LITMIR.BIZ

Understanding the Hebrew Bible has never been easy. Even great scholars have had to be content with understanding only bits and pieces of it. The main reason was the lack of hard evidence about Israel's history. Without such evidence, one could only guess about why and when a text was written, and if one couldn't really explain even one text, how could one explain the whole collection? Thanks to recent archaeology, however, it is now possible to paint a factually reliable history of Israel and make strong connections between texts and actual events. These connections, in turn, permit one to see structure where previously none was visible. This book is an attempt to offer a concise and, I hope, understandable response to questions that students and parishioners have been asking me for years, such as: Does the Hebrew Bible have a structure? What imagery and motifs form that structure? What is the dominant theology of that structure? Are there competing theologies? How do the most important texts relate to Israel's history? Is Israel's real history different from biblical accounts? Does the Hebrew Bible's structure continue into the New Testament, and if it does, so what?

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This book about religious struggle studies four texts from postexilic Judah and applies them first to Judah and then, importantly, to modern America. Two of these texts–the books of Jonah and Job–speak out in favor of the theology of grace and against the theology of retribution, as advocated by the Jerusalem hardliners. This struggle to define God continues even today. Despite the biblical evidence–especially the example of Jesus–many Americans still believe in the God of retribution. Two other texts–the book of Ruth and the story of Rahab–demonstrate that if people reject xenophobia/nativism and misogyny, the entire community is blessed. Since xenophobia/nativism and misogyny are rampant in modern America, this message is rather timely. The last chapter argues that it is the mission of both synagogues and churches to define God correctly and then to help people overcome their resentment and prejudices and become partners with God, but that many predominantly white churches have failed in their mission, as evidenced by the fact that so many of their members voted for Donald Trump.

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