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# Lafkos Press

Learning for its own sake.

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://lafkospress.com/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Posts

- [Part 49: Scripture and Scholarship](https://lafkospress.com/part-49-scripture-and-scholarship/) - The tools of modern biblical scholarship are essential for getting the most out of the Bible. So also is learning how to engage directly with the text on a personal level.
- [Part 41: The Psalms](https://lafkospress.com/part-41-the-psalms/) - In which we explore one of the most enduring and powerful collections of religious expression and spiritual elan.
- [Part 39: The Book of Job](https://lafkospress.com/part-39-the-book-of-job/) - One of the most fearless discussions or the problem of human suffering, the Book of Job is a remarkable instance of the Bible critiquing its own teachings.
- [Part 38: Ezekiel: Prophet of the Restoration](https://lafkospress.com/part-38-ezekiel-prophet-of-the-restoration/) - Like his contemporary Jeremiah, Ezekiel had to find a way to realize the restoration of a broken people and regain the covenant that seemed lost forever.
- [Part 50: The Intertestamental Period](https://lafkospress.com/part-50-the-intertestamental-period/) - As the Old Testament period drew to a close, new challenges and upheavals faced the Jewish people and their growing canon during a time desperate for change.
- [Part 48: Building the Hebrew Canon](https://lafkospress.com/part-48-building-the-hebrew-canon/) - How the Prophets and the Writings found their way into the Hebrew Scriptures alongside the Torah over the course of several hundred years.
- [Part 47: Ezra, the Torah, and the Beginning of Scripture](https://lafkospress.com/part-47-ezra-the-torah-and-the-beginning-of-scripture/) - How Ezra the Scribe made the study of Torah the central feature of Jewish religious life and, in the process helped ensure its long-term survival.
- [Part 30: Isaiah and the Assyrian Crises](https://lafkospress.com/part-30-isaiah-and-the-assyrian-crises/) - Isaiah's advocacy of a world of social justice and the end of war came during one of Judah's nearly fatal wars involving the Assyrian Empire.
- [Part 37: Ezekiel: Prophet of the Exile](https://lafkospress.com/part-37-ezekiel-prophet-of-the-exile/) - Ezekiel's ministry was to restore the people's trust in God, while at the same time beginning to pick up the pieces left by the fall of Jerusalem.
- [Part 14: The Exodus](https://lafkospress.com/part-14-the-exodus/) - The new nation of Israel grows out of a bold new revolution in monotheistic religion, one that pits the power of the magician against the power of God.
- [Part 28: Ecstatics, Diviners, and Prophets](https://lafkospress.com/part-28-ecstatics-diviners-and-prophets/) - How the institution of prophecy in Israel changed, and differed from the diviners of other nations.
- [Part 46: The Chronicler](https://lafkospress.com/part-46-the-chronicler/) - The Books of Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah describe the Jewish struggle to become a nation without a king.
- [Part 45: The Second Temple](https://lafkospress.com/part-45-the-second-temple/) - The opportunity for the Jews to rebuild their lost Temple in Jerusalem was the realization of a dream beyond hope. It did not come easily, however.
- [Part 44: The Minor Prophets, Continued](https://lafkospress.com/part-44-the-minor-prophets-continued/) - The minor prophets and the end of their world, our world (perhaps), and Jonah as a sharp critique of prophetic literature in general.
- [Part 43: The Minor Prophets](https://lafkospress.com/part-43-the-minor-prophets/) - Two representative minor prophets, Amos and Hosea, speak to the injustices that threatened to destroy Israel and Judah.
- [Part 42: Proverbs](https://lafkospress.com/part-42-proverbs/) - Explore a book of timeless, worldly wisdom for living a good, successful life, but with a hidden and uncompromising ideology.
- [Part 40: There is a Season](https://lafkospress.com/part-40-there-is-a-season/) - In the midst of a sea or do's and don'ts, the Book of Ecclesiastes takes a hard look at the ambiguity of living life in the real world.
- [Part 36: Jeremiah and Lamentations](https://lafkospress.com/part-36-jeremiah-and-lamentations/) - How does the prophetic voice articulate hope for the future in the wake of utter, ultimate destruction?
- [Part 35: Jeremiah](https://lafkospress.com/part-35-jeremiah/) - Jeremiah shows how a prophet responds to the collapse of the world around them, and the desire to preserve something from the wreckage that is coming.
- [Part 34: The Suffering Servant](https://lafkospress.com/part-34-the-suffering-servant/) - One of the most powerful figures in the Old Testament, the debate over his identity continues to this day.
- [Part 33: Idols, Irony, and the End of Exile](https://lafkospress.com/part-33-idols-irony-and-the-end-of-exile/) - How did Judaism deal with the ambiguity of their deliverance coming from a foreign, idol-worshiping monarch?
- [Part 32: Comfort, Comfort Ye My People](https://lafkospress.com/part-32-comfort-comfort-ye-my-people/) - Isaiah starting with chapter 40 brings a message of hope, of healing, and salvation to a people on the edge of spiritual and cultural extinction.
- [Part 31: Isaiah's Calling and Commission](https://lafkospress.com/part-31-isaiahs-calling-and-commission/) - In which we ask the question, how is the calling to become a prophet like jury duty?
- [Part 29: An Introduction to Isaiah](https://lafkospress.com/part-29-an-introduction-to-isaiah/) - In which we begin an extended exploration of one of the seminal prophetic voices of the Judeo-Christian tradition.
- [Part 27: "Moses 2.0"](https://lafkospress.com/part-27-moses-2-0/) - How Elijah and Elisha were prophets in the tradition of Moses, sent to help Israel in her time of crisis.
- [Part 26: The Divided Kingdom](https://lafkospress.com/part-26-the-divided-kingdom/) - Solomon's glory was also the cause of the breakup of his kingdom. We take a look at the northern breakaway kingdom of Israel.
- [Part 25: Solomon's Wisdom](https://lafkospress.com/part-25-solomons-wisdom/) - Solomon was the King that took Israel to the heights of its glory. But that splendor and international influence came at a price.
- [Part 24: Kingship in the Ancient Near East](https://lafkospress.com/part-24-kingship-in-the-ancient-near-east/) - If Israel wanted a "king like other nations," what did that mean? What sorts of kings did the other nations have?
- [Part 23: The Reign and Legacy of King David](https://lafkospress.com/part-23-the-reign-and-legacy-of-king-david/) - In which we look at the life, times, and impact of the King who gave his name to a city, and a covenant.
- [Part 22: Kickin' It With the Canaanites](https://lafkospress.com/part-22-kickin-it-with-the-canaanites/) - For most of the Old Testament, the Canaanites and their religion is held up as the Number One Enemy of Yahwism. What do we really know about the religion of the Canaanites? Find out.
- [Part 21: Early Prophets, Early Kings](https://lafkospress.com/part-21-early-prophets-early-kings/) - Adopting a monarchy "like other nations" seemed to be the only way Israel would survive in a new world dominated by hostile nations with more sophisticated governments. But what would it cost them?
- [Part 20: Judges: There Was No King in the Land](https://lafkospress.com/part-20-judges-there-was-no-king-in-the-land/) - How Israel left the wild world of feuding tribal interests and slowly deteriorating social institutions, and prepared to become a kingdom.
- [Part 19: Joshua, the Conquest of Canaan, and Israelite Holy War](https://lafkospress.com/part-19-joshua-the-conquest-of-canaan-and-israelite-holy-war/) - What does the conquest of Canaan, one of the more bloodthirsty sections of the Old Testament, have to say about violence and peace?
- [Part 18: Sacrifice, Sin, and the Cosmic Order](https://lafkospress.com/part-18-sacrifice-sin-and-the-cosmic-order/) - Discovering the Old Testament, Part 18 The system of sacrifices among the ancient Hebrews is one of the more perplexing aspects of the Old Testament and Jewish Law. As with the purity regulations, the ancient Hebrew legalists took religious metaphors from surrounding cultic systems and repurposed them into something totally unique that reflected both Israel's
- [Part 5: Some Tools and Tips for Serious Readers](https://lafkospress.com/part-5-some-tools-and-tips-for-serious-readers/) - How to select a good study Bible; translations, tools, dictionaries, commentaries, concordances, and keeping a reading journal.
- [Part 4: The Creation of Humanity, Life in the Garden, and Temptation](https://lafkospress.com/discovering-the-old-testament-part-4/) - A brief overview of the Documentary Hypothesis, life in the Garden of Eden, and what's up with the talking snake?
- [Part 3: The Beginning; Cosmogony and Covenants](https://lafkospress.com/discovering-the-old-testament-part-3/) - What are creations stories for? A look at the role of cosmogonies in Genesis and the rest of the ancient Near East.
- [Part 2: Organization and Sources of the Old Testament](https://lafkospress.com/discovering-the-old-testament-part-2/) - How the Old Testament is organized, and the sources behind the text.
- [Part 1: Introducing a Very Strange World](https://lafkospress.com/discovering-the-old-testament-part-1/) - An introduction to a very strange, ancient, and exotic world.
- [Part 17: Interpreting the Text](https://lafkospress.com/part-17-interpreting-the-text/) - The ancient methods used to illuminate the Old Testament could be every bit as strange and exotic as the text they tried to interpret.
- [Part 16: Sabbaths and the Israelite Social Safety Net](https://lafkospress.com/part-16-sabbaths-and-the-israelite-social-safety-net/) - The Sabbath is an egalitarian institution credited with enabling the survival of the Jewish people. Likewise, the attitude taken by the Torah towards the poor and the vulnerable is clearly aimed at creating a more equitable and egalitarian society.
- [Part 15: Purity, Holiness, and Life Triumphant](https://lafkospress.com/part-15-purity-holiness-and-life-triumphant/) - Discover the ethical and theological foundation of Israelite law.
- [Part 13: The Story of Joseph](https://lafkospress.com/part-13-the-story-of-joseph/) - How a nice Hebrew kid from the backcountry made good in the court of Pharaoh.
- [Part 12: Archaeology and the Bible](https://lafkospress.com/part-12-archaeology-and-the-bible/) - What does the science of archaeology and it's findings tell us about the world of the Bible?
- [Part 11: Jacob's Cunning](https://lafkospress.com/part-11-jacobs-cunning/) - How did Jacob get out from under his avaricious father-in-law's thumb, and ensure rapproachement with his brother Esau?
- [Part 9: The Trials of Abraham](https://lafkospress.com/part-9-the-trials-of-abraham/) - The deception of Abimelech and the Binding of Isaac are two of the more interesting and difficult episodes from the Patriarchal narratives.
- [Part 10: Rebecca, Jacob, and Esau](https://lafkospress.com/part-10-rebecca-jacob-and-esau/) - How family deceptions and rivalries played their role in the origins of the Israelite Tribes.
- [Part 7: Abraham in the Desert](https://lafkospress.com/part-7-abraham-in-the-desert/) - We can learn much about the stories of Abraham in Genesis by looking at the world of the Bedouin pastoral nomads.
- [Part 8: Abraham's Covenant](https://lafkospress.com/part-8-abrahams-covenant/) - Who was Abraham, and how does the Bible explain why he was worthy of special favor with God?
- [Part 6: The Great Flood](https://lafkospress.com/part-6-the-great-flood/) - Actual cataclysm or metaphor? Borrowed from Babylonian sources or not? We dig into one of the most famous stories in all the Bible.

## Pages

- [home](https://lafkospress.com/) - Resources for independent learners and thinkers.
- [Old Testament Resources](https://lafkospress.com/old-testament-resources/) - This is a page with links to downloadable handouts, and suggested resources to supplement my podcast and classes on the Old Testament. Handouts Click links to download .pdf files: Chart: Old Testament ChronologyMap: The Ancient Near EastChart: The Documentary Hypothesis A Word on Bible Translations: At the introductory level, the Bible translation you use is
- [Introduction to Hebrew](https://lafkospress.com/introduction-to-hebrew/) - This is a resource page for my class, "A Very Brief Introduction to Biblical Hebrew". The class was designed for people with no knowledge of ancient Hebrew, and teach them enough to read the first chapter of the Book of Genesis over nine class sessions. Below are handouts, slides, and video recordings for each session.
- [Discovering the Old Testament](https://lafkospress.com/discovering-the-old-testament-2/) - We examine the Old Testament in the context of its mysterious and exotic world and times. Great for bible study or personal enrichment.
- [Resources](https://lafkospress.com/resources/) - This is a page of downloadable lecture notes, syllabus, and other items for members of my REL 03 class, "Discovering the New Testament: (click links to download) Course Syllabus New Testament Books Timeline NT_Lecture01.pdf NT_Lecture02.pdf NT_Lecture03.pdf NT_Lecture04.pdf NT_Lecture05.pdf NT_Lecture06.pdf NT_Lecture07.pdf NT_Lecture08.pdf
- [About Us](https://lafkospress.com/about-us/) - Lafkos Press is a publishing company run by Sheldon and Denise Greaves. It is dedicated to providing resources for people who love to learn.
- [About Sheldon...](https://lafkospress.com/about-us/about-sheldon/) - About the creator of the podcast, "Discovering the Old Testament."
- [Thanks for Signing Up!](https://lafkospress.com/thanks-for-signing-up/) - [pdb_signup_thanks]
- [Sign Up for Updates From Lafkos Press](https://lafkospress.com/sign-up-for-updates-from-lafkos-press/) - [pdb_signup] Privacy Policy: We don't sell, loan, or give your information to anyone. We only use it to send updates and news related to our products and publications.

## Categories

- [Uncategorized](https://lafkospress.com/category/uncategorized/)
- [Religion and Spirituality](https://lafkospress.com/category/religion-and-spirituality/)
- [Old Testament](https://lafkospress.com/category/religion-and-spirituality/old-testament/)
- [Christianity](https://lafkospress.com/category/religion-and-spirituality/christianity/)
- [Judaism](https://lafkospress.com/category/religion-and-spirituality/judaism/)
- [Bible Study](https://lafkospress.com/category/religion-and-spirituality/bible_study/)

## Tags

- [Bible Study](https://lafkospress.com/tag/bible-study/)
- [Bible](https://lafkospress.com/tag/bible/)
- [Israel](https://lafkospress.com/tag/israel/)
- [Samuel](https://lafkospress.com/tag/samuel/)
- [Saul](https://lafkospress.com/tag/saul/)
- [Canaanites](https://lafkospress.com/tag/canaanites/)
- [Philistines](https://lafkospress.com/tag/philistines/)
- [Phoenicians](https://lafkospress.com/tag/phoenicians/)
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- [David](https://lafkospress.com/tag/david/)
- [Goliath](https://lafkospress.com/tag/goliath/)
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- [Ahab](https://lafkospress.com/tag/ahab/)
- [Jezebel](https://lafkospress.com/tag/jezebel/)
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- [prophecy](https://lafkospress.com/tag/prophecy/)
- [divination](https://lafkospress.com/tag/divination/)
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- [social justice](https://lafkospress.com/tag/social-justice/)
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- [widows and orphans](https://lafkospress.com/tag/widows-and-orphans/)
- [Old Testament](https://lafkospress.com/tag/old-testament/)