Discovering the Old Testament

Nov 23 2015 50 ep. 20 mins 207

Discovering the Old Testament Podcast artwork

A series of brief lectures about the history, culture, archaeology, and languages behind the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures) based on a series of seminars and a summer course taught at Stanford University in 2013. We examine the Old Testament in the context of its mysterious and exotic world and times. An ongoing educational tool for personal study, adult education groups, sermon preparation, or personal enrichment.

Religion & Spirituality

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Part 50: The Intertestamental Period

Nov 23 2015 20 mins

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 50 We come to the end of this series with a quick look ahead at the Intertestamental Period, where the canonical Torah was tested in the forum of social upheaval, war, and sectarian strife. We … Continue reading →

Part 49: Scripture and Scholarship

Nov 07 2015 19 mins

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 49 Modern biblical scholarship has yielded tremendous insights; no study of the Bible is complete without referring to its insights. And yet it brings with it certain blind spots that cannot be overlooked. In this … Continue reading →

Part 48: Building the Hebrew Canon

Nov 01 2015 19 mins

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 48 Continuing the discussion after the canonization of the Torah, we learn how two more sections, the Prophets and the Writings, came to be part of the Hebrew Scriptures. We also learn why some of … Continue reading →

Part 47: Ezra, the Torah, and the Beginning of Scripture

Oct 04 2015 19 mins

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 47 One of the most radical changes in Jewish religion came near the end of the Old Testament period, when Ezra the Scribe mandated the study of the newly-canonized Torah as a religious act, and … Continue reading →

Part 46: The Chronicler

Sep 12 2015 19 mins

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 46 The Books of Chronicles often get short shrift because they present a sanitized version of King David, but combined with the allied books of Ezra and Nehemiah, they provide a basis for debating a … Continue reading →

Part 45: The Second Temple

Sep 05 2015 19 mins

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 45 With the end of captivity in Babylon came new opportunities and new challenges. Regaining ancestral lands and the right to rebuild the Jerusalem Temple did not mean the task would be easy. Politics and … Continue reading →

Part 44: The Minor Prophets, Continued

Aug 12 2015 18 mins

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 44 More of the minor prophets and the beginnings of late-Jewish and early Christian apocalypticism. Plus, some stuff about Jonah and that whole unfortunate incident with the giant fish and how it might not be … Continue reading →

Part 43: The Minor Prophets

Aug 05 2015 20 mins

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 43 A brief look at two of the more famous Minor Prophets, Amos and Hosea, who were roughly contemporary with the prophet Isaiah. We learn how they spoke to their time, and the picture they … Continue reading →

Part 42: Proverbs

May 25 2015 20 mins

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 42 A book of worldly wisdom; how to live well, to lead a good life, and how everything works out, except when it doesn’t. Take a look at the ancient Israelite version of ancient Near … Continue reading →

Part 41: The Psalms

May 02 2015 20 mins

Discovering the Old Testament, Part 41 Still in regular use after more than two thousand years, the Psalms have an immediacy and directness that makes them some of the most important parts of the Biblical corpus. They also have also … Continue reading →