Archives: Episode

Genesis 29:15–28, with Cameron Howard

Everything is Changing

Lectionary Date: July 26, 2020 [8th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]

Dr. Cameron Howard joins us on the show this week. Cameron is an associate professor of Old Testament at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN. She is a graduate of Emory University, and has contributed to several commentaries and journals, including the Women’s Bible Commentary, WorkingPreacher.org, and the BibleOdyssey.org. Her current project is especially appropriate for our current situation, because it’s about how the Bible models faithful innovation for the twenty-first century.

Genesis 22:1–14, with Ethan Schwartz

Invitation to an Experience

Lectionary Date: June 28, 2020 [4th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]

Ethan Schwartz

To chat about one of the most famous stories in all three of the Abrahamic faiths (the binding of Isaac), Rachel and Tim are joined by Dr. Ethan Schwartz. Ethan earned his PhD at Harvard University, where he studied how the Bible presents and formulates prophetic speech. He also studies how the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible) came together and how the Hebrew Bible was interpreted in the first century, especially in early Christian communities and sectarian Jewish communities. Ethan is committed to bringing biblical studies into productive conversation with contemporary religious life—a great fit with our goals here at “First Reading”! To that end, he has shared his academic work in a number of synagogues, institutes, and churches. If you’re interested in more of his work, check out these great essays at theTorah.com: “Torah: Deuteronomy’s Version of Wisdom for Israel” and “The Red Heifer in Synagogue: Purifying Israel from Sin,” or his essay at MyJewishLearning.com: “Eshet Manoah: Mother of the Mighty Samson.”