מִקְרָא Mikra: Biblical studies

You don’t have to be religious to be curious about the Bible. Many atheists and non-believers are fascinated by what is – and is not – in the Bible. And many believers are surprised when they learn some of their cherished ideas simply aren’t in the ‘good book’ or that the Bible contains some surprising things they didn’t know were there (such as ‘toilet humour’). This blog explores how the Bible was written; why there are multiple (and sometimes contradictory) versions of several stories; why some religious individuals and groups believe things which are simply not in the Bible; and the social, political and historical background to the Bible and how it influenced what was written.

I’ve named this blog Mikra (מקרא – also spelled Miqra), which is a Hebrew word derived from קרא, kara “to call”, and means “that which is read” in the sense of being read aloud. It generally refers to the Hebrew Bible, which is also commonly called the Tanakh, although arguably it could be used to refer to any scriptures which are read aloud or used liturgically. I’m going to use it here in a broader sense and post articles under this heading from my studies in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and non-canonical Jewish and Christian religious literature.

Was David illegitimate?

There are some hints in the Bible that King David had a troubled childhood and that he may not have been fully accepted by his father and brothers as a legitimate son. This might explain why David wrote “In sin my mother conceived me.”

Weeping and gnashing of teeth

This is a strange expression which appears in one of Jesus’ parables. What does it mean? Does it have something to do with eternal punishment in hell, or is that a myth?

Does the New Testament always quote from the Septuagint?

This post is part of a series about quotations from the Old Testament (or Hebrew Bible) in the New Testament. It deals specifically with the question of whether the NT writers used a Hebrew or Greek Bible, but you may like to read the whole series.

Does God like handsome men?

Some of the biblical writers seem to have an obsession with how people look. For example, we read that “Joseph was handsome and good-looking” (Genesis 39:6), that Saul was “a handsome young man” (1 Samuel 9:2) …

The Bible’s one and only fart joke

It seems everyone likes a good fart joke so it’s hardly surprising that a lot of people end up here, although it might be more surprising that some people are looking for one in the Bible. What is surprising to some people is that the Bible actually does have a fart joke!

Who wrote the biblical book of Daniel?

It might seem like a silly question to some: of course Daniel wrote the book of Daniel! However, while the story of Daniel is set in Babylon during the exile (597-539 BCE) it was almost certainly written much later between 167 and 164 BCE.

Popular series

Did King David have Narcissistic Personality Disorder?

This theory explores some of the biblical evidence that David may have had a personality disorder, which may explain his erratic behaviour and difficulties forming close personal relationships.

Quotations from the Old Testament in the New Testament

Did the writers of the New Testament quote from the Hebrew Bible or did they use the Greek translation known as the Septuagint? Does it matter? It matters when the Hebrew and Greek have different meanings and readers want to know which version is the ‘correct’ one. This series explores these questions.

Homosexuality and the Bible

This series began as a response to claims made by Israel Folau in social media that the Bible condemns homosexuality and goes on to examine the biblical texts most often quoted to support the claim.

Contradictions in the Bible

This series explores how the Bible was written and re-written and helps to make sense of apparent contradictions and why there is often more than one version of a story.

The “suffering servant” of Isaiah 53

Who was this unnamed person? Is it a metaphor for the nation of Israel, a prophecy about Jesus, or does it refer to someone else?

Jonah – parody of a prophet

My PhD thesis was about reading Jonah as satire. These posts were written while I was working on my thesis and examine the arguments made by some scholars that the book of Jonah actually parodies the prophet.

Also see these articles related to Jonah:

Irony and satire in the book of Esther

One of my main research interests is the use of irony and satire in the Bible. This series came out of a series of lectures which I gave at the University of Sydney on the book of Esther.

Also see these articles related to Esther:

Heroes and villains in the Bible

You might be surprised to discover that some of the ‘heroes’ of the Bible are not always the good guys, and some of the ‘baddies’ are actually not too bad.

You might also be interested in these related posts: