Syllabus Summary

1. The Temple of God’s World

   A presentation of Genesis 1 that highlights the creation of the world as a “temple building” process by comparing God’s creative acts with texts describing the temple elsewhere in the Bible. The conclusion of the lesson is that God makes the entire world into a divine temple in which human beings are the representative “images” of God.

2. Adam and Eve in Eden (Immortal, Knowledge, etc.)

   A presentation of Genesis 2-3 that focuses on the creative “dust” as a metaphor for mortality. While Adam and Eve are created mortal in Eden, they’re lives are sustained through the Tree of Life until they transgress God’s command by eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and learn about the existence not of “right” and “wrong,” but of “order” and “chaos.”

3. Gender Equality in Genesis

   A presentation of gender equality in Genesis 2-3 that details Eve’s creation from a complete “side” of Adam (rather than a single “rib”) and highlights the narrative ways in which the woman is described as the equal “other half” of the man.

4. The Snake in Eden: Serpent or Satan?

   A reassessment of the post-biblical interpretation of the Edenic snake as “Satan.” This lesson shows that the snake is an animal like the others God had created, discusses the identity of the snake in Revelation as “Leviathan” rather than the snake of Genesis, and shows why the snake is able to speak in the garden.

5. Noah and the Flood (Name, Angry, etc.)

   A presentation of the flood narrative that highlights God’s sadness and regret prior to the flood, rather than divine anger. This lesson also provides the Hebrew meaning of Noah’s name (“rest”) and links it to the conclusion of the story—namely, the ark coming to “rest” on Mount Ararat.

6. Hagar and the Hebrews (Hagar & Exodus, Eden, and Election)

   An exploration of Hagar and her function in the biblical narrative, this lesson shows how the Egyptian maidservant’s individual experience in Genesis foreshadows the corporate experience of Israel in Egypt according to Exodus, recalls the garden of Eden, and underscores God’s inclusivity in bestowing divine blessings even to those who are not part of the “chosen” people of Israel.

7. Joseph Beyond Genesis (Dreams, Test, Passover)

   A presentation of Joseph’s experiences as reflections of Egyptian traditions about dreams, echoes of the near sacrifice of Isaac in Genesis 22, and a prefiguration of the Passover event in Exodus.

8. Joseph and Esther

   An intertextual analysis of the Joseph and Esther narratives that highlights the figures’ shared experiences and emphasizes the recurring work of God in both of their lives.

9. Anticipating Israel (Adam, Abraham, Moses)

   An intertextual analysis of Adam, Abraham, and Moses as individual anticipations of the nation of Israel. Each of these early figures set precedents for national Israel’s later experiences throughout Scripture.

10. Exodus: A New Creation Story

    An intertextual reading of Exodus as “new creation” story that draws on the language and themes of Genesis 1-11 to show that God’s choosing, and deliverance of Israel under Moses constitutes a creative act that echoes the creation of the world.

11. Fighting Pharoah (Harden, Blinding, etc.)

    A presentation of God’s activity against Pharaoh during the plagues. This lesson argues that the Hebrew description of God “hardening” Pharaoh’s “heart” can be understood as a “strengthening” of Pharaoh’s “will.” This lesson also highlight’s Pharaoh as a representative of Egypt’s gods against whom God sends deity-specific plagues such as “blinding the eye” of the sun god Ra with the locusts that cover the “eye” of the land (Exodus 10:15).

12. Egypt’s Plagues: Undoing Creation

    A presentation of the ten plagues as echoes of the creation narrative in Genesis 1. Insofar as each of the plagues has a linguistic counterpart from Genesis 1, the Exodus narrative becomes an “undoing” of the creation at the outset of Genesis.

13. The Problem of Sin (Sin, Impact God, Toes)

    A definition of “sin” in Israelite theology as a “burden” that weighs down the sinner and impacts God in heaven. The lesson then argues that the priests are portrayed as living “altars” whose sacrificial and intercessory work solves the problem of sin among the people.

14. The Land of Milk and Honey (M&H, D&Y)

    A discussion of the description of Israel as a land of “milk and honey,” and how that phrase depicts Israel as a life-giving home for the people. The lesson also shows how Deborah (meaning “bee” in Hebrew) and Yael (meaning “goat” in Hebrew) combine to save the land of “milk” and “honey” according to Judges 4-5.

15. Joshua: A New Moses (sandals, sun, etc.)

    A presentation of Joshua as a new Moses figure who, like Moses, encounters a divine being on “holy ground,” fights a battle that recalls Moses’ Song at the Sea (Exodus 15), and encourages Israel using language that echoes that of Moses in Deuteronomy.

16. Elijah and Elisha (Hear, Coals, Great Man)

    Analyses of assorted stories about Elijah and Elisha, including the “still small voice” that Elijah hears, the prophet’s encounter with an angel in the wilderness, and Elisha’s healing of Naaman.

17. Ruth and the Provision of God (New Abraham, Provision, etc.)

    An analysis of Ruth that depicts her as a new Abraham via comparison with Genesis 12 and shows that the Hebrew names in Ruth 1 offer insight into God’s provision throughout the story and the narrative arc of the book.

18. The Joy of Reading Jonah (Ark, Gestation)

    An analysis of Jonah that includes the meaning of his name (“dove”) and its relationship with the dove that Noah sends from the ark in Genesis, Jonah’s depiction as a prophet whose behavior clashes with prophets before him, and the shifting gender forms of the “fish” that swallows him, which shows that the fish becomes “pregnant” when God protects Jonah in its womb.

19. Is Everything Vanity? (hevel in Ecclesiastes)

    An analysis of the Hebrew meaning of חבל, not as “vanity,” but as “vapor.” For Qohelet, existence is not “vain” or “meaningless,” but rather fleeting like a mist. Because life is so short, argues Qohelet, people should direct their attention toward God as the lasting foundation in a brief lifespan.

20. The Soul vs. the Spirit (Soul, Spirit, Body)

    This lesson distinguishes the “spirit” from the “soul” as Hebrew and Greek ideas, respectively. Then, the lesson offers a presentation of “spirits” according to the Hebrew Bible, including the fact that they are entities that are embodied in space and time.

21. The Origin of the Holy Spirit

    An examination of “Holy Spirit” language in the Hebrew Bible (in Isaiah and Psalms), and the Spirit’s depiction in the book of Acts as arriving from heaven to repair the problem of the Golden Calf incident in Exodus 32.

22. Does God Have a Body?

    Shows that God has a body that appears in time and space according to the Hebrew Scriptures. The lesson offers God’s embodiment in Genesis 3, Genesis 18, and Exodus 24 as examples, and concludes by showing that the Gospel of John’s assertion that “God is Spirit” (Jn 4:24) does not disallow God from having a body.

23. The Word of the Lord in the Hebrew Bible

    An analysis of the “Word” of the Lord as it appears in Israel’s Scriptures and later Jewish tradition, including a word-study of God’s “glory” (כבוד) and its relationship to God’s “word.” This lesson contextualizes the “Word” who becomes incarnate in Jesus according to John 1.

24. Are There Other Gods?

    This lesson argues that other gods exist according to Hebrew theology, but that the God of Israel is superior to all other gods. The lesson draws on the first-person plural for God in Genesis, and the Prophets’ phrase that “there is no other” to point to God’s superiority rather than solidarity.

25. Rebellious Gods

    A presentation of the “rebellious gods” within the biblical narrative, including the “sons of God” who beget the Nephilim in Genesis 6, the Canaanite deity “Beelzebub,” and the use of the Greek word “demon” (δαιμον) to indicate other nations’ gods.

26. The Hidden Meaning of Jewish Numbers (Seven, Forty, Esau)

    An analysis of the numbers seven, forty, and 400, and their deeper meanings beyond the digits on the page. The lesson draws on Genesis 1 to show that seven signifies completeness, on various biblical narratives to show that forty signifies judgment, and on the Jacob and Esau narrative to show that 400 is a number that represents military might.

27. The Fear and Love of God (Fear, Love, Choose)

    An analysis of the meanings of “fear” and “love” in Hebrew as “reverence” and “loyalty,” respectively. This lesson also examines the Hebrew term חשק to present God’s love for Israel’s ancestors as the rationale for divine election.

28. The Importance of the Torah (Presence, How Important, Moses)

    This lesson includes studies of the “Torah,” including the association in Scripture between the book of the Torah and the presence of God, as well as the ongoing relevance of the Torah and import of Moses throughout the biblical narrative.

29. Psalms in the Gospels (Meek, Satan, etc.)

    An examination of how the Psalms is used in the Gospels, including Jesus’ quotation of Psalm 37:11 in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) and Satan’s quotation of Psalm 91 during the wilderness temptation narrative in Matthew 4.

30. Resurrection on the Third Day

    A presentation of how the number three indicates a “climactic event” in Israel’s Scriptures, and how this deeper meaning of the number factors into the Gospels’ presentation of Jesus’ resurrection. The lesson concludes with an analysis of the third day as the “day of resurrection” according to the Targum and this tradition’s relevance for Paul’s reference to Jesus being raised on the third day in 1 Corinthians.