Omri Harel, Gil Kidron: Judaism Unbound Episode 295 - Reading the Bible Differently
Omri Harel and Gil Kidron, co-hosts of A Podcast of Biblical Proportions, join Dan and Lex for a conversation looking at the Bible as a literary text. They explore how its writing can provide hints about its authors -- and the time periods that they inhabited -- and they ask whether we might read the Bible differently from how it was taught to us when we were children.
[1] Find A Podcast of Biblical Proportions here! You can also listen to all of Harel and Kidron’s episodes anywhere podcasts can be found (including Apple Podcasts and Spotify). You can support A Podcast of Biblical Proportions through its Patreon page, which is linked here.
[2] To hear more about Harel and Kidron’s analysis of the surprisingly-unsubstantial character of Isaac, listen to the 20th episode of A Podcast of Biblical Proportions, “They Call Me Isaac.”
[3] Dan references a previous episode of ours with guest Tzemah Yoreh, who writes about an original version of the binding of Isaac where Abraham actually does sacrifice his son. To hear more about this original story and how it may have been stitched into the Torah, click here: Episode 268: Abraham Did Kill Isaac - Tzemah Yoreh.
[4] Lex argues that Isaac’s lack of depth might let a reader of Genesis focus on Rebecca as the central character of their generation. The Jewish Women’s Archive has brought up this point as well, in their overview of Rebecca’s story, which can be found here.
[5] In this episode, the Torah and Star Wars are both discussed as epic mythologies. You can read more about the mythic status of Star Wars by reading this article, “Every era needs its myth cycle. Star Wars is ours,” which was published just before Episode VII came out in theaters.
[6] Lex brings up The Book of Jubilees, a retelling of the events of Genesis (and a bit of Exodus) that begins with Moses at Mount Sinai. You can read Jubileeshere, and check out a past Judaism Unbound episode all about it, by listening to Episode 218: A Book That Didn’t Make It - Barbara Thiede.