Kate asks a fascinating question about translating the Bible into the language of an cannibalistic tribe in the Amazon that grammatically classifies non-tribe members as “edible”: Linguist/philosopher Steven Pinker and other researchers inform us that the language of one Amazonian tribe, the Wari, grammatically classifies nouns as either “edible objects” or “inedible objects” — with…
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From my personal blog, in response to new evidence about who was literate in ancient Jerusalem and when the Bible was written: The world’s most popular piece of writing may have been written earlier than many people think. And it may have been more widely read… Read the whole thing.
Some stories in the Bible were meant to be history, others fiction. But modernity has obscured the original distinction between the two kinds of biblical writing, depriving readers of the depth of the text. One way to understand the difference between history and fiction in the Bible is through the Old Testament’s natural division into…
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…if so, Genesis 2 might not only allow homosexual marriage but, in fact, demand it.
My latest book — The Bible Doesn’t Say That: 40 Biblical Mistranslations, Misconceptions, and Other Misunderstandings — goes on sale today! A “witty and accessible look at Scripture … Hoffman has produced the best kind of popular scholarship, that will interest both religious and secular readers.” – Publishers Weekly Here’s the cover copy: The Bible…
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There doesn’t seem to be any heartbreak in the Bible, at least not romantic heartbreak. In light of how popular that theme is in popular culture, we have to wonder why, particularly because the Bible is largely about the human condition. Why is such a common emotion lacking from the Bible? Other interpersonal sorrows feature…
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I had the great fortune this summer to speak in three cities in South Africa, and I’m blogging about what I saw — both the politics and the exquisite nature — on my fiction author site. I just wrote about my first day of safari: The setting was incredible. Pockets of small green trees punctuated…
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According to the NRSV translation of Luke 1:41, Elizabeth’s “child leaped in her womb.” The Greek here for “womb” (koilia) means “belly” or “stomach.” It’s the same word used of the snake in Genesis, for instance, which is punished to walk on its belly. Because snakes don’t have wombs, contexts like this show us that…
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Many people point to Luke 1:41 (“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb.”) as evidence that, in the view of the Bible, a fetus is a child. But these people have misinterpreted the verse. On one hand, the reasoning behind the flawed claim is straightforward: If it was a “child” that…
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Perhaps most relevant to the Bible’s view on abortion is Exodus 21:22, which is in fact relevant for two reasons. According to the NRSV the text proclaims: When people who are fighting injure a pregnant woman so that there is a miscarriage, and yet no further harm follows, the one responsible shall be fined what…
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