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Browsing Category " minicast "
Home » minicast

minicast: Tum'ah (Leviticus 12-15)

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I got started on this week's episode... and I didn't finish it. But the Leviticus segment, sparked by a note in the Jewish Study Bible, was too interesting to leave in the archives. So this minicast is a look at the tum'ah - the uncleanness - of Leviticus 12-15, from a different perspective than the one usually taken in both Jewish and Christian commentary. The JPS Torah commentary volume on Leviticus also helps to place the text's concept of contagion within its ancient Near Eastern origin.

None of this is to say that the contagious miasma posited by some modern Jewish scholars is (or was) actually a phenomenon in the real world: only that this may have been the original concept behind these tum'ah texts. Re-framed with the language of ritual impurity rather than physical aura, the texts remain relevant even as Jewish thought moves on to re-read re-interpret them: because it's the theology of the text that gives it enduring significance.

Transcript coming soon!

minicast: Psalm 81

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Psalm 81 features a classic, biblical counter-narrative. I leave it as a bit of an open question, so plenty to get stuck into here. This was fun to talk about for a few minutes last week, but I cut it for time because on account of how cool Psalm 82 is. I'm a bit behind on editing, so this week's conversation with Jo Kitchen will be along in a day or so!

Transcript coming soon!

minicast: Authorship of the Pastoral Epistles

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A quick flashback this week, in lieu of a full-length episode, to a very brief mention a few weeks ago of the pastoral epistles. I promised a minicast giving an overview of the question of who wrote the letters to Timothy and Titus, and here it is. Many biblical scholars have good reasons to think it wasn't Paul, and there are reasons to pay close attention to this question. I'm going to suggest that it's not for the reason that you might at first think, but either way: more information is always better.

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minicast: The Epic Story of the Great and Unmatched Wisdom of King Abija(h|m)

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Monday's episode on 2 Chronicles 12-13 was notably missing any content from 2 Chronicles 13. Well here it is! A few minutes on Abijah/Abijam, son of Rehoboam king of Judah, who gets a post-exilic, Braveheart makeover by the Chronicler. It's epic, y'all.

Don't forget, you can now register for the Living Faith Study Day 2019 on EventBrite! It's a gathering for those exploring their relationship to faith, the Bible, and community. There'll be four thought-provoking topics packaged in short talks, with ample time for questions and discussion. I'll be giving one of those talks, "Christian Ethics and Social Justice: The Gospel of the Human Jesus". It's going to be a great day for building faith, and for taking the Bible seriously - both in its ancient context, and in the present day.

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minicast: Compilation of the Psalter

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OK, so I did an intro to the book of Psalms while recording episode #45, and... well, you can probably guess. So here it is in minicast #2! Psalms might have an even more interesting textual history than Torah, but we'll almost certainly never be able to figure it out. What we can do is bear it in mind as we read and interpret the Psalms - both individually, and as an integrated book.

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minicast: Composition of Torah

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As we prepare to get stuck into Torah in 2019, here's the first 4QS minicast! It's a brief introduction to source critical theories of composition, particularly focusing on the modern form of the Documentary Hypothesis. I also give a quick intro to other composition theories, and discuss the important question: why does it matter?

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not the first episode

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Hello friends, and welcome to four cubits and a span! This is not the first episode: it's an introduction to a Goliath that you may not have met before, and the Bible you might not know about. Also, and some thoughts on reading, studying, and talking about the Bible, and the importance of stories. It's really just my way of saying "Hi!" and inviting you to join me every Monday on 4QS.
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