Category: Old Testament Study

  • Many are the "misfortunes" – Psalm 34:20

    I’m a little late posting this.  It’s actually from yesterday’s responsive reading.  But, I wonder if there is a better way to translate the beginning of Psalm 34 to capture the literary features there.  This video deals with that.  However, I don’t know if the word “misfortunes” has too much baggage with it.  Anyway, let…

  • Hyperbole in ANE Conquest Accounts (QOD)

    Here’s my quote of the day from Ancient Near East: Historical Sources in Translation edited by Chavalas. Tiglath-pilesar’s characterization of utter annihilation of the towns must be understood in light of royal propaganda.  The use of hyperbole was a significant feature in ancient Near Eastern conquest accounts.  Therefore, extensive archaeological excavations are required in making…

  • "Shepherd" Rulers in the Ancient Near East

    I suppose I should take a brief pause from handing out BiblioBlogger theme songs and write something related to Biblical Studies (Just kidding … as if theme songs for BiblioBloggers is unrelated to Biblical Studies).  Anyway … I’ve been reading a bit from Ancient Near East: Historical Sources in Translation edited by Chavalas.  I know…

  • For those who do not take numbers in the Old Testament symbolically …

    at least part of the time, I wonder what they do with this: The Sumerian king list: translation Should one take the numbers in all Ancient Near Eastern texts literally? …  I doubt they’d agree to that.

  • Tim Bulkeley on Exodus 32

    A couple of weeks back I posted a video pointing out that there are a couple of differing opinions in the text about who exactly led the people out of the land of Egypt.  That video sparked an audio post by Tim Bulkeley on his 5MinuteBible.com.  Check out my video and his audio explanation.

  • Israel as Servant in Isaiah – Lectionary Reading

    Today’s lectionary reading is one of the places in Isaiah where there is an explicit identification of the servant, as in the servant of the “Servant Songs.”  Nothing new here for academics, but it throws a bit of a wrench in for those who grew up accustomed to thinking about many of the “Servant Songs”…

  • Exodus 32:7-15 – Commentary

    HERE is a link to commentary on Exodus 32:7-15, which is the Old Testament lectionary reading for today.  The author takes note of the people being called the people of Moses as I did in this video earlier today. Exodus Posts

  • Exodus 32 – Who Brought the People out of Egypt?

    Exodus 32:7-15 is an interesting reading that presents us with three different opinions about who brought the people out of the land of Egypt.  Check it out:

  • Isaiah 49:15 – Our Mother, Who Art in Heaven (Video)

    Nah, just kidding; however, there is some feminine imagery for God in Isaiah 49:15 as well as in other place in Second Isaiah.  Isaiah 49:15 is part of the lectionary reading for today.  I could have just pasted the verses in and made a few comments, but I’m still experimenting a bit with adding more…

  • Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12 – Commentary

    Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12 is today’s Old Testament lectionary reading.  HERE is a link to the International Critical Commentary’s section on this passage. You just have to zoom in to read.  I’ve linked to this commentary set on Archives.org once before because it is available for free download.  I plan on linking to it for the…