In the Torah (Genesis 28), we encounter a story of Jacob meeting his relatives in Haran. Jacob waters Rachel’s flock. He kisses her and breaks down crying. He tells her that he is Rebekah’s son. Rebekah was her aunt. When Rachel realizes that he is her relative from...
The world of the Bible is full of symbolism that modern readers at times notice and do not appreciate, but very often miss entirely. People’s customs, traditions, and folkways about most ordinary matters of life often reflect deep into their spiritual thinking. But our own culture obscures that and...
An amazing discovery has been just recently unveiled in Jerusalem: a seal that possibly belongs to Isaiah the Prophet. Archaeologists have been digging south of the walls of old Jerusalem in the area known as Ophel. Though outside of the current walls of the city, this is one of the...
This multi-part seminar, "The World of Hebrew Prophets," explores the ancient messages by seeking to understand the world, the events, and the circumstances that surround the lives of prophets and their audiences. These recordings are segments of an undergraduate class I taught at a Christian college. The entire...
The Book of Enoch is a well-known Jewish composition from the Second Temple era. Archaic English translations of Enoch are in the Public Domain and all over the Internet. This new translation presents the ancient text in modern, easy-to-read English. The primary goal of this new translation was to produce...
In Genesis 49, Jacob blesses each of his sons. The words he speaks are beautiful but could be hard to understand. When he gets to Dan, he compares his son to a serpent. A strange blessing for a child. Thus, commentary on this imagery has brought forth some very curious...
In our weekly reading, Pharaoh was not counting sheep. Instead, he saw disturbing dreams about sets of cows and stocks of grain. The dreams troubled him. He knew they were important but could not make sense of the message they carried. He realized that he himself did not have answers....
The “Kingdom of Heaven” (מַלְכוּת הַשָׁמָיִם, malchut hashamaim) is an ancient Jewish idea easily traced back to the Hebrew Bible, where the prophets speak of a coming messianic age when God will establish His kingdom on earth. Isaiah prophesied that “the government will...
Every time I go on vacation I need to go somewhere. I can't stay at home. If I stay at home, I will end up doing things around the house. It will not be a vacation. I can't look at things that need to be done...
