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Three quite different passages this week: a list of sexual "don't"s in Leviticus; part of the astonishing Psalm 119 that puts humanity and God only a Torah's-breadth apart; and the question of whether or not the author of Luke-Acts positioned themselves as an historian (spoiler: they didn't). Running through this episode, though, is a similar range of questions based on how (and why) we read the Bible.

Read transcript

This whole podcast really occupies itself with that question about how we should read and act on scripture, but some weeks it just feels like it comes to the fore more explicitly. This is one of those weeks! I really have a fresh appreciation of Psalm 119 after taking the time to consider it well - it's quite beautiful.

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References

Levine, Baruch A. (1989). Leviticus, The JPS Torah Commentary. Philadaelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society.
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Links

New Testament Review podcast #17: Loveday Alexander, The Preface to Luke’s Gospel: Literary and social contexts in Luke 1:1-4 and Acts 1:1 (1993)

Sexual Prohibitions in the Bible and the ANE: A Comparison, by Dr Eve Levavi Feinstein
Here, Dr Feinstein compares the Leviticus 18 prohibitions with similar lists in the ancient Near Eastern law codes of other nations.

How the Prohibition of Male Homosexual Intercourse Altered the Laws of Incest, by Idan Dershowitz
This article gives an overview of some traditional Jewish interpretations of Leviticus 18, and proposes a novel one of its own. Dershowitz garnered some coverage in the mainstream media for his proposal.

Tags

Leviticus 17, Leviticus 18, Leviticus 20, Leviticus 19, Psalm 119, Luke 1, Acts 1, JPSTORAHLEV