Dragons in Genesis

Throughout human history people have attempted to explain tragedy with divine wrath. Great calamity seems to invite magical explanations as we seek meaning in our suffering. The final chapters of Isaiah attempt exactly that, ascribing their crushing defeat at the hands of the Babylonians to Yahweh’s anger and using such an explanation as a polemic against rival styles of worship. And in doing so, the anonymous prophet offers hope in time of suffering.

Throughout the Hebrew Bible we’ve found important sections that were inspired by older myths and stories. From the opening chapter of Genesis drawing upon the Babylonian creation epic to Jacob’s struggle with the mysterious figure by the river taking details from the Epic of Gilgamesh, outside inspiration permeates the stories. But were the stories of Abraham and Moses inspired by portions of the book of Isaiah? And was Sarah, Abraham’s wife, originally a Canaanite goddess?

The Hebrew Bible is filled with prohibitions against human sacrifice as Yahweh repeatedly states he is against such practices and has never asked for them. Yet buried within the text are stories which the redactors forgot to remove, stories in which Yahweh fiery pits are maintained for the purpose of sacrifice children and even entire armies to the patron god of Jerusalem.

The Jubilee Year was a time of change in Jewish lives, a time when property was returned to its original owner and people returned to their homes. A time to return the disrupted nation to a more orderly state. It should come as no surprise that this concept was linked with the Great Flood in which sin was washed away, leaving the world ready for a new and fresh creation. And as Isaiah explores these connections, he provides a wealth of inspiration for later Christians.

Throughout the story of Jesus we find countless references to Old Testament passages, and no book of the Hebrew Bible is quoted more often than Isaiah. The contents of this book is concerned with themes of judgment and atonement, the remission of sin and the consequences of corruption, the destruction of the temple and the return to glory, and most importantly, the coming of the messiah.

The Song of Songs is a collection of erotic poetry that somehow made its way into Jewish scripture, but how did this occur? Apologists have long struggled with this idea, offering thee excuse that it’s secretly an allegory for the love of Yahweh to his chosen people. But the poetry contained in this book might be a love poem between two other deities entirely.

The book of Ecclesiastes, also called Qoheleth, is a curious text whose inclusion into the Hebrew canon has troubled scholars for centuries. It’s an introspective, pessimistic writing that violates traditional wisdom theology by positing that wisdom brings grief and moral behavior is fruitless.

We conclude our study of Proverbs with sections 3-8 of the book which includes the Poem of the Good Wife, a work that outlines what it means to be a good woman and the type of person a man should look for when choosing a partner. Moreover, it tells what a husband can expect from a good wife. Though this poem, and the book which contains it, might fall short in offering moral guidance.

The book of Proverbs, attributed to King Solomon despite the fact that most sections are individually attributed to other editors, provides us with poems, phrases, guidance, and sometimes-timeless advice. And in a few places it gives us a glimpse into long-forgotten aspects of Jewish mythology, such as a great Mother Goddess who helped create the universe!

The final episode covering the Book of Psalms includes the Thanksgiving Psalms, Liturgical Psalms, and the Acrostics. But we aren't satisfied with covering 150 psalms included in the Bible. We dig up 5 more psalms that have been discovered in various manuscripts and examine those as well.