Category Archives: Ancient Israel

Radical overlaps in the Book of Judges?

Posted on February 17, 2023 by theoutwardquest

I have not posted here in the last year because I have been working on a book. That has stalled for the moment. So here is something that I have worked out that might be of interest to some. Several … Continue reading →

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Yoreh-did Isaac die at Abraham’s hand?

Posted on February 18, 2022 by theoutwardquest

The story in Genesis 22 of the binding or near sacrifice of Isaac is shocking in that God asks Abraham to kill his son. It would be even more shocking if Abraham actually did it. Tzemah Yoreh’s little book, Why … Continue reading →

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Did Hosea know Genesis?

Posted on February 8, 2022 by theoutwardquest

The prophet Hosea knew some stories like those we find in Genesis and Exodus. This is no surprise to the people who believe that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible. I suppose you could imagine that Hosea … Continue reading →

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More on Ben-Yosef and Timna

Posted on November 22, 2021 by theoutwardquest

I have been writing about Erez Ben-Yosef and his discoveries at Timna about nomadic mining activity and the possibility that this has something to do with the Bible’s stories about David and Solomon. After I wrote my last post there … Continue reading →

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The elusive biblical timeline

Posted on July 1, 2021 by theoutwardquest

1 Kings 6:1 puts the coming out of Egypt of the “children of Israel” 480 years before the beginning of Solomon’s temple. If the “children of Israel” is a metaphor for the people Moses led out of Egypt (literally, the … Continue reading →

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Faust-the Jebusite fortress of Jerusalem

Posted on January 27, 2021 by theoutwardquest

I remember how in 2007 the news came out that Israeli archaeologist, Eilat Mazar, claimed to have uncovered the palace of King David. At the time I was still preaching. I thought about mentioning this in a sermon. Not bringing … Continue reading →

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The Death of a Fool

Posted on December 16, 2020 by theoutwardquest

“The nabal says in his heart, There is no God” That is from Psalms 14:1 with the word “fool” untranslated. The word “nabal” means fool. So when we read in 1 Samuel 25 that there was a wealthy Calebite named … Continue reading →

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Na’aman on David, Saul and the Jebusites

Posted on September 22, 2020 by theoutwardquest

Seminary educated preachers sometimes try to show off their education by turning sermons into academic theological and biblical discussions. Many of us were warned, in the words of of Harry Emerson Fosdick that “no one comes to church on Sunday … Continue reading →

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Millgram-Joseph disinherited

Posted on August 25, 2020 by theoutwardquest

I have read Rabbi Hillel Millgram’s, The Joseph Paradox: a Radical Reading of Genesis 37-50. Previously I had read his The Elijah Enigma. The Joseph Paradox is a thought-provoking examination and rethinking of the story of Joseph. Millgram does not … Continue reading →

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More specifics about the two sojourn hypothesis

Posted on July 20, 2020 by theoutwardquest

Covid-19 isn’t the only thing you need to wear protective gear for. This summer has been largely taken away from me because I had a systemic reaction to poison oak. Even after the days of full body rash and itching, … Continue reading →

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