Status Updates From Moses: A Life

We did NOT come this far just for him to mistranslate “Moshe Rabbeinu.” How do you even DO that in a book about Moses.

Less than 100 pages left! (Minus the citations)

SUCH a small bone to pick, but I really do take issue with Kirsch deferring to the Christian count of the 10 Commandments instead of the Jewish count, especially when he has deferred to Jewish tradition for pretty much everything else.

This was better when he was relying mostly on midrash and less on archaeology, mostly because he seems completely unwilling to accept that the reason why the Bible contains elements of Canaanite culture…is because the Israelites were Canaanites. Because Israelite culture developed FROM WITHIN Canaanite culture in the late Bronze Age. As all the best archaeology has been telling us for decades.

Also halfway! (minus citations)

For someone whose work relies so heavily on the rabbinic tradition, Kirsch certainly has a lot of disdain for it at times 😒

I feel like off-handedly introducing the documentary hypothesis on p.148 was not the best way to go about that

I can appreciate the occasional levity of the narrative style, but I feel like Kirsch doesn’t quite get the balance right at times. He could also stand to be less sure of his own interpretation of Biblical scenes