A Brief History of the Bible, Part I: Old Testament Timeline
We are excited to have guest blogger Jared Anderson present a series of posts on the history of the Bible. This brief series will first present a graphical overview of the history of the Jewish...
View ArticleA (Very) Brief History of the Bible Part II
Jared Anderson © 2012 Jewish Scriptures Creation Our word-saturated world renders it difficult for us to conceptualize the level of orality and lack of literacy that prevailed in antiquity. Only a...
View ArticleBiblical Allusions to Asherah
“And the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:2) Part 2 (see my introduction to this discussion in Part 1) As I mentioned in Part 1, the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible’s description...
View ArticleThe Messy History of Joseph Smith’s Bible Revision
The “Joseph Smith Bible Revision” (JSBR) — generally known as the “Joseph Smith Translation” (JST) in the Utah Mormon tradition and the “Inspired Version” (IV) in the RLDS/Community of Christ tradition...
View Article“Take, eat, this is my body.”
The communion scene from Bergman’s immortal 1962 film, “Winter Light”. I saw an indelible image in a BYU Photography exhibit in the Harris Fine Arts Center in late 2003. The theme of the exhibition was...
View ArticleThoroughly Modern Book of Mormon
Thoroughly Modern Book of Mormon Having recently written a two-part article on the seemingly undeniable connections between the Book of Mormon and the ancient world, I thought it only fair to examine...
View ArticleMalachi and Isaiah in Third Nephi–Part 2
My last article showed how three chapters from Matthew (the Sermon on the Mount from Matt. 5-7) are quoted at the beginning of Jesus’ Nephite ministry, and thereafter incorporated into his teachings...
View ArticleThe Nephite Ministry of Jesus Christ—Part 3
A Little Background This is the final of three articles. The first article looked at how Jesus’ ministry to the Nephites begins with three chapters quoted from the New Testament, being the Sermon on...
View ArticleOld Testament – There’s Better Books Out There
Old Testament – There’s Better Books Out There As 2014 grew closer I began thinking about Sunday School and the upcoming study of the Old Testament (link). A week ago I walked into Seagull Book and was...
View ArticleWhat Latter-day Saint Christians Should Know About the Old Testament
WHAT LATTER-DAY SAINT CHRISTIANS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE OLD TESTAMENT Note: Although I use academic studies throughout this post, I have moved all of the bibliography to the end of the document in order...
View ArticleDiscovering the Old Testament: Why It Matters for Mormons
Discovering the Old Testament: Why It Matters for Mormons By Sheldon Greaves, Ph.D. Since late October of last year, I’ve been publishing a weekly podcast called “Discovering the Old Testament.” The...
View ArticleDiscovering the Old Testament: Sacrifice, Sin, and the Cosmic Order
By Sheldon Greaves, Ph.D. Israelite high priest offering a sacrifice. In this week’s installment of “Discovering the Old Testament” we spend some time exploring the ancient Israelite sacrificial...
View ArticleThe Old Testament Does Not Prohibit Homosexuality
By Sheldon Greaves, Ph.D. The section in Genesis for this week’s lesson is Genesis 13-14; 18-19, a crucial set of passages where the Bible paints a defining picture of Abraham, Lot, their families, and...
View ArticleAUTHORING THE OLD TESTAMENT: GENISIS-DEUTERONOMY – A BOOK REVIEW
AUTHORING THE OLD TESTAMENT: GENISIS-DEUTERONOMY – A BOOK REVIEW by Michael Barker I’m not sure when I first learned of the documentary hypothesis, but I do remember when I first heard that Dr. David...
View ArticleOF ASSES AND PROPHETS
OF ASSES AND PROPHETS by Michael Barker A few weeks ago I was studying for that week’s Gospel Doctrine lesson, which came from Numbers, chapters 22-24 — the story of Balak, Balaam, and Balaam’s ass....
View ArticleGo Ahead, Break Your Covenants
About a month ago I sat in Gospel Doctrine class listening to the popular Bible story about Samson – you know, the strong dude with the long hair. The teacher posed the following question: “From where...
View ArticleSnakes Alive!
by Michelle Wiener I am thoroughly convinced that if Disney ever came out with their own version of the biblical creation story, the snake would come out swinging its hips and singing, “I ain’t so bad...
View ArticleThe Authorship of Isaiah and Its Bearing on the Book of Mormon
Scholars today recognize that the full text of Isaiah was not written by a single individual named Isaiah in the latter half of the eighth century BCE, but rather that the text was written by at least...
View ArticleThe Weird & Wild Old Testament: Noah’s Flood (episode 6; 257)
What is the point of the Noah’s flood story in Hebrew Bible? This question and more are answered by Dr. Sheldon Greaves in this episode of The Weird and Wild Old Testament Podcast. Please visit...
View ArticleThe Weird and Wild Old Testament Podcast, A Creation Midrash (Supplement, 265)
“The idea of her own nudity, as well as Adam’s, had always felt more like a Nordic coed health spa thing. Now, with the fruit of knowledge, it felt more like a Rio de Janeiro carnival thing. Her...
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