and legends of several ancient peoples of the Levant. I found most of this enlightening even though I occasionally got a bit lost in the details.

Understanding the Old Testament well represented the content quality represented so often in offerings of the Great Courses and I recommend it as an ecumenical analysis of a work that is revered and respected by those of various faiths.

[Jerry Jares · Rating 5 out of 5]

Over the years, I've experienced many excellent lessons from the Teaching Company. However, this has to be the best series ever. Dr. Miller is excellent; his depth of understanding of the Old Testament and his ability to share that with listeners is wonderful. I was so overwhelmed by what I'd learned (without using the syllabus or the Bible while listening) that I decided to re-listen while reading the attending information and having a copy of the Bible at hand.

I recently learned that the Bible is regularly updated with current language and definitions. Word meanings change over time, and scholars update the context because of new interpretations. That was why I struggled to decipher words and context with my 50-year-old Bible. This information stunned me; I had no idea.

Now that I have a new Bible and a copy of Dr. Miller's syllabus, I'm revisiting his fascinating interpretation (and exploration) of the Bible. Re-reading it, I'm finding new insights that did not register in the first run-through. I waited two months and decided to go more slowly this time. The lessons are fascinating and I have learned so much.

[Abdul Alhazred · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great course in a sea of christian apologetics; here you instead get a perspective more grounded in the jewish story, but without becoming strictly jewish theology. It's a mix of the Bible read as literature, with some historical background to flesh out the events, and perhaps that's the most fruitful arena compared to other offerings, as it repeatedly refers to the influence of Babylonia and Caanan, including their gods, on the content - something sorely missing from many other courses (and books). Miller doesn't go quite as deep into the idea of judaism as steeped in reactions to its religious environment as I would have liked, and some of his defense of hard to interpret books like Job get a bit too 'just so' for me. Still it's very different in trying to cover an evolving religion caught on the page, rather than the much more common post hoc view of judaism (and christianity) as a finished product delivered in complete (if not perfect) form.

[Anthony Hellerstedt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Miller does a tremendous job of approaching the Bible both literarily and historically. There are numerable, fascinating, and helpful nuggets of information throughout the course. However, from a Christian faith perspective, Dr. Miller's presentation is lacking. It is clear that he is a secular scholar who views the Word of God more as literature than authoritative. This is most pronounced in his use of the secular dating system "CE" and "BCE," as opposed to the Christ-acknowledging traditional "AD" and "BC." I highly recommend this course for the mature Christian only, who can discern the chaff from the wheat. Immature believers, much less non-believers, will come away with knowledge about the OT but virtually nothing about the Christ who died for the world.

[B.L. Blankenship · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a nicely done series. I'd personally put it as a High School level, but maybe that is just because I'm me. I enjoy things like "The Unseen Realm" by Dr. Michael S. Heiser, dissertations from Oxford University, and such. Being who I am historically/theologically - I knew the answers to some of the things he said that he didn't. Howbeit, I'm also a person who will say that I don't know when I don't know. You lose credibility otherwise. I did enjoy this. It was touching, well done, and didn't at any point go off the rails.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly interesting. I learned a lot listening to this as one of Audible's plus catalog. I enjoyed that it gave me a new understanding of the Old Testament. I always thought of the Old Testament as an angry god who is trying to get his people back into place, oh and women suck and caused all the problems in the world. Miller took the story and explained it historically, socially, and closely looked at the translations and explained where parts were wrong or lost.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

This audio does not actually cover the entirety of the Old Testament of the Bible, but what it does cover is fascinating. I searched for a book version, without success, because I wanted the spellings of so many words for further reading. I thoroughly enjoyed the historical references and the explanations of archaic practices. The extensive knowledge the author and the mountains of research presented made me almost giddy. I highly recommend this audio.

[AttackGirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Robert I liked how you incorporated other “myths” to hear Marduk and Enki discussed in any form warm my brain to know some else has looked into the gods of creation because who did Cain run from?

What was east of the Eden and who made Ezekiel’s flying ships as indicated in the 10+k not 2K year old text.

The only concern I have with your presentation is you present several opinion then say you don’t agree but never explain or support your defense.

[Dennis Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Understanding the Old Testament by Robert Miller is excellent. Miller enjoys a strong sense of mastery over the text, is able to engage with popular misunderstandings, and discusses the text from both a historical and a literary perspective, informing the student of a great many ways in which ancient Hebrews viewed and understood their faith. There's a lot to like here, and I wish there were a lot more from him.

[Maura Roo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the bible. I love studying it, and researching all of the different cultures and their significance to the stories it includes. Reading the Old Testament is a unique experience, because nothing makes me feel more scholarly, and also like I am reading the world's most ancient soap opera. This series of lectures was phenomenal, and I took pages and pages of notes.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much enjoyed listening to this audiobook for a literary/historical/theological overview of themes in the OT. Enlarged my perspective through references to Jewish/Christian theologians and near east historical context. Subtracting a star because sometimes dry and there were definitely quite a few "dad jokes."

[Elizabeth Ricks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thoroughly loved the first few chapters and even turned the speed down so that I could better concentrate on each word. Unfortunately for me, then Miller's lectures went a little over my head in many instances. Still, this is a great resource for teaching the Old Testament.

[Eme Se · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent course diving into the Old Testament, the Professor braids theology, history, anthropology, psychology and culture together beautifully. His lectures are very clear-structured and detailed, easy to follow, with a healthy dose of humour!

[James Chappell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very elucidating look at the Old Testament which focused on genres, meanings, and dealing with common misconceptions.

[R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful as ever, but I do feel it still needs quite a lot of effort to “understand”.

[Jj Everhart · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you're a Christian, I wouldn't suggest this. His comments aren't faith building in any way.

[Yasser Maniram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Educational and filled with details I had not encountered in previous study.

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great linguistic dive into the actual intent of the writers of the OT.

[Jacob O'connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly good. I've been thinking about Miller's idea about a dragon theme since finishing the series.

[LemontreeLime · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so good, i learned more than i expected from it! More lectures from Prof Miller, please!