Great poetry generally makes for difficult reading. The words and phrases may be simple enough, even simplistic. But the very nature of poetry is to pick up where language fails – to articulate the ineffable. And thus readers of poetry face the dual challenge of interpretation and introspection. We must simultaneously examine words and ourselves to find...
Tag: understanding the old testament
Understanding the Bible 08: Solomon’s Temple
In the polytheistic culture of the Ancient Near East, deities were worshipped by means of sacrifices made in particular places. Most gods were considered to have what we might consider “regional” power (the Babylonians having a few patron deities vs. those of say the Assyrians); and within those regions to have particular locations in which...
Understanding the Bible 07: David & the Monarchy
David is a central protagonist in the biblical story. And though his triumph over Goliath and his moral failings with Bathsheba are the stuff of great art, it is his establishment of the monarchy in Israel that both shapes and foreshadows future events. David is born in Bethlehem (c. 1040 BCE). He spends his childhood...