Until the modern era, monarchs were understood to be supported by the power of God; they were, in fact, in some cases thought to be gods themselves. The Bible has often been misinterpreted to encourage such oppressive values. Robert Gnuse, however, argues that the Bible is not a tyrannical text. Rather than displaying the lofty, divine status of kings, the Bible portrays them as human and thus serves as a powerful text for liberation from tyranny and equality for all people. By considering...

The rise of monotheistic religious faith in ancient Israel and post-exilic Judaism inspired the imperative for social justice on behalf of the poor and the oppressed. Though some authors have maintained that monotheism inspires tyranny, this author maintains that real monotheistic faith affirms justice and human equality. This can be evidenced by a consideration of the Old Testament prophets and Law. Especially with the law we may observe a progression in the attempt to provide increasing ...

The Bible proclaims a message of liberation. Though the Bible arose in an age when slavery and patriarchalism permeated society, the biblical authors sought to elevate the rights of slaves, the poor, and women. Their attempts to elevate the oppressed set in motion a trajectory of evolution, which we should still be advancing today. Critics of the Bible declare that it accepts slavery and the subordination of women, but they fail to understand the biblical texts in their historical context....

Gnuse provides a brief summary of critical methodologies used in interpreting the Old Testament, which is most useful for students beginning their serious study of the biblical text. The traditional methods are given consideration first: text criticism, source criticism, form criticism, and traditiohistorical criticism. Structuralism is explicated in a separate chapter. Then consideration is given to the newer literary and intellectual criticisms that have developed in the past two generat...

Herein you will find a collection of sermon stories that speak to the modern era with fresh insights and occasional humor. Many of them are the personal experiences of the collector who brought them together. Each narrative is paired with an appropriate biblical text to elicit insight and some homiletical commentary is also provided. The stories are separated into historical memories, folklore, and fables. Some narratives come from the Jewish tradition, a source that we Christians too seld...

This collection of essays seeks to demonstrate that many biblical authors deliberately used Classical and Hellenistic Greek texts for inspiration when crafting many of the narratives in the Primary History.Through detailed analysis of the text, Gnuse contends that there are numerous examples of clear influence from late classical and Hellenistic literature. Deconstructing the biblical and Greek works in parallel, he argues that there are too many similarities in basic theme, meanin...

Narratives in Genesis 1-11 have been misunderstood in many ways, but they especially have been used to oppress women and African Americans and to present a God of wrath and judgment. This commentary seeks to explain the real message behind those narratives, which is one that speaks of human dignity and equality, that affirms monotheism, that criticizes kings and tyrants, that declares our oneness with the animal realm and nature, and that proclaims a powerful message of divine grace with a...

Though many Old Testament scholars prefer no longer to speak of the Elohist source in the Pentateuch, Gnuse seeks to defend the existence of this pentateuchal tradition by responding to scholarly critics, isolating texts belonging to the source and offering a theological assessment of these texts. Dream reports in ancient Near Eastern texts from the seventh and sixth centuries BCE bear striking familiarity with the biblical dream reports in the Elohist. Prophetic narratives in the books of...