The Meaning of the Bible: What the Jewish Scriptures and Christian Old Testament Can Teach Us

I was very happy to receive this book, which is hard to find because of its age. The condition of the book is good, and the delivery has been efficient.

This book opened new avenues for thinking about the New Testament for me and is one I will return to repeatedly for guidance and for grounding in leading Christian small groups. The collaboration of an Orthodox Jew who teaches New Testament in a highly regarded divinity school wilh a Christian who teaches Hebrew and Old Testament in the same school is intriguing in and of itself. I also appreciated the approach they took was for one of them to present each chapter and that they provided the guide to who wrote each of the chapters. That kept me from being distracted trying to discern who I was reading in each chapter.

A book written by two academics usually has about ten strikes against it, but this wonderful book is a fabulous exception to the rule. One author is Christian, one is Jewish and they really do know everything about the bible, its authors, the times they lived in and their various cultural viewpoints. There were many authors and they had many viewpoints during the 1800 years or so that they struggled to communicate their understanding of God. Drawing on archaeology, history, other ancient middle eastern languages, literary and textual scholarship, and more, Knight and Levine vividly revive those long dead authors and lucidly explain why it is so hard to draw easy parallels from their lives to ours. There is also a well annotated bibliography with selections for deeper study. I've read several dozen works in this field and the best of those are listed in this bibliography, with appreciative comments. It occurred to me about halfway through the book that all the authors of the bible believed that God loves the smell of roasting meat. That was the main justification of sacrifice in the ancient world. Furthermore, the Jews didn't give up sacrifice willingly. They gave it up because in AD 66 the Romans burned their temple and killed all their priests. If that hadn't happened, would we still be slaughtering rams on hilltops? A really excellent book.

The Meaning of the Bible: What the Jewish Scriptures and Christian Old Testament Can Teach Us  The title makes reference to the Tanakh, making it quite clear that it does not include the 'Christian New Testament'. One would not agree with all the conclusions drawn by the authors of this book - for instance,on page 165 where it states, "Obadiah-writing perhaps in the sixth century-speaks of the 'exiles of the Israelites who are in Halah,[who]shall possess Phoenicia as far as Zarepath' (20a). This is one prediction that cannot come true, since Phoenica no longer exists." Would Obadiah be likely to mention a particular territory using 21st Century CE designations? There are points made concerning the Book of Genesis that are equally strange or shall I say weak. There are also a number of other questionable deductions and conclusions in other sections of this work. However, the book is well worth reading and I have gleaned much from it, and indeed quoted much from it. I fully encourage the authors in their approach concerning bringing a Jewish understanding of the Scriptures to us - much needed and long overdue! It is a book for both Christians and Jews, and one that I recommend.

Like Bart Ehrman, I thoroughly endorse a critical analysis of sacred scripture, although unlike him, I firmly believe in a Higher Power, Divine Intelligence, or whatever one may call It. I loved the approach to this topic by these very competent and caring authors. What does it matter? It matters because religious and/or spiritual beliefs are what gives our little human lives meaning. I haven't finished this book yet...one has to stop and ponder it after each chapter, so it's not a "quick" read even tho the book isn't terribly long. Everyone who adheres to western beliefs should read this--maybe more than once. Highly recommend.

A book I am reading - it keeps hitting me what a rinky dink education I received at Dallas Theological Seminary whenever I read books of this caliber and type. As Mark Noll pointed out in The scandal of the Evangelical Mind, those so called graduate schools are not really graduate schools. But how was I to know. The so-called mainline scholarship is so refreshing.

This is up-to-date, interesting, and faithful to the biblical text and surrounding human context. Begin reading and you will be drawn into a world-view that helps us understand where our Abrahamic faith has come from. This book will make you want to read the "Old Testament" for yourself and will help you appreciate the true "New Testament" heritage.

Any book written by or cowritten by Amy Jill Levine is enlightening and written in an interesting fashion. She makes cultural heritage very easy to understand and does not make any judgemental statements about one's beliefs. The only thing better is hearing her speak in person.