This book captures many ancient voices, a collection of literary excerpts from ancient Jewish books: Jubilees, Josephus, 4 Ezra, Qumran Scrolls, Talmud, Enoch, Baruch, Maccabees, Mishna, Judith, Apocalypse of Moses, Philo, Mishna, Ben Sira, and many others, fifty passages to be exact. The excerpts are mostly short, sometimes even intentionally
Apostle Paul was a first-century religious Jew, trained at the feet of the best rabbis of his time. Though he addresses primarily non-Jewish audiences, Shaul often writes as a rabbi, resorting to midrash and employing metaphors to illustrate his ideas. Sadly, his readers are not used to this
I wanted to share with you a Morning Prayer and, more specifically, a musical piece I created based on it. The words of this song are inspired by the words of the traditional morning blessings found in the Siddur (Jewish Prayer Book). The person who is praying in the early
What is this Sign of Jonah? The traditional thinking is that it's Jesus' resurrection, three days and three nights... But the passage may not be so simple as it appears on the surface. Interested in taking a closer look and discovering another way to read the text?
Over the years of teaching, I have often referred my students to the books of Enoch. But most of the time, I did so with some reservations. I knew that the broadly distributed copies they would likely come across would be littered with archaic and hard-to-digest language. Finally,
This is a lecture by Rachel Elior, a Professor of Jewish Philosophy and Jewish Mystical Thought at the Hebrew University, a talk given in front of an audience of peers. Her research is insightful and often challenges the status quo
In our reading from the prophets, Isaiah speaks to Jerusalem, which typically represents all of God’s people. They have just experienced a hard time, tasted his anger, but these are words of comfort, so the message is positive. In
It's not a secret that many people who read Paul's Letter to Galatians read it after they have already read the Letter to Romans (because that is the order in which they appear in the NT)
In the 1st century CE, Jamnia or Yavneh (יַבְנֶה) was a small town on Israel’s southern coastal plain, between Jaffa and Ashdod. It is widely believed that Jamnia hosted discussions on the establishment of the Jewish
War is among the darkest realities of human existence. It leaves cities in ruins, families divided, and generations marked by trauma and loss. No sane person celebrates war, and few emerge from it unchanged. Yet history repeatedly reminds us of
If you read the words of Moses' Prayer (which was probably also a song), you will see how the lyrics are thoroughly inspired by his poetic verses. God's unique name Adonai Maon is somewhat mysterious, but to
In Matthew 5:13, Jesus said to his disciples, "You are the salt of the earth..." but what exactly did he mean by that? Look beyond the English idioms. Look deeper into history. Consider how ancient Greeks and
This course introduces students to the world of the early rabbis among whom Jesus lived and taught. By exploring their shared cultural framework, values, and teaching methods, students will gain insights and tools to better understand how the Gospel texts
This course introduces students to the history and origins of the early rabbis among whom Jesus lived and taught. The thoughts, central beliefs, and values can serve as a helpful backdrop to some of the ideas expressed in the New
Essenes in Ancient Sources If you have heard of the Dead Sea Scrolls, you have probably heard of the Essenes. This course explores the Essenes by examining how they are described by Philo, Pliny, Josephus, and wonders whether we can
The video below is a lecture given at Lanier Theological Library early in 2020 on a most intriguing topic, the interaction of Rabbis in the Talmud with early followers of the Nazarene. The lecturer, Joseph Shulam, grew up in Jerusalem,
Enjoy a new musical rendition of a couple of verses from Psalm 16. It is presented alongside an archaeologically based digital reconstruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. The video is a digital extrapolation of what it might have looked
