Writing the Bible: Origins of the Old Testament

De: Martien Halvorson-Taylor, The Great Courses

Narrado por: Martien Halvorson-Taylor

Who wrote Great Expectations? That’s easy: Charles Dickens. Who’s the author of Beloved? Toni Morrison, of course. Now how about the Old Testament?

You’d think for a book as widely known, studied, and distributed as the Bible, the question of authorship would have been sorted out by now. But the question is more complex (and fascinating) than it seems. Why? Because asking it is to challenge everything we might assume about the Bible’s identity as a book, about what “writing” and “authorship” really mean, and about how a written text could become sacred to Jews and Christians, both in the ancient world and today.

In Writing the Bible: Origins of the Old Testament, work through these fascinating questions (and their related assumptions) in the company of biblical expert Martien A. Halvorson-Taylor of the University of Virginia. As you chase down answers, you’ll travel back in time to explore how oral traditions — ancient songs and stories — shaped the identity of an emerging nation, Israel, and how those traditions came to be written down, reinterpreted, and gathered into a collection of books that resonate with us even now.

The Old Testament reflects the profundity and timelessness of human experience. It has the power to shape our sense of our own lives, to frame our fears, and to inspire our ultimate hopes. What could be more interesting than finding out who, exactly, we should thank for that?

©2021 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC.

A Must Listen

Five Stars! ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you want context, history, and a “how it was made account” this book is for you!

Well Done and Extraordinarily Insightful!!

In a word - Fascinating! A subject that many of us think we know well. I learned SO much new information from Professor Halverson-Taylor's insights. She explores the topic of, a. who inspired or dictated; b. who actually wrote/edited/copied/scribed; and most eye-opening - c. how we have determined the various sources and view-points of these important works. Just her timeline investigation and how & when we discovered new info that sent us scrambling back to unearth tidbits of the "why", "when", "who" of biblical authors is worth the price of admission.

If you're a bible scholar, a history buff, or even just interested from a research and "whodunnit" perspective, this course is laid out in a way that flows like a great novel, but is packed FULL of facts, dates, names, motivations, etc. Add to this, the layout of the course that has a semi-chronological flow, but with enough re-visits and "we'll discuss more on X-Y-Z in the next chapter" connections that it truly cements the information in a way that any student would dream to have presented to them.

VERY well done. I will be looking for more lectures and courses from Martien Halverson-Taylor.!

Looking behind the screen

Talk about food for thought and light... this book feeds and shines!
I plan to listen a second time.

Cross examine with your own research

Very good overall with basic information that is still mostly conventional wisdom but great information too

Just as good as paid courses and books

I’ve listened and read a lot of apologetics and scholarly works on religion. This is as good as other paid Great Courses and summarized nicely the how and the why of the Bible we see before us. It is a living document passed down over centuries. It is inspired but certainly not to be taken literally at every single point. Not a single ancient Jew did so because they had no urgent need to classify things as facts in science or history but instead told stories to provide meaning to individuals and nations.

Very good

Very educational. Theories were presented I hadn’t heard before, and were plausibly supported. I liked the matter of fact presentation.

one of the best

the narrator does a great job and the substance is very engaging. I only wish there were more than ten lectures to listen to.

A must listen for anyone who loves the Bible!

This is a masterfully composed set of lectures. It is approachable and attainable, but not condescending or surface level. It takes you into the weeds, but does not allow you to get lost in minutia. As someone working toward a PhD in the Hebrew Bible I learned a wealth of new information, and even things I was aware of were cast in a new light, reinvigorating my love for this book and its history. Thank you, Professor!

A succinct, yet rich summary.

Well, much shorter, and more focused in its scope, this book is a wonderful companion and counterbalance to Richard E. Friedman’s “Who Wrote the Bible.” The thorough evaluation of the documentary theory, and addition of more modern understanding, fleshes out the modern approach to old testament/Hebrew biblical origins.

Pretty good introduction

Overall, this was a pretty good book/course. The author seemed quite knowledgeable, the chapters / lectures were fairly well organized, and the content was very good. I definitely learned some new things from this course.

However, it was far from a perfect course. This felt more like a light course, or an abridged version. it felt like a number of areas were kind of glossed over, or didn't get the depth and discussion that they really deserved. to that point, the authors constant references to her website for the book started to feel a little bit like an advertisement. I have no problem with an author referencing you towards their website for additional information, but it should be done once or twice, not once or twice in every single chapter / lecture.

As for the narration, it was adequate; competent even. However, it was not particularly noteworthy. It was done slower than I feel it should have been, and with an overly monotone style. I don't expect high drama in nonfiction work, but that doesn't mean that the narration should be emotionless.

In the end, I would recommend this to most people who are interested in biblical history. especially if it can be read for free as part of audible's plus catalog. If you're spending dollars or a credit, however, I feel there are better options available. I would definitely recommend the great course "Understanding the Old Testament", by Professor Robert D. Miller II, over this one. It goes into a lot greater depth, and, while the focus is not on the writing of the Bible, it does cover that pretty well, too.