Origin of the Old Testament
Origin of the Old Testament
For those who have embraced the idea that the Bible in its original form is perfect and unchanging, the answer to the questions of how and why the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible arose is simple: it came directly from God to humanity. Any errors and discrepancies are the result of careless transcribers.
However, as Dr. Peter Enns explores in this class, the historical evidence demonstrates the answers to these questions are, in fact, much more complicated.
Join Dr. Peter Enns as he examines the convoluted, lengthy, and messy origin of the Old Testament.
This class includes:
Study guide
Class recording
Q&A session recording
Downloadable class slides
Scholar roundtable discussion
Cost: $25
Topics we’ll cover:
Major assumptions of the origin of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible and why they are problematic.
The fluidity, complexity, and historical messiness of the canonization of the Old Testament/ Hebrew Bible.
What the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Septuagint, and the New Testament tell us about the development of canonical consciousness.
YOUR INSTRUCTOR
Pete Enns
Peter Enns (Ph.D., Harvard University) is Abram S. Clemens professor of biblical studies at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania.
He has written numerous books, including The Bible Tells Me So, The Sin of Certainty, and How the Bible Actually Works.
Also in this Series
Divine Violence in the Old Testament with Pete Enns
How do we make sense of the many stories in the Bible that portray God as at best ignoring violence and at worst explicitly calling for it? Is God violent? These questions have plagued readers of the Bible for centuries, moving beyond theory to practical and devastating applications—including the justification of human acts of violence. In this class, Dr. Peter Enns delves into examples of divine violence in the Biblical text while challenging simplistic interpretations that assert we need to uncritically accept depictions of God as violent. Join us for Divine Violence in the Old Testament.
The Bible and Multivocality with Pete Enns
For some readers, the idea that the Bible is composed of varied, distinct, and even contradictory voices is not only controversial but incompatible with taking the Bible seriously. However, in this class Dr. Pete Enns argues that multivocality is a central component of the Biblical text. The multiplicity of voices, even those that are in direct opposition to one another, is by design. This multivocality is at the heart of the Bible. Join Dr. Enns as he examines why the Bible has multiple voices as well as how these voices shape how we understand and view the text.
