Vexed

In celebration of Thanksgiving, Andrea reads entries from "Of Plymouth Plantation," the diary of its 2nd governor, William Bradford. 
His diary tells of the fragile beginnings of that small group of daring believers known to us as “the Pilgrims.” But there is something else in the diary. Governor Bradford see his story – the struggles & hardships that he and his community endured - through the lens of the biblical story. “Of Plymouth Plantation,” is an example of the way the Bible imprints on its hearers: they are formatted by the story.

In today’s episode, Andrea distinguishes two reasons why translators make errors: (1) English is conceptually different than Biblical Hebrew (2) We are not the writers’ intended audience. Today, we are disconnected from both the writers’ language and their culture.

Today’s episode is the first of a four-episode series on the matter of translations of the Bible. We read the Bible in translation; in our case, in English. But a translation is not the original text. By definition, a translation changes – transforms – the text.  And this is a problem. If you are not hearing the text in its languages, you are not hearing it.

In today’s episode, Andrea poses the question: is Jesus shepherd or sheep? From the biblical perspective, this is not only a strange question but also an invalid one. And yet, there is an answer. Jesus “is” neither and sometimes both. Follow along as she examines texts from Genesis, Deuteronomy and the book of John to explain the way Biblical languages work.

In today's episode, Andrea highlights the episode content that she is working on for 2022.

The nativity scene is perhaps the best known visual depiction of the birth of Jesus. It is the emblem of the Christmas season. But it is not in the seeing of this scene that we understand its meaning, but rather, in the hearing of the biblical story. It is from the gospel books Luke and Matthew that we know about the birth of Jesus. In today's episode, Andrea takes a close look at Luke's text - chapter 2 verses 1-20. And she shares the work of 15th century Seinese Renaissance man, Francesco di Giorgio Martini. His Adoration by the Shepherds is a unique portrait of the nativity that conveys Luke's subversive message. In this piece, Rome is laid low.

In traditional religious practice, the person who leads the community is addressed by a title. Why?

Titles are special names; marks of distinction whose meaning comes from their source text. Today, Andrea explores two titles common in Christian traditions: pastor & father. She explains how these two words, employed as titles, express biblical wisdom. Titles, she argues, express function not ontology. They are about doing not being.

When we are in church, we hear selections from the Bible read to us. In today’s episode, Andrea explains the purpose of these readings.

When a priest, pastor or rabbi reads selections from the Bible to their congregation, they function as ambassadors, speaking at the behest of their king. And it is neither they nor the gathered who matter, it is the king.  In the 1995 movie Braveheart, William Wallace is brought before King Edward’s magistrates and put in his place.  The scene is a powerful demonstration of the thesis of this week’s episode. 

Braveheart, the movie

In celebration of Thanksgiving, Andrea tells the story of the perilous beginnings of Plymouth Plantation from the diary of its 2nd governor, William Bradford. Bradford was among the 102 passengers who crossed the Atlantic on the Mayflower. It is from Governor Bradford’s diary – Of Plymouth Plantation – that we know about that small group of daring believers who are known to us as “the pilgrims”. He sees his experience through the lens of the biblical story and the story serves as a kind of mental template on which he writes the story of Plymouth Plantation. 

Andrea argues that this is an example of the way the Bible imprints on its hearers.

Today’s episode is a rebroadcast of episode 3, “the 10 Points” prepared for the 2021 OCABS Symposium. 

The Orthodox Center for the Advancement of Biblical Studies (OCABS) was established in 1999 to develop, promote & publish research in biblical studies. They hold an annual symposium at which members present their work. At this year’s online gathering, papers were presented on topics such as covenant in the Bible & first century Christianity. The books of Galatians & Hosea were featured. 

Andrea shared her revised episode 3, “10 Points: What do we mean by “the Bible as Literature?”" A transcript of the episode is here included.