In spite of the dreadful audio quality in this episode (sorry about that) I really got sucked into the texts this week. The release and jubilee laws in Leviticus, which are cautiously liberative, are closely connected to the land of promise itself - both textually and historically; and in the New Testament, a synoptic study of an account in Luke reveals three surprisingly different versions of an originally shocking Jesus story.

Read transcript (it's much clearer than the audio)

In the final Psalms reading for this year, we've got the Great Hallel - Psalm 136, commemorating the steadfast love of God in the history of God's people. It's an extremely important text for Jewish liturgy, and it also casts the faithfulness of God in a very specific light.

I've had a blast in the Psalter over the last two and a half months, and this week's segment makes for a fitting conclusion. The variety and depth of the psalms we've looked at has been surprising to me, and really helped me appreciate them better.

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References

Bovon, François (2002) tr. Thomas, Christine M. Luke 1: A Commentary on the Gospel of Luke 1:1-9:50, Hermeneia — A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.
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Links

Babylonian Talmud, Seder Kodashim, tractate Arakhin (PDF). English translation, ed. Rabbi Dr. Isidore Epstein (1952). London: Soncino Press.

episode #35: judgement and responsibility, covering the start of Luke 8 that leads up to the pericope discussed in this episode

Tags

Leviticus 25, Deuteronomy 15, Psalm 135, Psalm 136, Psalm 78, Psalm 105, Psalm 106, Luke 8, Mark 3, Matthew 12, HRMNEIA63ALK