Feb 23
By: Robin M. Jensen
The story of the offering of Isaac is one of the most powerful narratives in the Hebrew Bible. But each tradition has understood and used the story differently and for varying purposes.
Feb 20
By: Robin Ngo
Were the creation stories in Genesis meant to be taken literally? Maybe not, says Biblical scholar Shawna Dolansky in her Biblical Views column “The Multiple Truths of Myths” in the January/February 2016 issue of BAR.
Feb 19
By: Megan Sauter
How was the first woman created in Genesis 2? Was she made from the man’s rib or, as recently suggested in BAR, from his os baculum?
Feb 14
By: Ben Witherington III
Over decades of studying the Bible, I’ve noted how much emphasis many scholars place on the adjectives used to describe the biblical God—God is righteous, […]
Feb 2
By: Karin Neutel
In her Biblical Views column in BAR, Biblical scholar Karin Neutel examines Paul’s vision for how we would live together in an ideal society.
Jan 20
By: T. M. Lemos
The Book of Exodus presumably reflects the views of its Israelite authors on their deity, morality, and the like. Why then would the Israelites have imagined Yahweh slaughtering Egyptian children for sins the children themselves had not committed? Did the Israelites even think children were persons with any type of rights?
Dec 31
By: Megan Sauter
In ancient Israel, were gluttony and drunkenness—excessive eating and drinking—viewed as acceptable behaviors? As it turns out, the answer is somewhat complicated. On the one […]
Dec 30
By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff
Was Joseph Jesus’ biological father? If not, who was Jesus’ biological father? Andrew Lincoln examines what early Christians thought about conception and explains how views about this subject have changed over time.
Dec 9
By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff
Richard L. Rohrbaugh examines the Parable of the Talents’ meaning in his Biblical Views column “Reading the Bible Through Ancient Eyes” in BAR.
Dec 4
By: Megan Sauter
Stephen J. Patterson discusses what Jesus meant when he referred to “eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:11–12).
