Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. (Matthew 1:23) It is a commonplace observation of mainstream historical-critical New Testament scholars…
Solving the Jesus-Joshua Problem
When I was an early adolescent, I decided to read the Bible straight through. I had been exposed to carefully curated snippets of Joshua, but the full genocidal thrust of the narrative was a revelation. I couldn’t help feeling sorry…
The biblical view from the Tower of Babel
Few stories in the Bible highlight the complexities of deconstruction and the way it divides us into speaking very different theological languages like the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11. “What did Babel’s builders do wrong? Why did God punish…
When you call the vice president ‘Jezebel,’ you are acknowledging her power
Elephantine is an island opposite the city of Aswan in Egypt. In the late 1800s, 175 Jewish manuscripts found there began illegally appearing for purchase into Western collections. They are the oldest Jewish papyri found to date, going back to…