Episodes
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Tuning Into the Voice of God
Lectionary Date: May 26, 2024 [Trinity Sunday, Year B]
Rosy and Tim are back with an all-new episode on Isaiah's dramatic vision of God's holiness!
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The "Best of" First Reading Easter Series
We hope youâve enjoyed this Easter season âBest of" First Reading series. Weâre rounding it out this week with one of our favorite conversations, this time with Dr. Ethan Schwartz, who teaches Hebrew Bible at Villanova University. Rachel and Tim enjoyed their deep dive with Dr. Schwartz so much that they invited him back for another episodeâto date he is our only repeat guest! So here is a reprise of that first conversation, a discussion about the "Akedah," the "Binding of Isaac," in Genesis 22. Weâll be back next week with a new episode on the Old Testament Lectionary reading.
To chat about one of the most famous stories in all three of the Abrahamic faiths (the binding of Isaac), Rachel and Tim are joined by Dr. Ethan Schwartz. Ethan earned his PhD at Harvard University, where he studied how the Bible presents and formulates prophetic speech. He also studies how the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible) came together and how the Hebrew Bible was interpreted in the first century, especially in early Christian communities and sectarian Jewish communities. Ethan is committed to bringing biblical studies into productive conversation with contemporary religious lifeâa great fit with our goals here at "First Reading"! To that end, he has shared his academic work in a number of synagogues, institutes, and churches. If youâre interested in more of his work, check out these great essays at theTorah.com: "Torah: Deuteronomy's Version of Wisdom for Israel" and "The Red Heifer in Synagogue: Purifying Israel from Sin," or his essay at MyJewishLearning.com: "Eshet Manoah: Mother of the Mighty Samson."
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Missing episodes?
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The "Best of" First Reading Easter Series
If youâve been following First Reading during Easter season this year, then you know that we are using this time when the Lectionary draws from the Book of Acts as the first reading, to replay some of our favorite First Reading conversations with leading biblical scholars. This week, we want to share another personal favorite episode of ours, with one of our favorite people, the one and only Dr. Carol Newsom. Rachel, Rosy, and I all had the privilege of learning from Carol just before her retirement from teaching at Emory University. Poor Paul Essah missed that opportunity by choosing to do his doctoral degree at Yaleâand weâll never let him live it down! One of the giants of modern biblical scholarship, Carol recently retired from her post as the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Old Testament at Candler and a senior fellow at Emory's Center for the Study of Law and Religion. Carol came to Candler in 1980, only the second woman to hold a tenure-track position. In 2005, she became a C.H. Candler Professor, a university-based endowed chair. Her research focuses on the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Wisdom tradition, the book of Daniel, and apocalyptic literature. She has written and edited 13 books and scores of articles, book chapters, translations, encyclopedia articles and reviews. She co-edited the acclaimed Womenâs Bible Commentary, which explores the implications of and challenges long-held assumptions about the Bibleâs portrayal of women and other marginalized groups. We also recommend her superb commentary on the book of Job, in the New Interpreter's Bible.
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The "Best of" First Reading Easter Series
While the RCL hangs out in the Book of Acts, we at the Old Testament Lectionary Podcast are replaying some of our favorite interview episodes. This week, we are bringing out Rachel's and Tim's 2019 conversation with Rev. Dr. Johanna van Wijk-Bos. Dr. Bos taught for four decades as Professor of Old Testament at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in KY. She continues to serve the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) as an ordained pastor. In addition to her teaching, speaking, and preaching, she is a prolific author and an engaged activist, especially around issues of equity in terms of gender, race, and sexual orientation. Among her many great books, we recommend for our audience, Making Wise the Simple: The Torah in Christian Faith and Practice. Her latest projectâNow Available!âis a spectacular multi-volume commentary on Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings titled, A People and A Land (Eerdmans).
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The "Best of" First Reading Easter Series
We reach deep into vault once again this week, to pull out the treasure of our 2019 conversation with Dr. Marc Zvi Brettler, one of the leading scholars in the field of Hebrew Bible. He is Bernice and Morton Lerner Distinguished Professor in Judaic Studies at Duke University; and Professor Emeritus and former chair of the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University. He has also taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Yale University, Brown University, Wellesley College, and Middlebury College. He is actively involved in many aspects of Jewish communal life, and has served on the board of Bostonâs Leventhal-Sidman Jewish Community Center and Gann Academyâthe New Jewish High School. Dr. Brettler is known for helping to build meaningful bridges between Jewish religious life and modern critical scholarship of the Hebrew Bible. He is co-editor of the Jewish Study Bible, which won a National Jewish Book Award. We think this volume should be on every pastorâs bookshelf, and consulted often, along with another of Dr. Brettlerâs editorial projects, the Jewish Annotated New Testament. For Christian leaders interested in the shared Scriptures of Judaism and Christianity, these books are must haves. Dr. Brettler has published a slew of other books, both academic and popular. He is a clear and accessible communicator, as you will experience in this weekâs First Reading episode. Finally, be sure to visit theTorah.com, which Dr. Brettler helped establish, a great online repository for biblical scholarship from a Jewish perspective.
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The "Best of" First Reading Easter Series
During Easter season this year, when the lectionary pulls from Acts as the âfirst reading,â we are re-releasing some of our favorite interviews with biblical scholars from the First Reading podcast vault. This week, weâre sharing another of our very early episodes, a conversation with the inimitable Stephen Breck Reid.
Dr. Stephen Breck Reid joins Rachel and Tim for a long-form episode, focusing on Psalm 30. Steve is Professor of Christian Scriptures at George W. Truett Theological Seminary of Baylor University (and Vice Provost for Faculty Diversity and Belonging at Baylor University). He earned his PhD at Emory University and has held a number of academic positions during his career. Dr. Reid is ordained in the Church of the Brethren, and you can find his preaching tips and exegetical work on WorkingPreacher.org. His areas of expertise include the Psalms, apocalyptic literature (especially Daniel), and black biblical hermeneutics. If youâd like to know more about his work, check out his book, Listening In: A Multicultural Reading of the Psalms.
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The "Best of" First Reading Easter Series
This summer, while the Lectionary uses the Book of Acts as the first reading, we are re-releasing some of our best episodes from the First Reading Podcast vault. This week, weâre going way back to one of our first episodes (#007 actually, for James Bond fans out there), back to 2019 when Rachel and Tim interviewed the amazing, delightful, Rev. Dr. Vanessa Lovelace. Dr. Lovelace has moved institutions since our interview and is now Associate Dean at Lancaster Theological Seminary, where she is also a faculty member in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. Dr. Lovelace has a brand new book about to drop with Fortress Academic Press: A Womanist Reading of Hebrew Bible Narratives as the Politics of Belonging from an Outsider Within. The book comes out in June, but you can pre-order it today!
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The "Best of" First Reading Easter Series
Easter is a strange season in the Lectionary for us here at the "Old Testament Lectionary Podcast," because during Easter the first reading is drawn from the New Testament book of Acts. So, this year, weâve decided to use this season to re-release some of our favorite episodes from the vault, conversations with leading scholars in the field. This week, since we just passed the Jewish holiday of Purim, we are featuring our 2021 interview with Rosy Kandathil, who (not long after this interview) became one of our regular hosts! Our conversation is centered around the book of Esther, which is the topic of Rosyâs PhD dissertationâwhich, by the way, she is defending this week! Go Rosy! So enjoy this âbest ofâ FR episode!
Esther is a rich and complex biblical storyâwhich is why it's unfortunate that it only appears once in the 3-year lectionary cycle. But to help us make the most of this occasion, we invited Rosy Kandathil to join us for a deep dive into Esther. Rosy is a PhD candidate in Hebrew Bible at Emory University, where she is writing a dissertation on the collision of humor and violence in the book of Esther. Rosy's insights help us get to the core relevant issues of the book: how it navigates multiple identities at once, deals with the challenges of thriving in diaspora, and hosts some of our own deep questions about violence and vengeance. Buckle up for a great episode!
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PARTY EPISODE: Easter Hope in the Middle of Chaos
Lectionary Date: March 31, 2024 [Easter Sunday, Year B]
Rachel, Paul, and Tim discuss the first reading for Easter in this party episode (also celebrating Rachel's birthday!). We also made a video version of this episode, which you can see on YouTube:
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True and False Humility
Lectionary Date: March 24, 2024 [Palm Sunday, Year B]
Tim wrestles with the tension between humility and privilege.
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I Will Inscribe It on Their Hearts
Lectionary Date: March 17, 2024 [5th Sunday in Lent, Year B]
Paul explores what's new about Jeremiah's "new covenant."
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The Hurt Becomes the Healing
Lectionary Date: March 10, 2024 [4th Sunday in Lent, Year B]
Rosy explores the New Testament symbolism of an Old Testament image.
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A Celebration of Torah
Lectionary Date: March 3, 2024 [3rd Sunday in Lent, Year B]
Tim plays with the cosmic imagery of this classic psalm.
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The Happy Part of a Sad Psalm?
Lectionary Date: February 25, 2024 [2nd Sunday in Lent, Year B]
Rachel finds so much more in this psalm than a simple script for Jesus on the cross.
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A Fresh Start (But Not a Happy Ending)
Lectionary Date: February 18, 2024 [1st Sunday in Lent, Year B]
Rachel takes us to the conclusion of the Genesis flood story and helps us see it through the lens of "covenant."
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Picking Up the Mantle
Lectionary Date: February 11, 2024 [Transfiguration Sunday, Year B]
Tim has some Hebrew help for this transfiguring story.
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Party Episode: Hope 2.0
Lectionary Date: February 4, 2024 [5th Sunday after Epiphany, Year B]
Weâre together again for a spitball session on a beautiful prophetic poem, all about hope.
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The Prophet's Accountability
Lectionary Date: January 28, 2024 [4th Sunday after Epiphany, Year B]
Rosy thinks through the role of prophets and the role of the people to hold them accountable.
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A Sackcloth Moment
Lectionary Date: January 21, 2024 [3rd Sunday after Epiphany, Year B]
Paul invites us to consider following the Ninevites' model of repentance in the new year.
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Hearing the Voice of God
Lectionary Date: January 14, 2024 [2nd Sunday after Epiphany, Year B]
Rosy calls our attention to Godâs voice, speaking to a young person.
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