Bible Study Archives

Note: This post is rated PG-13.

People who say the Bible is boring probably need to forget everything they have ever heard about the Bible and begin to read it as the masterpiece of literature that it is.

We are so used to reading the Bible as a “Holy Book” that we often fail to see how humorous and delightful it can be … even, at times, scandalous and bawdy.

I was recently reading through a commentary on Judges and was struck by the sexually suggestive imagery of the song of Deborah and Barak in Judges 5.

The Song of Deborah in Judges 5

The Song of Deborah and Barak in Judges 5 sounds a bit like a drinking song one might have heard in an Ancient Near Eastern bar frequented by fighting men.

The Song of Deborah is definitely not a “church song.”

After contrasting Israel’s God with the fertility gods in that region (Judges 5:3-7), and giving a shout-out to all the tribes that participated in the battle (Judges 5:14-18), Deborah and Barak recount the highlights of the battle (Judges 5:19-23), and then focus on the victorious blow, when the woman Jael defeated General Sisera in her tent.

Here is where the song of Deborah gets quite sexually suggestive. You can almost hear the soldiers whooping and hollering as Deborah and Barak sing this explicit song. Rather than lay it all out for you, let me simply quote from Chisholm’s translation of the song of Deborah in Judges 5, and you can fill in the details for yourself:

Her hand reached for the tent peg,
Her right hand for the workman’s hammer;
She “hammered” Sisera,
…
Between her legs he collapsed,
He went limp, he was lifeless;
Between her legs he collapsed, he went limp …
(Judges 5:26-27)

Later in the song, Sisera’s mother is seen to looking out the window, wondering what is taking her son so long to come home, and her maids basically say, “Most likely he is out raping women and grabbing for their clothes; don’t worry, he’ll be home soon” (Judges 5:28-30). Little does she know that in taking women for himself, his life has been taken by a woman.

The song of Deborah seems to be full of irony and sexually suggestive imagery, not the sort of song you usually hear in church.

The Song of Deborah and the Hebrew Text

Of course, if you check some of the traditional translations of the Song of Deborah in Judges 5, the imagery is not as obvious (e.g., in the NIV and NASB), and having looked up the Hebrew text for myself, I am not actually certain that the above translation is best. But Chisholm is a Hebrew expert, and who am I to disagree?

For all I know, Chisholm meant nothing of the sort, and I just have a mind that is in the gutter so that I read things into the text that are not there…

Any Hebrew scholars want to weigh in on this translation of the Song of Deborah?

Regardless, these sorts of things are in the Bible (The Song of Solomon, for example), and no, these are not the sorts of observations you usually hear from the pulpit.

Do you remember The Picture Bible? The Word for Word Bible Comic will be even better…

By Jeremy Myers

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All three of my girls are currently reading The Picture Bible. When I was young, I think I read through that book 10 times or more. It was a great way to learn the Bible stories and become familiar with the basic structure of the Bible, and since it was written in comic-story format, it kept my interest.

When I got a little older, I also liked Crusader Comics. Looking back now, I cringe a little bit at the theology taught in those comic books, but I remember reading them over and over again.

Back then, comic books were intended primarily for children, but as our society becomes more and more visually oriented, there are more and more comic books being put out for adults. They are actually called “Graphic Novels.”

I have often thought that it would be great if someone could do a graphic novel of the Bible, much like The Picture Bible, but without glossing over or cutting out the “difficult” portions of Scripture. What difficult potions? You know, the rapes, the murders, the sex, and the violence.

The Picture Bible, as great as it is, does not give an accurate picture about God, God’s people, or the violent nature of the Bible itself.

These violent events are in the Bible, and we do a great disservice to ourselves, to the church, to our witness in the world, and to future generations when we try to ignore such violence in Bible as if it never happened.

If we want to be honest with ourselves and with others about the God we claim to follow, we can begin by being honest about the book which we claim tells us about this God.

The Word for Word Bible Comic

So anyway, I was excited to learn about a new project currently underway to publish a Word for Word Bible Comic of the entire Bible. That’s right … the author plans to leave nothing out.

As the name suggests, the Word for Word Bible Comic will include every word of the Bible:

As part of drawing the Word for Word Bible Comic, the author has painstakingly studied the history, culture, and geography of the text to make sure his drawings are as accurate as possible:

The Word for Word Bible Comic even includes the violence inherent within the biblical text. Here is a scene from Samson, which I wrote a post about yesterday. I am uncomfortable with the violence in these portions of Scripture, but we cannot deny their existence.

Oh, as a side note, if you look at the image above, I really like how the author made Samson relatively skinny. You see how he is smaller in size than the Philistines surrounding him? I think this is historically accurate. Samson likely was not a beast of a man, or else why would the Philistines want to know the secret of his strength? If he had huge muscles, the source of his strength would be obvious.

Anyway, I am thrilled that Word for Word Bible Comic project is underway.

But isn’t all this violence gratuitous? Isn’t it unnecessary to show all the blood and gore? It is only unnecessary if you do not realize that this is the way the Bible is! It can easily be shown that the Bible is one of the most gruesome, bloody, and violent religious books that has ever been written.

If you don’t like to think about the violence in the biblical text, you might want to ask yourself why…

Although, I must say, I am a little curious to see how the Word for Word Bible Comic will handle the Song of Solomon. I don’t see how he can draw that book and not make it X-Rated …

On a similar note, I am quite curious to see how the Word for Word Bible Comic will deal with non-narrative texts such as the Pauline Epistles. There seems to be only so many images you can draw from these letters…

Introducing The Word for Word Bible Comic

Anyway, here is a bit more about this Word for Word Bible Comic project from the author/illustrator himself:

To learn more about Word for Word Bible Comic, check out the website here.

Also, if you want to help get this project off the ground, you can support the Word for Word Bible Comic Kickstarter project for the initial project goal of publishing the Book of Judges.

I will consider how I will get involved in supporting this project, and invite you to do the same! Go here to learn more.

An Excellent Commentary on Judges and Ruth

By Jeremy Myers

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Kregel Publications recently sent me Robert Chisholm’s A Commentary on Judges and Ruth to read and review on this blog. Robert Chisholm is a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, though I never had the privilege of sitting under him in any of my classes when I was there. After reading his commentary on Judges and Ruth, I really regret not being able to take any classes with him.

Though I probably have not read more than five commentaries on Judges and Ruth, I can safely say that this commentary is one of the better volumes available for Judges and Ruth. Combining top-notch exegetical skill, a clear and compelling writing style, and deep pastoral insights, Robert Chisholm has provided a commentary on Judges and Ruth which should be part of any Bible student or Pastor’s library who plans to teach or preach on the books of Judges and Ruth.

Not only does Robert Chisholm explain the biblical text in a way that makes sense and reveals the cultural, historical, and grammatical contexts of Judges and Ruth, he also deals with modern questions that the text address, such as the issues of female leadership, the consequences of spiritual compromise, and the often bewildering actions of God in relation to His people on earth.

I say “bewildering” because the author of the book of Judges seems conflicted about how to understand God’s apparent behavior toward His people. Sometimes in the book, sinners, idolaters, and murderers live long and healthy lives, apparently with God’s blessing, while at other times, one little mess-up causes God’s wrath to fall upon whole generations of people. The author of Judges tries to explain these events, but such explanations often fail. Then there are the times that God uses enemy nations to punish Israel, and others times that God uses enemy nations to deliver Israel (e.g., Shamgar and Jael). You can almost hear the author of Judges trying to make sense of this.

Then, although punishment often seems to follow idolatry and compromise, deliverance sometimes seems to come out of nowhere. The people have not repented, they have not returned to God, but God delivers them anyway. Again, the author seems to be asking why sin can lead to punishment, but restoration does not seem to require repentance. These sorts of dilemmas are everywhere in the book. Chisholm brings out these apparent inconsistencies, but does little to resolve them.

And that is my main criticism of this book. Never once, that I could found, does Chisholm challenge the apparent violence of God in the book of Judges. He says that the violence is “harsh” and “punitive” (p. 58) but says it is necessary to protect the Lord’s reputation. Really? What reputation? It seems that God’s violence toward others, and God’s violence toward his own people by others does an awful lot to damage His own reputation. But that is an interpretive and theological issue that is a current pet project of mine, so I will leave it alone.

Aside from that one criticism, there are numerous other strengths to this commentary. I like how Chisholm provided good preaching tips for how to teach Judges and Ruth, and also provided a list of recommended commentaries. Overall, this is a fantastic commentary on Judges and Ruth, and everyone who teaches or preaches through these books should have a copy in their library. You can get it from Amazon by clicking here.

Where is Jesus in “The Bible”?

By Jeremy Myers

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My wife and I decided that as part of our Easter celebration this year, we would begin watching the History Channel TV miniseries “The Bible” with our three daughters.

I am sure people have reviewed this miniseries to death on other blogs, so I will not say much about it.

The only thing I want to bring up is something that should not have surprised me at all … namely, the violence. I must confess that although I am currently up to my eyeballs in studying and thinking about all the violent passages in Scripture, it is quite another thing to see some of them on the screen, especially when, right in the midst of the violence, many of the people committing the violence scream something like “In the name of God!” or “For the glory of the Lord!”

And yes, I think the violence is gratuitous in this miniseries. There were numerous times where fight scenes were completely unnecessary, and other times where the fight scenes seems to drag on and on, but then, they delete entire portions out of the Bible (such as all of Jacob’s story, the 40 years of wilderness wanderings, etc.) Couldn’t they have cut out the fight scenes and included a scene or two from these other crucial events?

I am not trying to sweep the violence of Scripture under the rug and ignore it, but when God’s angels start pulling out their swords to hack people to pieces (as in the scene with Sodom and Gomorrah), it’s a little too much.

Anyway, as I was sitting there watching all the bloodshed while my wife tried to cover the eyes and ears of our three daughters at the especially gruesome parts (like when Samson slaughters Philistines), my youngest daughter blurted out, “Daddy, where is Jesus?”

Yes.

That is the question, isn’t it?

Where is Jesus?

I don’t know about you, but I find it impossible to take the Jesus I read about in the Gospels, and put Him back into almost any violence scene in the Old Testament.

The Jesus I read about in the Gospels has compassion on the multitudes when they are hungry. Would this same Jesus give praise to God if He were on the boat with Noah while mothers and babies screamed on the outside as they were dragged to a drowning death?

The Jesus I read about in the Gospels says “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” not “Because you have not let my people go, I will go through all of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son.”

Ultimately, then, it comes back around this question: Does Jesus fully reveal God to us or not?

If He does, then how do you make sense of the bloody and violent texts of the Old Testament, and the complete lack of such violence from Jesus in the Gospels?

This is why I am trying to forge an explanation with my “When God Pled Guilty” series. Frankly, I am quite excited about some recent developments in this series, but I know for a fact that when I am done, my proposal will not be fully satisfactory (even to me).

So how do you read the Old Testament violent texts? When you read them, ask yourself the same question my daughter did: “Where is Jesus?”

Paul the Apostle of the Last Days

By Jeremy Myers

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Dr. C. Marvin Pate has written an excellent volume on the theology of the Apostle Paul. It is titled, Apostle of the Last Days. Kregel sent me a review copy, and it is already one of the best books I have read in the past year.

Apostle of the Last Days

I had Dr. Pate as a professor when I was a student at Moody Bible Institute, and really enjoyed his insights into Scripture, his wit, and his quirky personality. I only took him for one or two classes, but consider him to be one of my influential professors from college. He challenged me to really consider the historical and cultural background material of Scripture.

Grammar and word studies are nice, but if you don’t know the history and culture behind a biblical book or passage, you will never really understand what Scripture teaches.

This book by Dr. Pate provides excellent historical and cultural background into the life, thinking, and theology of the Apostle Paul. Though I have not yet read N. T. Wright’s Paul and the Faithfulness of God, this volume on Paul’s theology is by far one of the best on this topic I have found.

Apostle of the Last Days challenged me to read Paul’s letters not just in light of the history and culture of Judaism, but also in the history and culture of Graeco-Roman thinking, and most importantly of all, in light of the eschatological expectations of both groups.

Eh… what?

Let me put it in simple terms:

Both the Jews and the Romans had hopes and dreams for what would happen at the end of days. Pate shows that Paul wrote to reveal how Jesus fulfills and completes these hopes and dreams.

Summary of Apostle of the Last Days

After a chapter of introduction about the views on the theology of Paul and some of the central tenants of Pauline theology, Pate goes letter by letter through the writings of Paul to show how Paul tied together Jewish and Graeco-Roman hopes about what would happen at the end of days, and shows how these hopes were fulfilled in Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God.

Serious students of Pauline theology must not overlook this important volume by C. Martin Pate. Pate is on to something about Paul’s thinking and theology that is often missed by Pauline scholars: Paul is not only writing a response to Jewish theology, but is also writing a response to Greek and Roman theology, and especially the Imperial Cult of Caesar worship.

It could probably be said that the letters of Paul are not only intended to show how Jesus fulfills the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah, but how Jesus also fulfills the Graeco-Roman expectations for what Caesar was supposed to be and do.

This is a challenging idea on multiple levels, and if true, the ramifications are far-reaching. As such, Apostle of the Last Days is a critically important book for thinking about Pauline theology and teaching. If you are preaching or teaching on any letter of Paul, I highly recommend this volume. You can get Apostle of the Last Days at Amazon.

I liked this book by C. Marvin Pate so much, it inspired a book idea of my own which I really want to write. First, however, I have to finish with the five books I am already writing… sigh…

Is “The Song of Deborah” Sexually Suggestive and Bawdy?

The Song of Deborah in Judges 5

The Song of Deborah and the Hebrew Text

Do you remember The Picture Bible? The Word for Word Bible Comic will be even better…

The Word for Word Bible Comic

Introducing The Word for Word Bible Comic

An Excellent Commentary on Judges and Ruth

Where is Jesus in “The Bible”?

Where is Jesus?

Paul the Apostle of the Last Days

Apostle of the Last Days

Summary of Apostle of the Last Days

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