How Can God Kill the Firstborn? | HDYRI Newsletter #77
Week of 4/11/25
Last week in Episode 82 - Crossing of the Red Sea, Part Two - Exodus 14:27-15:21, God saves Israel from Egypt once and for all. Through an incredible show of force through his frail servant Moses, God destroys Pharaoh, his men, horses, and chariots. This episode we focused on closely reading The Song of Moses, his victory song after seeing the Egyptians dead on the shore. We discussed a few poetic devices employed by the ancient writers and paid close attention to the vivid imagery and brilliant expansions of the song.
This week in Episode 83 - How Can God Kill the Firstborn?, we take a step back from the text and consider different lenses through which we can read the Scriptures, focusing especially on troublesome, horrifying-if-literal passages in the Hebrew Bible.
Episode 83 teaser:
Until next time!
If you are interested in digging deeper on your own, here are a few resources:
Ancient Christian reading practices:
Biblical Exegesis and the Formation of Christian Culture
Medieval exegesis:
Medieval Exegesis: The Four Senses of Scripture, Vol. 1
Medieval Exegesis : The Four Senses of Scripture, Vol. 2
Second Temple Judaism:
Two Gods in Heaven: Jewish Concepts of God in Antiquity
Torah with Rabbinic Commentary:
Bereishis Genesis, Part I and II, ArtScroll Tanach Series, Translation with Commentary
Mythological:
Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic: Essays in the History of the Religion of Israel
Literary approach:
René Girard
horrible place to stop.... lol look forward to the rest!