Bonus Questions from The Amateur Exegete
/I answer some questions that we didn’t have time to get to during my interview with The Amateur Exegete.
Amateur Exegete Interview
/I had the pleasure of being interviewed by my friend, Ben, The Amateur Exegete on his channel.
Jonah - The Original Narrative
/A source/redactor criticism of Jonah's prayer in chapter 2, showing that the original narrative of Jonah did not involve Yahweh, the Temple or a fish.
Source/Redaction Criticism of the Book of Joel
/A source criticism analysis of the Book of Joel that breaks it into 5 sources/redactors: Original words of Joel, Deuteronomist, Post-Exilic, Ruach and Prophecies against specific nations.
Oral Tradition vs Written Text and How They Relate to Reconstructive-Reading the Bible
/When manipulating previous narratives, it was easier for Biblical authors to use oral narratives than written texts.
Premises & Patterns - Reconstructive-Reading the Bible
/Premises and patterns can be used in reconstructive-reading of the Bible, and can help shed light on what the underlying narrative was.
The Bible As Propaganda
/Using Reconstructive-Reading, we can show that the Bible was more concerned about a political agenda then it was about truth.
Fertility Goddess in the Garden of Eden? Continuing A Reconstructive-Reading of Genesis 2-4
/I continue to share my process of reconstructive-reading by highlighting the mirrors and echos in Genesis 2-4, which indicate that there may have been a fertility goddess in the original narrative.
Glitches in the Matrix - How Awkwardness in the Biblical Text Points to Underlying Narratives
/Some of the text in the Biblical narratives seem awkward. That is because the Biblical author was taking a previous narrative and spinning it into a new narrative. I take a look at Genesis 3:15 and Genesis 4:1 and talk about the Eve's "seed" and how she had "gotten a man".
Mirror-Reading Signals
/I explain why I mirror some of the Biblical text even though they lack causal chain evidence. I respond to Amateur Exegete's question as to why I mirror the statement "Yahweh was the Elohim of Israel" even without a causal chain.
Reconstructing the missing Biblical context. Examples from Amos
/I show my process for reconstructing the missing Biblical context using mirror-reading, echo-reading and causal chains. I used Amos as an example to show that Amos was originally a failed prophet who had prophesied against Jerusalem and the Biblical author changes that narrative to make him into a successful prophet you prophesied against Northern Israel.
Jacob and Israel
/Jacob and Israel were two different people. The Biblical author combines their identities as political propaganda in order to combine their descendants onto one nation. Learn more here
Who was Samson in the Bible?
/The original narrative of Samson said that Samson was the son of a sun god. There were also astrological references and sexual euphemisms that indicate Samson was a homosexual. The Biblical author spins the narrative in a different direction so that it could be consolidated into the Israelite religion. Learn more details here
Why Abraham sacrificed his son
/The descendants of Abraham could lay claim to the land, but the Israelites were not descendants of Abraham. The Biblical author sought to change that by resurrecting Isaac, who was sacrificed by Abraham, and splicing in the descendants of Israel. Learn more details here
Did Moses Exist?
/I discuss why I think Moses existed because the Bible is responding to an opposing narrative that assumes he did. Check out how I used mirror-reading to come to this conclusion