Category: Hebrew Bible
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Seven Deadly Sins
The above Facebook post from “Sad Jesus” made me think about the Bible, a book that’s had a considerable influence in shaping Western culture. It’s often claimed in the Bible’s favour that, by and large, it has provided the moral foundation on which this culture rests. Unquestionably, chapters and verses can be quoted in which […]
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Somewhere over the Rainbow …
In Genesis, after the all-encompassing waters of the Flood have at last abated, a memorable image makes its appearance in the clearing skies. “God said .. I will place my rainbow in the clouds .. whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears .. I will remember my promise that never again […]
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A Picture or 1000 Words
The old saying tells us that “a picture is worth a thousand words”. The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament contains thousands of words about God, but it seems to me that it also contains two ‘pictures’ that put all these thousands of words in their proper place, and warn us against understanding them in any crudely literal […]
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The Tower of Babel – or Babble?
This story begins by stating that “the whole earth had a common language and a common vocabulary”, which is a splendid example of ‘never let the facts get in the way of a good story’ since we’re told, in the previous chapter, that the nations had been “separated into their lands, every one according to […]
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Noah and Biblical Abuse – Slavery
The Bible pictured above, displayed at the ‘Museum of the Bible’ in Washington D.C., was used to educate slaves. Cut out of it, were passages which might encourage rebellion – “There is no difference between .. slaves and free people .. you are all one in union with Christ Jesus”. (Gal. 3:28). Other passages, not […]
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Noah’s Flood
Five centuries before Israel appeared, along with the tales that form its national epic, a story was told by the Sumerian people in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq). The gods created humans to do the heavy work, like digging drainage ditches, harvesting crops, and animal husbandry. They multiplied too rapidly, however, becoming obstreperous, ‘bolshie’ nuisances. “The country […]
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Genesis 6 – Who were the Nephilim?
Following on from the Cain and Abel tale of blood-stained misadventure, here is an even more ambiguous, if not totally obscure, story. It concerns dubious goings-on involving, of all people, the “sons of God”. The phrase בְנֵי־הָאֱלֹהִים (beney haʾelohim) is found only here and in the Book of Job, but occurs outside the Hebrew Bible […]