The episode of Noah’s drunkenness in Genesis 9 has long befuddled interpreters. One of Noah’s sons, Ham, commits some heinous crime against his father. Oddly, though, Ham is not the one cursed by his father. Instead, Ham’s son Canaan bears the wrath of Noah. This...
Hebrew
Fake Exegesis: Return of the א-ת BS
You've heard of fake news? (Who hasn't?) How about some fake exegesis? Some time ago I blogged about the nonsensical idea that the Hebrew particle את has an amazing hidden meaning in Gen 1:1 (that's an aleph and taw, read right-to-left, for those who don't read...
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 128: ETS-SBL Interviews with Scholars – Part 1
Well, I'm on my way back home from ETS and SBL. The week is always fun (sort of my Bible geek recharge for the year), but this year it was more so because Trey was along. We took the Naked Bible Podcast on the road. We wound up interviewing nearly twenty scholars (8.5...
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 125 – Bible Study Tools & an Interview with Johnny Cisneros
Everyone interested in the study of Scripture wants to feel adequate to the task. But there are many obstacles—real and merely imagined—to being competent in Bible study. In this episode, I interview my long-time friend and colleague, Johnny Cisneros. With skills in...
Gender Insanity and a Witless Rabbi
Someone sent me this editorial today from the NYT: “Is God Transgender?” The article is by a rabbi who (intentionally? ignorantly?) thinks that metaphor and the "inconsistencies" of grammatical gender in the Hebrew Bible mean that God is either transgender or doesn't...
Were the Gospels Originally Written in Aramaic or Hebrew?
I'm often asked this question, so it was nice to come across this paper by Jan Joosten online. Joosten Aramaic or Hebrew behind_the_Gospels Joosten is an excellent scholar in Aramaic, Syriac, Greek, and Hebrew. This is a worthwhile (and sane) introduction to the...
Joseph Farrell’s 150-Year Learning Curve on Yahweh and Cuneiform Texts
A few days ago I exchanged emails with Cris Putnam who blogs at Logos Apologia. The conversation was in regard to how Dr. Joseph Farrell had published certain ideas about the name Yahweh in cuneiform texts that people who are actually in this field (ancient Semitic...
Journal Article on Divine Plurality in the Hebrew Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls
My thanks are due to the generous policy of Tyndale Bulletin for allowing me to post a link to a scholarly article that appears in the most recent issue. The article is entitled: Monotheism and the Language of Divine Plurality in the Hebrew Bible and the Dead Sea...
Currently Running Projects on the Text of the Hebrew Bible
Someone sent me this link a couple days ago. It's about the Oxford Hebrew Bible project, of which Ron Hendel of UC-Berkeley is the chief editor. The article makes some silly statements that make it sound like this project is going to see things in the biblical Hebrew...
Get the Hebrew Bible on Kindle
Hat tip to Todd Bolen at the Bible Places blog for this post. If you have a Kindle and are into biblical Hebrew, you'll no doubt be interested.
New Grammar for Biblical Hebrew
Mail was good to me today. just got my copy of the new biblical Hebrew grammar by my former grad school classmates, Rob Holmstedt and John Cook: Beginning Biblical Hebrew: A Grammar and Illustrated Reader. Rob and John started this pedagogical journey while they were...
Genesis 1:1-3 – Does Hebrew Grammar Matter for Understanding the Hebrew Scriptures?
Stupid question? To anyone thinking clearly it is. There are, naturally, exceptions. It's just unfortunate that you can find them in Christian ministries. Readers may recall that I have posted several items about the grammar and syntax of Genesis 1:1-3. One such post...
Hebrew, Ugaritic, and ANE Archaeology Titles That Need Some Love
As readers know, every once in a while some items that we're working on at Logos Bible Software are in need of a a little push to get them into production. There are hundreds of such items on the Logos website, but these are near and dear to someone like me. I'm...
Los Lunas Lunacy
At times I am asked about the evidence for ancient (Jewish) visitation to the Americas. Part of what prompts the question is inscriptional "evidence" like the Los Lunas stone. (Other parts are British Israelite and Mormon apologetic leanings). While I'm not one who...
Brief Nephilim Note
I've added an archive page devoted to the nephilim discussion to try and arrange those items. It includes comment material. Editor's note: content copied here for ease of access. In March 2013 I posted a response to some criticisms of my understanding of the word...