Coming soon to JP: Reading the Bible Jesus Read by Brian Schultz (one of my former teachers!). The lecture series consists of four audio/video recordings, which will be released over the next four weeks. Make sure you’re signed up to our newsletter in order to receive an email alert each time a new lecture becomes available. Links below will become active as each new lecture is released. —Joshua N. Tilton, editor
Reading the Bible Jesus Read is a four-part lecture series by Professor Brian Schultz of Fresno Pacific University. In this lecture series Dr. Schultz discusses the linguistic and cultural landscape of first-century Israel, challenging along the way some deep-seated misconceptions about the Scriptures Jesus read and the languages Jesus spoke. A more accurate understanding of Jesus’ linguistic context has wide-ranging implications for those who wish to understand Jesus better.[1]
A Word from the Lecturer:
It is my pleasure to make these lectures available on JP in honor of David Bivin. I was blessed to have known David, and even had the opportunity to sit in on a few Bible studies and seminars on the Synoptic Gospels which he led. While my graduate studies in Israel were more Hebrew Bible focused, I enjoyed hearing how one could understand Jesus better when placed in his socio-religious, historical, and linguistic context. What David and the Jerusalem School were doing concurred with what I was learning about the Second Temple Period, in contrast to the disconnect there seemed to be with broader New Testament scholarship. David’s enthusiasm was contagious, and his courage to take on difficult tasks (like being willing to start learning to speak Koine Greek fluently in his sixties) admirable. His motivation was not academic per se, but a desire to know Jesus better and understand his message more clearly. Thank you, David, for your example and legacy that spurs us on in our own quests to draw near to Jesus.
—Brian Schultz
Lectures in the Series:
Lecture 1: The Language of Jesus’ Bible
Lecture 2: Languages in the Land of Israel—Greek and Aramaic
Lecture 3: Languages in the Land of Israel—Hebrew
Lecture 4: Implications of Jesus’ Use of Hebrew
Notes
- The title image shows an illumination from the Armenian Gladzor Gospels (ca. 1300 C.E.). Public domain image courtesy of the UCLA Library Digital Collections. ↩
